DANA HILLS CLASS OF 2013
Conquering Fears and Ready to Take on the Unexpected C
Snapshot of Dana Hills Graduates 733 Graduates 148 Academic Distinction Awards (students with GPAs ranging from 3.5 to 3.9) 107 Valedictorians (students with a GPA of 4.0 or higher)
34 percent (approximately) of the graduating class earning Valedictorian or Academic Distinction status 16 National Merit Scholarship Commended Students 5 National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists 1 National Merit Scholarship Recipient 2 Athletes on Wall of Fame
lad in their blue and white gowns with the tassels dangling from their caps flying in the wind, the 2013 graduates of Dana Hills High School held with tradition and rode to their commencement on scooters, skateboards, Big Wheels and bikes. And as “Pomp and Circumstance” echoed throughout the football field, the bustling stands filled with families and friends jubilantly cheered for their soon-tobe graduates. With the uncertainty they felt in 2009 as they stepped into high school now shed, the newest Dolphin alumni stood tall and proud as they filtered onto the green lawn, closing one door and opening another. Their speeches rang parallel in theme, but as Alexandrea McDermott, XiaRui Zhang, Ethan Rinchik and Nabil Farooqi took to the podium to deliver their parting words the individuality of Dana Hills shone through. McDermott went first, and pulling from Eleanor Roosevelt, implored her classmates to conquer one fear every day. Zhang, the Scholar of Scholars who is studying electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley in the fall, followed by asking his peers to take their creativeness to new heights to cure cancer and find cleaner energy forms. Next, Rinchik defined their commencement as the beginning and told classmates to hold onto their inner Peter Pan while facing the journey ahead. Then spoke Farooqi, whose speech balanced those of his peers and encouraged the Class of 2013 to embrace their uncertainty and bravely move forward. With a smile on his face and a glimmer in his eye, Narooqi asked, “Dana Hills how do you feel?” The 733 graduating seniors stood in synchronization and, as one voice, proclaimed, “We feel good. Oh, we feel so good.” With that the Dolphins changed their tassels from right to left, tossed their caps and said “Goodbye” to their school, their second home, affectionately called Dana. —Andrea Papagianis and Photos by Tony Tribolet