In less than 90 minutes on Wednesday morning, four years passed by in the lives of 376 seniors from Santa Margarita Catholic High.
A capacity crowd inside the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine watched as Notre Dame-bound Kayla Matthews—with a 4.92 grade-point average—delivered the valedictory speech, and four salutatorians with 4.88 GPAs—Nicole Minkina (Yale), Madison Jaros (Notre Dame), Katie Pisarek (Notre Same) and Charles Min (Princeton)—traded quips about the differences between them as freshmen and them as seniors.
Johnny Stanton, long considered the big man on campus since leading his Eagles football team to Southern Section and State Division Bowl championships his junior season, made it official as he received the school's highest honor, the Caritas Award, for embodying what a Santa Margarita student should be through the school's motto, Caritas Cristi, translated the love of Christ. The award is chosen by the school faculty and staff.
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The guest of honor was Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, who indicated the day was special to him because one of his first acts in his new role was participation in an Ash Wednesday service at Santa Margarita.
Every graduate in the class will continue their education in college, including at least one person who walked across the stage despite already having completed a semester at the University of Texas: Beau Hossler, the golfer who briefly led the U.S. Open days after completing his junior year.
"You are the best representatives of this church when it looks forward," Greg Dhuyvetter, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Orange, told the graduates. "You are called to be the beacons of the next generation of our church."
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