Local high school seniors have pomp and circumstance ringing in their ears this week as they focus their eyes on the future. Point Loma High School (PLHS) celebrated graduation for the class of 2009 Monday, while seniors from the High Tech High (HTH) village of schools make their milestone commencement walk Saturday, June 20. At PLHS, the Monday afternoon graduation threw the limelight on about 400 Pointers who walked across the stage at Bennie Edens Stadium. One of those students was Point Loma High valedictorian Elizabeth Felando. Felando plans to study at the University of California, Berkeley this fall. “It was really fun. I made a lot of really close friends,” Felando said as she reflected on her time at PLHS. “I’ve made connections with the teachers, so I won’t just leave. I’ll come back and visit.” Felando has lived in Point Loma all her life, attending Loma Portal Elementary and Dana and Correia middle schools. At PLHS she was a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB), ran cross country her first two years and rowed for one year. “They prepared us really well with all the experiences,” Felando said. “Not only with classwork but a lot of the activities have helped us to make connections and meet new people.” HTH will hold graduation ceremonies for its three schools on Saturday on the grassy area in front of the school, located at 2861 Womble Road in Liberty Station. HTH International and its graduating class of 85 start things off at 9 a.m., followed by HTH Media Arts graduating 90 students at noon. The ceremonies conclude with 121 HTH students walking at 3 p.m. Alec Jolly is one of HTH International’s class of 2009. Jolly will study at University of California, Berkeley next fall, where he plans to create his own major and study physics, environmental science and philosophy. During his time at HTH International, Jolly was a member of ASB and completed a number of ad hoc projects for the school, including attempting to get solar panels installed. Jolly also interned at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Jolly’s senior project was a three-week class with one of his teachers about how to live a good life. The class dabbled in philosophy, neuroscience, meditation, acupuncture, Buddhism and a sensory deprivation tank. “I picked that class because I took a tour of [UC Berkeley] and I’m already stressed out about the amount of work they are going to give us,” Jolly said. “I thought it was vital to have some sort of technique to relieve myself of stress and to continue working through the day,” he said.