Caps and gowns will mix with anxiety and excitement next Tuesday, June 20, as graduating seniors at Point Loma High School receive their diplomas.
Family and friends will look on in support of 355 students as they prepare to enter the college fray and say their goodbyes to long-held comfort zones.
This year’s class will also enjoy the fruits of their labors in the form of national, state and local scholarships. Laurie Hurl, head counselor at PLHS, said students earned more than $800,000 in scholarships this year in athletics, academics and the arts.
“They have achieved high standards academically along with their extra curricular activities,” she said.
The highest academic honor of valedictorian will go to Bosnian-native Irfan Mulic, who will be attending Dartmouth in the fall.
A twist in this year’s top honors, however, has come in the form of three girls who have stuck together since Sunset View Elementary School.
A three-way tie for salutatorian between Anna McGregor, Annette Konoske-Graf and Kelsey Newman is a first for the school. The girls, in addition to sharing exact GPAs, will also share their speech at the ceremony.
Their paths will finally part after high school, though, as their schools of choice include University of California, Berkeley, Davis and San Diego.
All of the students receiving top honors earned GPAs over 4.0, Hurl said.
Able Salgado also achieved an academic milestone by receiving a Gates Millennium Scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant includes a full ride to Salgado’s university of choice and any graduate program he enters after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.
The athletic department also had a strong showing this year. Anthony West and Joshua Holmes received full-ride football scholarships to the University of Nebraska and the University of Miami, respectively.
Kevin Yaeckel, winner of a National Merit Scholarship, will be attending Washington University at St. Louis for football as well.
This in addition to PLHS boasting the number one sailing team in the nation.
The arts did not go unnoticed either. Tyler Knell was accepted into the prestigious Film School of University of Southern California.
“That’s pretty substantial as well,” Hurl said.
And yes, there was even something for the faculty this year. Larry Zeiger was honored with a 10Leadership Award by KGTV for his commitment to the education of the arts.
Zeiger has won national praise for his innovative teaching method for theater, which places the onus of writing, directing and acting for the plays on the students.
The graduation ceremony begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, on the field at PLHS. Seniors have planned a post-commencement party at Dave and Busters in Mission Valley and will take part in a senior trip to Disneyland Thursday, June 22.
For more information, visit www.pointlomahigh.com.