ONWARD AND UPWARD: San Marino High School’s 2016 graduating class of Prometheans was honored on Tuesday morning at a breakfast held in the school’s cafeteria. PICTURED ABOVE, left to right, are FRONT ROW: Kristi Tatsuno, Catherine Yang, Gwen Hollingsworth, Aimee Pham, Federica Cardamone, Devon Jack, Bailey Halkett, Melissa Kuch, Olivia Harrigian, Fiona Harrigian, Emma Tam and Justine Hou. SECOND ROW: Dutonne Chong, Mandy Hsu, Claire Maholtra, Rachelle Liu, Claire Chen, Claire Weinberger, Valerie Wang, Madeline Gandawidjaja and Viven Morosoff. THIRD ROW: Eric Tse, Nathan Lam, Alex Chen, Rebecca Lin, Emerson Liu, Joshua Yu, Keith Ng, Bethany Yew, Harika Kalidhindi and Elissa Quon. FOURTH ROW: Ryan Cheng, Mark Wicke, Chaz Davis, J.P. Shohfi, Arthur Wicke, Camila Cordova, Natalia Cordova and Gregory Eng. TOP ROW: Ryan Lew, Ryan Kerekes, Alex Cate and Marius Corwin.
Their answers to the question “What is your favorite memory of San Marino High School?” were as varied as the SMHS seniors who spoke them.
“Being a peer mentor,” said one. “The highs and lows, learning to cope with adversity,” said Devon Jack. “Beating South Pasadena” was also very popular, as was “my last Dancetra.”
“Spending time with my best friend, Claire,” said Mandy Hsu, calling out Claire Malhotra.
“Spending time with my best friend, Mandy,” said Claire Malhotra, calling out Mandy Hsu a few minutes later.
“Lobbying the Senate Committee on Education,” said Catherine Yang, the ASB’s School Board representative. “Getting my medical waiver to attend the Coast Guard Academy,” said Arthur Wicke, who will, along with his twin brother, Mark, head to New London, Connecticut to serve their country.
“My last Robotics competition.” “Playing volleyball.” “The Yosemite trip.” “Qualifying for the State speech & debate finals.”
They are Prometheans, 42 about-to-be graduates who were selected by teachers and administrators for their overall contributions to San Marino High School, and they were honored Tuesday morning at an annual breakfast in the school cafeteria in a ceremony attended by all five school board members and district staff.
The keynote speaker was Cece Keeton, a beloved English teacher who retired last year and was greeted passionately by former students. Keeton then recited ‘Theme for the Class of ‘16,’ an original poem that recounted memorable moments in her life, both pleasant and painful, before concluding “I have no regrets. This is my truth.”
She also mentioned that she recently became a grandmother and encouraged the Prometheans to “take care of Aiden for me,” a challenge to the next generation to create a universe of sustainability and peace.
Assistant Principal Doug Berry explained the mythological roots of Prometheans and said he asked several teachers to “finish this sentence…what is a Promethean?”
“A Promethean is a student who has a positive attitude and is caring,” was one of the responses Berry quoted to the assemblage, that included parents of the awardees and even a couple siblings. “In class they help to lead class discussions and are always prepared to learn. Outside of class they help to build school spirit by leading extra-curricular activities. I miss them when they are absent from class.”
“You are going to amazing places and are going to do great things,” said San Marino High School college counselor Mollie Beckler in closing the proceedings, which received a hearty round of applause.
