Cerritos High School hosted the annual Senior Awards last night. Students who received a personal invitation from the school were allowed to bring two family members to the Brewer Theater to celebrate their accomplishments. The ceremony, curated by counselor Lavernis Martin, was a celebration of numerous students who were recognized with certificates, medallions, monetary awards, and scholarship funds for various reasons.
ASB President, Shay Pema, began ceremony with the flag salute and introduction of Principal, Patrick Walker, who proceeded to speak on the importance of this event and the stellar achievement of our seniors. The first awards consisted of recognizing the perfect attendance of Kaylee Horta, the 12 Seniors that were given the State Seal of Civic Engagement for their community involvement in finding solutions, and announcing the 20 Valedictorians of 2024.
The Community Awards & Scholarships recognized seniors who achieved certain criterias to receive community service awards, while also rewarding them with significant scholarship awards. CHEF began this section with giving out eight essay scholarships ranging from $1500 to $100. The ABC Management Award promoting lifelong learning went to Siddhartha Suresh, and Cerritos College Mental Health Worker Program recognized 15 students who completed their program. Cerritos Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority granted two scholarships. Football Booster Club granted four scholarships to graduating football players. The Kang Foundation Scholarship granted two scholarships while LBS Financial Credit Union gave out a $500 scholarship to Tylor Dela Rocca Finally the United States Marine Corps, who presented the full ride scholarship to Fredy Ratunil.
ASB Advisor Ms. Matchett took to the stage to honor Senior members of ASB, from class officers to ASB Executive President. Coaches Adams and Denhart present the Athlete of the Year awards to Shay PEma, Jasmine Koo, and Onyekachi Nwanze along with multiple athlete Lifetime Passes, which allows them to have access to every game that happens on the Cerritos Campus.
Academic awards started with Mr. John Zamora presenting drama students with two Outstanding Performance and one Technical Awards won respectively by Abigail Stecher, Aaron Lazareno, and Allison Salas. The history department handed out Don Donkey Award, the oldest award given on this school campus, to Onyekachi Nwanze for recognition of outstanding performance regarding her contribution to campus enrichment. The final Academic awards were handed out from Journalism and Yearbook. In Ms. Weuve’s absence, Mr. Zamora took to the stage again to read out accolades to the the journalism $500 award winner, Osarieme Aghahowa, and Yearbook award winners Celeste Perez, and Emily Lopez who respectively won $500 and $1,000.
Three student clubs and organizations gave out over 30 scholarships. Those clubs were: JNHS, Club Magkaisa, and Black Student Union.
The evening of awards ends with the highest recognition any student can get, The Escudo de Oro Medallion. The award encompasses criteria of seven semesters with a 3.0 or higher GPA, loyalty to CHS, displaying the Cerritos Way, contributes to the wellness of others, participates in school activities or community, and or displays good sportsmanship. Eight students were recognized as such: Osarieme Aghahowa, Jonathan Guerrero, Shawn Nguyen, Onyekachi Nwanze, Shay Pema, Celeste Perez, Roaslyn Quon, and Tripura Sai.
However Escudos were not complete, as Medallions were handed out to three retiring staff members, Robert Adams, Monty Armstrong, and Patrick Walker. This was in honor of their dedication, and loyalty to Cerritos High School’s students. Decade after decade they all have put students first.
