The sun had trouble pushing through thick clouds over Point Loma High School’s graduation ceremony on June 10, but the beaming smiles of over 400 members of the class of 2011 provided the missing rays. The first groups of parents and relatives showed up long before the gates to Pete Ross Stadium were opened at 2 p.m., an hour before the first notes of “Pomp and Circumstance” brought a cheer from the throng. With that, a lengthy procession of maroon-gowned graduates began their long-awaited walk from the school’s gymnasium before passing under a flowered arch to the rows of white chairs on Bennie Edens Field. And by the time Associated Student Body president Justine Otsuka welcomed thousands of spectators, hundreds in the overflow crowd had begun taking up positions on the field as the old concrete stadium reached capacity. The program moved quickly as plaques were presented to valedictorian Justo Caballero and Salutatorians Stephanie Navarro and Hannah Robertson, each wearing a white gown. Their families watched intently from reserved seats in the first rows of hundreds of chairs positioned on the school’s track in front of the raised podium. Caballero’s speech urged his classmates to take on the challenges that lie ahead of them and thanked PLHS staff members for their work. Principal Bobbie Samilson asked the graduates to stand and applaud their families before presenting the class to San Diego Unified School District Board of Education trustee Scott Barnett for acceptance. Barnett then directed diploma presentations to begin. And then, one by one, school counselors called the students’ names and they stepped forward. Some appeared nervous, most smiled and others raised arms in celebration. They received small black folders from Samilson before turning to face a photographer, who recorded the moment. The loudest applause was drawn by Oscar Melendez, afflicted with cerebral palsy, whose infectious smile and waving arms won the crowd’s affection as an assistant pushed his wheelchair up the ramp. Soon, Cynthia Y. Zarza represented the last of the graduates to cross the stage. Senior Class President Teresa Stroesser led the new graduates in the traditional tassel-turning before inviting them to gather at midfield. Then, on cue, more than 400 flat maroon caps were flung skyward and the crowd swarmed the field. Some 45 minutes later, Samilson was still posing for photos with appreciative celebrants and families. She said the class of 2011, one of the biggest in recent years, would leave behind another legacy. “They are really a close group,” she said.