Capo Valley Christian Seniors Head Out With Purpose

A smaller graduating class means there’s more time to add personal touches to a commencement ceremony.

And so it was for high school, which graduated 61 seniors Friday evening. The ceremony took time to honor students like Ethan Pierce, who became the go-to guy for any technical needs the school had. He was probably the only student everyone on campus knew, said Margery Haney, head of the high school English department.

“‘I spent some time reminding staff Ethan is still a student and needs to spend some time in class,’” IT Director Jayson Beck wrote in a letter read by Haney. The school figures he logged 2,000 volunteer hours helping Beck.

It must be true. When the video presentation failed to start on time, the senior class of 2011 started chanting, “Ethan! Ethan!”

Fortunately, Pierce’s talents weren’t needed and the audience was treated to a montage of photos from throughout the senior year, as well as baby photos of the graduates and a video of them as kindergartners, singing, “One day, I’m going to grow up.”

Ten of the students have attended since kindergarten–or earlier. That was cause to bring up parents of three so-called “lifers.”

“To call CVCS a home away from home is an understatement,” said Meg Pierce, Ethan’s mom. Ethan is her last of six children to graduate Capo Valley Christian. Altogether, they logged 61 years at the schools.

Jerry Akita, father of senior James Akita, said he looked up the term “lifer” and found it was a “slang term meaning a person sentenced to be imprisoned for life. I’m sure you don’t feel that way.” Everyone laughed.

Akita prefers it to mean, “Once you’re an Eagle, you’re always an Eagle.”

The 10 received Bibles with their names engraved on the covers. Also honored were 10 California Scholastic Federation members, eight National Honor Society members, 11 National English Honor Society members and eight Spanish National Honor Society members.

Among the schools the graduating Eagles will attend this fall are UC Berkeley, Ohio State University, Michigan State, George Mason University, UC Davis, Rice University, Biola and the University of Texas at Austin.

Ron Sipus, head of schools, handed out gold lapel pins of a starfish as well as diplomas. The starfish are to remind them of the story of a boy who was throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean so they would not die. When chastised by an old man that he could never save them all, the boy rescued another starfish and proclaimed: “I made a difference to that one.”

The pin is there so “you will be reminded of the call to make a difference,” Sipus said.

It was a theme picked up in valedictorian Andrew Sears’ speech. “We are a class of world changers,” he said. “I worry not whether we are ready for the world, but is the world ready for us?” He said the class has a duty to change the world to the glory of God.

Principal Terry Gaunt urged the graduate to “live lives worthy of your calling. Be all you can be. We here at CVCS believe in you.”