Yellow roses again have special significance during La Reina High School commencement

The yellow rose holds special meaning for the graduates of La Reina High School. The young women first received one at a welcome tea held in their first days at school. They wore one at a Mass during their junior year when presented with their class rings. And finally, they held a small bouquet of the flowers on graduation day, presenting their mothers and fathers with a rose during a special moment at the ceremony.

Attendees wept as the 97 graduates of La Reina High School walked out into the crowd, presenting their yellow roses and thanking their families for their support. The young women collected their diplomas last Saturday on the lawn in front of the school.

Amanda Turk and Amanda Mundell were co-valedictorians of the Class of 2008.

"Education is not just the filling of a pail," Turk said. "It's the lighting of a fire. . . . To navigate the challenging times that are sure to come, it's necessary to have internal light, a light that will not only illuminate us, but those around us."

Mundell spoke of the special lessons she learned at La Reina.

"All the positions of leadership here are held by girls," Mundell said. "All the top athletes were girls, and all the top students- even in science and math- were girls. We are leaving here with the firm conviction that a woman can do anything."

The girls and their families cheered when Stan Hirsch, assistant principal of students, invited the graduates to change their tassels from the left of their caps to the right.

Principal Cecilia Coe said she and the teachers at La Reina have tried to give the graduates spiritual guidance, an academic education and a focus on service.

"I know many of you think of this as an ending," Coe said. "An end to wearing plaid skirts and white shoes and needing a hall pass to go to the bathroom. But today is really a beginning, a major turning point in your lives."

Turk left her fellow graduates with encouragement.

"There will be times when we feel like losing hope. . . . But bear this truth in mind," Turk said. "We are the solution to (any) problems, and La Reina has given us the tools and courage to be that solution."

The ceremony ended with the graduates, along with alumnae in the audience, singing the school's alma mater.