Friday, June 17, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Graduation: Seniors ‘pushed to the fi nal buzzer’
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class so strong,” said salu-
tatorian Ella Jesberger, who
graduated Thursday along
with more than 100 other
Seaside students. “Even
though COVID greatly
aff ected our lives, I feel like
we were still able to grow
and succeed with the help of
each other.”
Ila Bowles and Everest
Sibony, two of 10 valedicto-
rians for the Class of 2022,
relayed their experience in
terms of a basketball game.
During freshman year — the
fi rst quarter — they encoun-
tered the other team’s lineup:
English, mathematics, and
science. By the second quar-
ter, many of them had hit
their stride while playing the
game.
“Then we have the third
quarter, junior year,” Sibony
said. “We came out of half-
time feeling pretty con-
fi dent, when all of a sud-
den, we started to hear it: A
6-foot-10, 250-pound trans-
fer from Wuhan would be
joining the classes. You all
might know him. He went
by the name of COVID-19.
It defi nitely caught us off
guard, and I’d even say he
got the best of us for a while.
But everyone knows a good
team will beat a single great
talent in the end.”
While COVID-19 might
have been the opposition’s
ringer, the Seaside students
had a ringer of their own: the
staff and board who helped
them get through the pan-
demic without missing a
beat.
“Nobody could have pre-
pared for what it brought,
but you all responded, and
that’s what matters,” Sibony
said.
Finally, the fourth quar-
ter of senior year arrived and
the students strove to put
their struggles with the pan-
demic behind them.
“We were ready to push
through anything that came
our way,” Bowles said.
“No matter the amount of
‘senioritis’ we faced, we
pushed until the fi nal buzzer.
... We’ve been through a lot
together. We’ve been shoved
into the wall, pushed onto
the ground and spit at, but
that did not stop us from
leaving that court with a
victory.”
Despite the unexpected
challenges, she refl ected
fondly on her time in high
school, adding, “Even
though we are stepping off
the court for the last time,
we will forever be Seaside
Seagulls.”
Several of the seniors
also stressed the impor-
tance of being heavily
engaged in school activi-
ties and extracurricular pro-
grams — something they
sorely missed while learn-
ing remotely during the
pandemic.
Valedictorians
Aiden
Ousley and Liam Matlock
recalled watching a video
put together by outgoing
seniors during their fresh-
men year. It contained oft-
heard advice, such as not
procrastinating and asking
for help. They were encour-
aged to get involved, which
“would always seem sec-
ondary to academics,” Ous-
ley said.
At fi rst, he didn’t take
the advice to heart. Then
he pandemic hit and they
were relegated to staying
in, not socializing, and join-
ing classes virtually from
home, and they gained new
perspective.
Coming into senior year,
Ousley said, “I thought
back to that advice: Get
involved.”
It spurred him to become
a three-sport athlete, join
Future Business Leaders of
America, and attend every
school-related activity and
function.
“It sounds like a lot of
work, but I was having
more fun than I’d ever had
before,” Ousley said. “I
guess what I’m trying to say
is, don’t let it take a global
pandemic for you to realize
that things need to change.”
Matlock agreed.
“Being involved in a
variety of activities and put-
ting yourself out there really
brings out the best version of
yourself,” he said.
Principal Jeff Roberts also
paid tribute to the parents,
guardians, family members,
and other loved ones—along
with the administrators,
teachers and staff from all
the Seaside schools — who
supported the students along
their K-12 journey.
“We often hear, ‘It takes
a village,’ and that is one of
the most special things about
this community,” he said. “It
is a village, and we look out
after our own.”
TOP LEFT: From left, Seaside High School
seniors Alondra Jimenez Mota, Reese
Taylor and Hailey Hughes wait to walk in
graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022
on June 9.
ABOVE: Senior members of Seaside
High School’s choir perform during the
graduation ceremony.
LEFT: Seniors Liam Matlock and Aiden
Ousley, two of the valedictorians for the Class
of 2022, give a speech during Seaside High
School’s graduation ceremony on June 9.
Photos by Katherine Lacaze
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