It didn’t take long before Juan Carlos Gonzalez had to ask for a
moment. In front of peers, teachers and a filled-to-capacity Anzar
High School gym, the moment became overwhelming. peaking in
Spanish, Gonzalez thanked his teachers, his friends and finally his
family. At the mention of his father, the tears became too strong.
Stepping back, and rubbing his hands over his eyes, Gonzalez
returned to the podium to a roaring ovation.
It didn’t take long before Juan Carlos Gonzalez had to ask for a moment. In front of peers, teachers and a filled-to-capacity Anzar High School gym, the moment became overwhelming.
Speaking in Spanish, Gonzalez thanked his teachers, his friends and finally his family. At the mention of his father, the tears became too strong. Stepping back, and rubbing his hands over his eyes, Gonzalez returned to the podium to a roaring ovation.
The tears were of joy, because four years of hard work were over and Gonzalez was one of 87 students graduating from the high school.
As the second of four student speakers – and the only speech completely in Spanish – Gonzalez received a loud cheer from the audience.
The ceremony itself was emotional for the teachers and students. During the graduation opening, where a song of their choice introduces each student, the graduates paid tribute to Jose Mario Serrano, who died in a car crash earlier in the year.
With each song, the students strutted down the aisles, but when “Stand By Me” by The Drifters came on, nobody walked down the aisle. The gym erupted in applause, though, as the song played a little longer than the rest.
The songs were just a part that made up the “Anzar experience,” student speaker Jillian Whitman said.
“We’ve experienced it all and it is an Anzar experience that you can only get here,” she said. “Anzar has prepared us all for the next steps we are going to take, whether it’s college or work. It’s tested our patience on more than one occasion. It’s pushed us to strive for more and not to settle for less. Anzar has truly given us all a mind. It told us that knowledge is not just what you get, but what you do with it.”
To see the full story on Anzar’s graduation and others in a special section, pick up a copy of the Free Lance on Tuesday.
