Central Valley High School graduated its class of 2025 in an outdoor ceremony held Thursday evening which included speeches, tears, somber reflection, laughter and farewells.

A total of 464 graduates marched onto a packed football field and filed into seats facing the platform before a crowd of proud parents, siblings, relatives and friends.

Senior Class President Lizeth Cazares Perez gave the welcoming address and thanked teachers, coaches and school staffers before offering parting words to the Class of 2025:

“As we leave high school and step into the unknown, whether that’s college, work, traveling or other things, there’s one lesson I hope we all carry with us: we can’t control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we respond. Our attitude and our effort. That’s always in our hands.

“There will be moments ahead when we feel uncertain, maybe even scared. But let those moments remind us of what we’ve already survived. We lived through a pandemic. We adjusted to online classes, canceled events, and the weirdest years of our lives, and we still found ways to grow. That kind of resilience doesn’t go away. It becomes a part of us.“

Perez continued: “We have a choice. We can let fear stop us, or we can let it fuel us. We can be discouraged by setbacks, or we can learn from them.”

Valedictorian Emma Mendoza Ortega delivered an address in which she shared her Christian faith.

“I want you to think of Jesus Christ as being my Everything,” she noted. “And the cool thing is that I have full access to my Father all the time because He left a conjunction of words in a conjunction of verses in a conjunction of chapters in a conjunction of books that makeup the Bible; His own Words for me. In fact, one of these books starts out by saying: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In other words, the Word that my God gives me is living – it’s Jesus Christ Himself.”

She continued: “The more I read, the more I can see that the Bible is just Jesus in written form; like in the way that it is a love letter from God to me while Jesus’ life was laid out through His love for me in the same manner.”

Because 45 seniors achieved grade point averages above 4.0 and earned salutatorian status and not all could deliver a speech, the honor went to Mariana Campos and Lizeth Cazares Perez.

Campos delivered her address entirely in Spanish. Translated to English it read, in part: “High school was undoubtedly an adventure. Some roads may have been rocky, and others may have taken us down unexpected paths, but we should all be proud of having made it to the end. We made many happy memories, and now we can move from this journey to the next. I didn’t believe before when they said high school goes by in the blink of an eye, but here we are, four years later, saying goodbye to the close family we formed.

“The truth is, our journey doesn’t end here. After today, each of us will forge our own path. We will continue to grow, becoming courageous adults in the intimidating world that awaits us upon our exit. Even if we don’t know what the future will bring, let us strive to live full lives filled with hard work and hope. The same hope that got us up every morning when our alarm went off and helped us believe we would graduate today, that same hope will help us achieve our goals in the future. With the years ahead, let’s have confidence in our future, in our dreams, and in the great things that await us. Our future is bright, and we will fill it with many happy memories. So, Class of 2025, let’s celebrate our high school years and the many more to come. We did it.”

The other class salutatorians were: Elizabeth Abarca, Kasandra Aguayo Topete, Alan Alvarez, Kiana Anaya, Javier Armas, Brianna Barraza, Angel Calderon, Emmanuel Carranza, Destiny Casique, Sydney Castillo, Olivia Cervantes, Lesly Cruz Sierra, Marion Dennison, Jaime Enriquez Jimenez, Andre Flores, Yurianna Garcia, Jaqueline Gomez Constantino, Bryan Hernandez Arteaga, Darlyn Hernandez Bonilla, Natalie Hutchings, Isaac Juarez, Luna Juarez Nunez, Tarnjot Kaur, Yulissa Leal, Jasmin Lopez, Katelyn Lopez, Samantha Mendoza, Joshuah Michelena, Natasha Nowaya, Navjeet Pattar, Mariah Pawlovich Sanders, Cesar Ramirez, Conner Ravera, Gabriella Rodriguez, Alanna Salvatera, Kailynn Sanchez, Juan Sanchez Zamora, Magnolia Tavizon, Valeria Torres Aleman, Ashley Underwood Vargas, Julyanna Valencia and Jase Wallick.

Navjeet Pattar delivered a speech in which she shared her thankfulness for the “opportunities here that others only dream of” at times which “pushed us out of our comfort zones.” 

She shared six simple lessons she learned from people who’ve shaped her the most.

“My sister taught me that peace is walking in purpose.

“My brother showed me you don’t have to be loud to lead. 

“My mom taught me that soft strength is still strength – and that through God, we can find the strength to face anything. 

“My dad showed me that real work isn’t always seen, but it always shows.

“My youngest sister taught me to laugh, even on the hard days.

“And my grandma taught me that faith isn’t just about believing; instead it’s trusting in God’s timing – even when we don’t understand it.

“Our journeys will look different, but these kinds of lessons are what remind us that no matter what we face, we already have the tools to keep going.”

Principal Casey Giovannoni took time to reflect on a new batch of graduates from his school officially entering the world of adulthood.

“Public education is only built to take students so far,” Giovannoni said. “It is, for all intents and purposes, a 13-year program designed to prepare students for life beyond high school. All 464 students before us have met the rigorous requirements enacted by the state of California to earn a high school diploma. In this, they have proven that they are ready – for college, for career, for military, for trade school –  for whatever may come their way.”

The principal noted that “life can be tough but, whether they have realized it or not yet, these students are tough. Tough enough to handle what life will throw their way. How do I know this you may wonder? Just look before you. They made it. All 464 of them made it. They learned to read and write. They learned a second language. They learned Calculus. They stayed up late studying. They rewrote their essays over the weekends. They gave up lunch to get assistance from their teachers. They trained their minds in the classrooms; they trained their bodies through athletic competition. They navigated the complex social dynamic that is high school. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, they kept pressing on, learning, adjusting, practicing. And, class by class, they moved forward, completing assignments, passing tests, earning sufficient grades. For 13 years they did this. Nothing could hold them back. They all faced hardships, they all faced tragedies. They encountered texts they could not understand, equations that seemed to be unanswerable. They attended school in the rain and in the sun, in dark and in light. They felt healthy and they felt sick, they felt up and they felt down, and yet they continued forward. And when the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic struck, they continued to do what they do, from their rooms, at home, learning through computer screens.

“I told you that these students are tough, and I maintain that statement. They marched through 13 years of ups and downs and have proven that nothing could stop them from this very moment – not even a worldwide pandemic. As the popular witticism goes, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going,’ I see these students before us as the living embodiment of that very witticism.”