Graduating Imperial Tigers behold their future
IMPERIAL — The pain and sacrifice of high school came to an end for Joel Salgado on Friday, when he and the rest of the Imperial High School Class of 2017 received their diplomas.
Yet, in about a week’s time, Joel will get to experience a whole new level of pain and sacrifice as he departs for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, where he will begin 12 weeks of basic training.
The former high school wrestler, football player and track and field athlete admitted that although academics weren’t ever really his strong suit, he never shied away from taking on challenges.
“I’m always pushing myself to be better and do better things,” Joel said.
By doing so, Joel appeared to be displaying that fierce Tiger pride evident Friday at the Shimamoto-Simpson Stadium, where a total of 185 seniors received their diplomas, the largest graduating class to date, campus officials said.
After the half-hour procession of seniors filed into the stadium accompanied by family and friends, Principal Joe Apodaca launched into a lengthy acknowledgment of all the campus personnel responsible for preparing the seniors for their graduation as well as helping keep the campus operating optimally.
In contrast, he limited his formal graduation speech to two simple words.
“Tiger pride,” Apodaca said to resounding applause. Co-salutatorian Abisai Espinoza addressed the crowd next and implored his classmates to value the time at hand and not let a moment of it go to waste. He also cautioned them to not let others define them solely by their age, race, ethnicity or gender and instead measure their success with a more accurate standard.
“Your success is just that – your success,” Abisai said. “And you should always be proud of your accomplishments no matter what you do are where you are.”
Although graduation didn’t quite bring Abby Zepeda to tears like some of her classmates, finishing her senior year was nonetheless a milestone for the Mexicali native.
“It was probably one of the best years of my short life so far,” Abby said.
The longtime Spanish Club member and two-term president said she will spend her summer looking for a job and hanging out with family.
Long term plans include enrolling at Imperial Valley College in the fall and eventually transferring to California Baptist University in Riverside to study radiology.
As happy as Abby said she is to eventually get away from the Valley to study, she is not looking forward to any upper level math classes that radiology may require.
In the meantime, Abby will find some comfort in attending IVC along with some of her former classmates who she got to known closely after moving from Mexicali about 11 years ago.
“It was a big transition from there to here, but I liked it,” Abby said. “This community is very close.”
Friday night’s graduation brought a temporary reprieve from the stress of homework assignments for Alex Rodriguez.
And any homework-related stress that Alex encounters while attending IVC for the next couple years will likely be lessened by having a support network of family and friends nearby.
But the thought of not having that support network at hand when he eventually transfers to California State University, Long Beach to study business administration is a bit concerning.
“Being out there alone is probably going to be a little stressful,” Alex said.
Alexis Zinn was the last to walk across the stage to receive her diploma on Friday.
Prior to walking across that stage, Alexis said she has shouldered her fair share of adult responsibility.
For the past three years, Alexis said she has been responsible for looking after her younger siblings during instances when her father’s job required him away from the home.
“As a teenager you want to be able to do this and that, but you can’t because you have to take care of your younger brother and sister,” Alexis said.
Developing that sense of adulthood is also something that Alexis said she is looking forward to as she sets out in the fall to attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., where she will be studying nursing.
As much as she too will miss her teachers and the Valley, Alexis is looking forward to being out on her own. “It gives you a sense of being independent and being an adult,” she said.