After a tumultuous year marred by loss and uncertainty, 332 Pasadena High School seniors celebrated overcoming challenges both inside and outside the classroom during the school’s commencement ceremony Wednesday, June 4.
It was part of five ceremonies over two days, all at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium this week, where more than 1,000 students will graduate from the district’s six high schools.
A joint ceremony for the Center for Independent Studies and Rose City High School kicked off the festivities Wednesday morning followed by the Blair High School graduation in the afternoon.
Pasadena High School’s commencement rounded out day one in a district still reeling from a year of losses brought by the Eaton fire.
Family and friends started lining up more than an hour before the scheduled start time many holding flowers and signs of support for their graduate. In an upstairs room the graduates clad in red caps and gowns prepared to make the march downstairs into the auditorium.
Just after 6 p.m. the graduates entered as the Pasadena High School Symphony played “Pomp and Circumstance.” Cheers and whoops went up as family members saw their graduate enter the room.
Graduates sat on the auditorium stage bathed in red light with the auditorium packed to nearly standing room only.
Valedictorian Mallika Sheshadri said that along with the Eaton fire, this senior class experienced high school amidst a global pandemic, war, genocide, school shootings and threats to the rights of immigrants.
“The prospect of stepping into the world right now is daunting, so let us take with us the connections we fostered here and fill the world with our words, our kindness, our resilience and our empathy until there is no room left for discrimination, genocide or hate,” Sheshadri said.
Senior Class Advisor Darlene Osmonson and other speakers followed echoed Sheshadri’s sentiment of the class of 2025 having to overcome unique challenges.
“When the Eaton fire hit, our community you showed what kind of people you are,” Osmonson said. “Your compassion and strength were extraordinary. In a moment of hardship you came together and reminded everyone what it means to care.”
Senior Emma Thatcher lost her Altadena home in the Eaton fire. After the fire, her family moved from Airbnb to Airbnb. Her friends were not excited to return to school, but Thatcher couldn’t disagree more.
“I was dying to go back to school,” Thatcher said.
Senior Joaquin Gomez also lost his Altadena home in the fire. At first, commuting from West Covina to school in Pasadena took its toll but Gomez said being surrounded by peers and friends helped him through the difficult time.
“It’s definitely been a hard four years, but it’s been a four years I needed to be the person that I am today,” Senior Class President Daniella Novo said.
On Thursday, June 5, John Muir High School and Thurgood Marshall Secondary School will hold their graduation ceremonies at the Civic Auditorium.
Thursday also marks the last day of the PUSD school year.
“Challenging doesn’t begin to define what this year has been for us,” Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco wrote in a district message to the district. “Our students are showing us something extraordinary: the fire may have happened to them, but they are not defined by it. They are defined by how they stand up, move forward, and continue to shine.”
In addition to the Eaton fire destroying or damaging five PUSD schools, displacing families and staff, the district grappled with the public health fallout and financial struggles unrelated to the fire.
Two-thirds of PUSD students had to evacuate because of the fire and more than 900 families reported losing their homes to the blaze. In addition, 120 district employees lost their homes.
All schools closed for two weeks before a phased reopening process. Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School, Franklin Elementary, Edison, Loma Alta and Noyes were destroyed or significantly damaged, forcing the relocation of students to other sites and changes to pre planned construction projects.
In the last month, results of soil testing at all district sites added more concern and uncertainty about health and safety at schools even nearly five months out from the fire. More than half of district sites tested found levels of lead or other contaminants in soil above the state health screening levels.
The district said additional testing is ongoing, the contaminated areas have been cordoned off and all necessary remediation will be completed by the beginning of next school year.
Along with the impact of the fire, the district came under pressure from parents and teachers over its handling of finances, specifically the decision to cut teacher and staff positions. District officials said the cuts, and more to come, were unavoidable thanks to a concoction of factors that have left PUSD with a deficit of more than $30 million. They include a decade of declining enrollment, expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief funding and rising costs.
The Board of Education initially approved cuts to 150 positions that ended up being rescinded down to 25 employees being laid off. The process of rescinding layoffs was guided by state law and the collective bargaining process.
All commencement ceremonies will be streamed on YouTube.
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