4 SLO County schools celebrate graduates of class of 2024. See photos from the ceremonies
Four large San Luis Obispo County high schools held graduation ceremonies Thursday night, celebrating the achievements of more than 1,050 seniors.
See photos from the ceremonies below:
Atascadero High School
Atascadero High School held a ceremony to honor its 261 graduating students in the Class of 2024 on Thursday evening.
According to administrative secretary Tricia England, the graduating class earned more than $130,000 in scholarships, completed a total of 121 career technical education pathways and had two National Honors Society members. She added that 144 graduating students have completed at least one Cuesta College course during their time at the school.
According to England, the valedictorian was Margaret Uceda, with a GPA of 4.5, while the salutatorians were Mia McKrell and Isabella Pecharich, with GPAs of 4.48.
Next year, 160 of the graduates plan to attend community colleges next year, 41 will go on to four-year universities — including 19 going to Cal Poly — seven plan to get other job training, six will go on to vocational or tech schools, six will join the military, three are entering state apprenticeship programs and two will volunteer with AmeriCorp, according to England.
The Atascadero Joint Unified School District also held a graduation ceremony for it alternative education program at the Colony Park Community Center on Thursday afternoon.
Morro Bay High School
The first of San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s high schools held their commencement ceremonies on Thursday, honoring the achievements of the Class of 2024.
Morro Bay graduated 176 seniors during its ceremony on Thursday afternoon, celebrating what has proven to be a high-achieving class, according to Principal Scott Schalde.
The Thursday ceremony included speeches from Schalde as well as ones by salutatorians Karen Lun and Krupa Patel and valedictorian Reid Hammer.
Schalde told The Tribune roughly 27% of the graduating class had GPAs of 4.0 or better while 70% held a job during high school. He added that more than 90% of the graduates will be attending college in the fall, going to universities across California and the western United States — though some are expected to go as far as the Harvard University in Massachusetts, University of Toronto in Canada and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
Twelve graduates are expected to play sports at the collegiate level next year, he added, and two have enlisted in the United States Army.
“We are proud that so many of our students have so many college options,” he said, “as many have been accepted to multiple universities.”
In total, the class earned more than $412,878 in local and outside scholarship awards, Schalde told The Tribune ahead of the ceremony, with just over $170,000 of that coming from local scholarships.
“Our local community is incredibly supportive, and we are thankful,” he said.
Pacific Beach High School also held a graduation ceremony at the continuation school’s San Luis Obispo campus on Thursday at 11 a.m.
Templeton High School
Templeton High School recognized the achievements of its 174 graduates in a commencement ceremony held on its football field Thursday.
The ceremony included speeches from Principal Jessica Lloyd, salutatorian Walker Craven and co-valedictorians Seraphina Jarboe and Tatyana Ilieva.
During the ceremony, Craven said the 2024 class was no stranger to adversity after going through the COVID-19 pandemic and going on an impressive athletic run in multiple sports over the past four years.
“We thrived in the hard times, and aren’t afraid to show it off,” Craven said. “We know that the good times don’t last forever, so we did the best to cherish them.”
Ilieva meanwhile said she hoped her fellow students would find success and connection in the years after graduating, no matter the path.
“Learn to love the sound of your feet walking away from some things that aren’t meant for you,” Ilieva said. “I’m sure we can all find gratitude in the direction that mistakes have pushed us in.”
Jarboe is expected to attend U.C. San Diego in the fall and Ilieva will go on to Columbia University, while Craven is expected to enter the U.S. Naval Academy, according to counselor Breanna Goetz.
Arroyo Grande High School
Arroyo Grande High School also held its graduation ceremony on Thursday evening, celebrating its 447 graduating seniors as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives.
The ceremony included speeches from Principal Brad Grumbles, speaker-at-large Hannah Hay and its 10 valedictorians.
Those valedictorians were: Sherry Andrawes, Jack Canigiula, Skye Fernsler, Ayla Gharavi, Kendall Merlo, Brynn Naber, Calvin Richards, Nicholas Simmons, Zachary Soriano and Mika Winn.
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 8:41 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story inaccurately attributed a quote to one of the speakers. It was from Tatyana Ilieva.
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