TOHS ceremony puts emphasis on patriotism
by Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

A football field filled with white folding chairs awaited about 600 graduates who filed in as the Lancer band played "Pomp and Circumstance." The girls wore white caps and gowns, the boys wore green. Some had on flipflops, others wore dress shoes.

Some walked with trepidation. Some marched. Some almost seemed to be skipping to the music as they took their final steps as high school students.

When the celebrants passed by, parents exclaimed, "There she is!" or "Look! He's right there." Emotions were high as air horns, shouts and whistles urged the graduates to look to the side and find their loved ones. Families sat on metal bleachers holding posters, flowers and gifts. Some dads wore suits and ties. Others had on Hawaiian shirts. On every face was a smile of pride. Large men in black T-shirts with SECURITY printed across the back were everywhere, keeping watchful eyes on the more than 5,000 guests attending the event.

The program noted students who had attained a GPA of 3.5 or above, and pages were filled with the names of those who received honors and awards.

The ceremony began promptly at 6 p.m. After 15 minutes of procession, the graduates were seated and welcomed by senior Alyssa Barkley. Class vice president Brandon Nielsen then led the crowd in "The Pledge of Allegiance," after which he asked for a round of applause for the men and women in the class who will serve in the armed forces.

The patriotic program continued as the Lancer band played the national anthem. As those in the bleachers stood up, hats were removed and hands were placed on hearts. Down on the field, many from the graduating class began to sing "Oh, say can you see," and as their clear, strong voices rose, many others in the stadium joined in. A breeze moved the flag as the voices swelled.

The band also played "America the Beautiful," and the Beatles song "Imagine" was performed during the ceremony.

Valedictorians- seniors with grade point averages over 4.65- were honored. Jamie Axelrad, Rosa Deng, Danielle Erb, Sydney Gulbronson, Jason Lin, Jason Loose, Lily Xia, Hank Yan and Gordon Wong crossed the stage and received medals.

"Parents are waiting for our names to be called. We're waiting for grad night at Disneyland- I'm coming Mickey!" Dennis Mihalsky said in the speech he gave with classmate Nellab Yakuby.

After the ceremony, many of the seniors loaded onto buses and spent the night at Disneyland's Grad Night event.

Mackenna Brien, another class speaker, recalled some of the things she learned while at Thousand Oaks High School. Valuable lessons included: Get out of the way when you hear a golf cart coming up behind you or you could lose a limb, and "The attendance ladies don't negotiate."

She also noted the importance of getting a good education. She said she made friends that would last a lifetime or until the death of myspace.com.

Mackenna advised the class, "Do not trip on stylish wizard robes . . . and keep on keeping on."

On hand to accept the class of 2007 were board of education members Patricia Phelps and Mike Dunn, Superintendent Mario Contini and assistant superintendent and former Thousand Oaks High School principal Jo-Ann Yoos.