Some danced, some jumped, and some even hopped onto the Milpitas High School football field Saturday morning as a lively crowd cheered them on.
Welcome to the Class of 2012 commencement ceremony.
More than 600 graduating seniors received diplomas in the school’s 43rd annual commencement ceremony held on the school’s football field as thousands of spectators watched from bleachers along the field’s edge.
The lively ceremony started with a bang promptly at 9:30 a.m. when Sir Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstances” boomed through loudspeakers. Immediately, the graduates-to-be marched onto the field dressed in dark blue gowns and mortarboard caps with tassels. Many in the crowd stood and cheered as the students methodically took their seats.
School Principal Ken Schlaff welcomed the students and started the program by acknowledging dignitaries in attendance, including Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves and Councilwoman Debbie Giordano. Also on hand were local school board and Board of Education officials.
The class valedictorians were Laura Elizabeth Cosgrove, Julia Hanh Dinh, Benjaminn Fielding Gardner, Kewa Jiang, and Brian Thomas Tseng. They delivered a collective speech that focused on memories and experiences at Milpitas High School. Among favorite memories was a power outage during their sophomore year that forced some classes to be canceled, school rallies, the Trojan Olympics, and studying for finals.
The school’s glee club “Encore” performed “Stand by Me” just before the diplomas were handed out. At the end the new graduates stood and applauded, while many flipped their caps into the air and saluted the crowd of well-wishers.
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