Home › Graduations
Santa Susana Graduates revisit the past as they look to the future
Download this story as a podcast!
Please note
Names of graduates from each high school and college will be published in a special section at the end of June.
Jeffrey Earle / Special to The Star Lora Harkavy screams as she see's her friend Kelsey Kleinman before the graduation at Santa Susana High on Thursday.
6-12-08 Simi Valley Ca. Thursday. Santa Susana High graduation was held Thursday night. From left to right Ryan Lefton, Alex Taber, and Dannielle Kaufman holding a video camera. Taking video before the start of the Santa Susana graduation. Photo by Jeffrey Earle special to the Star
6-12-08 Simi Valley Ca. Thursday. Santa Susana High graduation was held Thursday night. Ryan Lefton gets some help with his cap from Mandi Messina before the graduation at Santa Susana High School. Jeffrey Earle special to the Star
6-12-08 Simi Valley Ca. Thursday. Santa Susana High graduation was held Thursday night. Alyssa Wagner adjusts the tie on Adam McBride. So she can take a photo of Adam and Brittany Tanner in the center. All this was going on before the graduation at Santa Susana High School. Jeffrey Earle special to the Star
STORY TOOLS 
More from GraduationsIn the hallways of Simi Valley's Santa Susana High School, being called an "Egg McMuffin" is a compliment.
At least it is for Nichole O'Connor, who was featured in a nationwide McDonald's commercial recently. Along with her Screen Actor's Guild card, she is taking her acting abilities learned at the high school to USC.
O'Connor was one of 230 seniors to graduate Thursday night at Santa Susana High, a magnet school that focuses on technology and the performing arts and encourages students to develop their creative potential.
"This is a very open school," O'Connor said. "A lot of people are artistic, and I was really able to be myself here."
In a room beside the amphitheater where the graduation was about to commence, seniors in black robes and turquoise trim watched a slide show depicting the 2008 class projects.
"One of the best things about this class is they really care about each other," said Peg Morris, an English teacher and class adviser.
She said the slide show was the idea of the seniors, and their pride in the projects and the class was evident.
Photos of smiling actors on stage, musicians playing solos and dancers showing off for the camera flashed on the wall as the group hollered out in approval. The class then formed lines to walk into the amphitheater.
In the audience, the parents of graduate Lizeth Alvisurez, 17, craned their necks to find their daughter.
"We are so proud of her," father Ruben Alvisurez said.
She plans on continuing her love of dance and ballet at Moorpark College in the fall, he said.
This was Morris' final year in the Simi Valley Unified School District, where she has spent more than 40 years teaching. She said Thursday's commencement was a great note on which to end her career.
"They all made me feel I was a part of the class," Morris said.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.