001parents family friends and guests my name is jonathan parker i am the principal and for this evening the proud and fortunate representative of the extraordinary staff and students of sunny slope high school it is my privilege to welcome all of you to the sunny slope high school commencement for the class of 2021. joining me here on the stage this evening to accept our graduates our gu hsd governing board member miss lara arrita also here this evening representing the our district administration our administrator of community relations ms kim mosquito at this time i asked that you silence your phones and put away all noise makers of any kind in order to preserve the dignity of the cooperation in advance though tradition dictates that the audience stand during the processional we ask that you remain seated to
002enable all guests to view the graduates and now ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure first to present the faculty and staff of sunny soap high school followed by the graduating class of [Applause] [Music] 2021. [Applause] [Music] there's [Music] the traffic is stuck and you're not moving anywhere you thought you found a friend to take you out of this [Music] ah [Music] thank you [Music] so [Music] so [Music] followers [Music] yes nobody [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] he's downstage jesus [Music] at this time i will ask all of you to stand for the presentation of colors by the sunny slope air force jrotc color guard please remain standing for the national anthem all right [Music] bye oh thank you please be seated welcome graduates we were here waiting for you for a little while sunny
003slope high school confers its highest academic honors by recognizing the top one percent of the graduating class the following students will graduate tonight with highest distinction and i ask them to please stand as i call their names lily zello peter ng samantha parker eleanor mchugh mary zimmerman and emma swanton hello everyone let's all make some noise for our sunny slope [Music] graduates [Applause] most importantly i'd like to begin by thanking those who have brought the class of 2021 to where we are today to our parents thank you for your unfaltering support from the late nights finishing projects to the midday drives bring a forgotten lunch you were always there for us parents you taught us love you taught us culture you taught us compassion i know that every single one of us is forever grateful
004for your presence to our teachers thank you for pushing us to reach new heights thank you for supporting us and achieving our goals and having patience when we fall a bit short of them finally to the rest of our faculty thank you for all that you've done this year all of this would not have been possible without you now that it's almost time to leave i want to emphasize all that we've gained as vikings we've learned confidence pride perseverance activism courage gratitude qualities that will serve us for the rest of our lives students if we're capable of learning all this in just four years imagine what our lifetime will look like as the rest of the speakers follow me tonight i want each of us to reflect on the true impact that sunny soap has
005made on who we are today and what we value regardless of what our next steps hold whether it be college a career a gap year a presidency looking at you payton each step presents us with this unfathomable opportunity to keep learning to develop the skills we learned as graduates of sunny slope high school and literally change the world thank you and congratulations to the class of 2021 good evening sunny slope high school class of 2021 graduates it is an honor to be speaking to you tonight this year has had its challenges and i'm glad to see that everyone has persevered through their problems no matter what they may be to be with us tonight one trait i have developed throughout my high school career that i've depended heavily on in recent times is confidence the
006self-assurance in your own abilities and qualities i hope to instill confidence in you tonight lately it has been difficult to have confidence in anything due to the uncertainties of life however knowing that everything will turn out okay in the end can help push you through difficult times personally i was completely burned out the week before spring break and i was overwhelmed with tests and homework looking back i realized that i need to celebrate the small victories a technique i've used to build my confidence and motivate myself is saying out loud i'm such a baller after finishing any little task that seems difficult this technique is most effective when said aloud but it can also be useful as just a thought in your head for example when during an ap test or even just doing the
007dishes know that you are amazing and have worked hard for all of your accomplishments be confident in how awesome you are stay ballin [Applause] okay [Music] no [Music] reflection [Music] [Applause] esperanza [Applause] this past year it has been hard not to feel overwhelmed with reminders of opportunities lost and experiences missed out on i've grown tired of hearing what we would have done if we were seniors in any other year the reality is this isn't any other year and we can't get so caught up in ruminating on what could have been that we ignore all the amazing things that were the sunny slope high school class of 2021 can boast an endless amount of incredible achievements that my time-constrained speech cannot begin to touch upon we built positive change in our communities we honored timeless traditions
008and created our own we won championships and competitions even under less than ideal circumstances throughout it all we built lasting friendships learned valuable lessons and made a difference in the lives of one another so i ask of you tonight do not minimize all that you have accomplished and all that you have contributed we are not the end result of one unforeseen year we are a manifestation of all the good that we have done all the change that we have rendered all the lessons that we have learned and all the strength that we have found what we did here these past four years mattered and deserves to be remembered and celebrated as such thank you arizona is home to some of the greatest natural wonders in the world i can say without a doubt that the
009deserts and forests of this state raised me as a kid my favorite memories for the evenings i spent under the vast expanse of stars or the long summer afternoons i spent forging for bugs to collect in jars i'm sure many of you have similar experiences nothing parallels the tranquility of the aspen's up in flag or the patchator that follows a summer monsoon as we move forward from sunny slope high school may we remember not only the community we shared at sunny slope but also the land that we grew up in remember that we have a responsibility to protect it right now arizona is facing many challenges increased temperatures longer drought seasons increased wildfire risk and extinction of native animals at this point you may be wondering why i decided on this topic for a graduation
010speech when i look across the stage i see students with potential students going into careers in the arts sciences and humanities students that i know if they put their mind to it could achieve any problem put in front of them class of 2021 i am so incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished this year but please please don't forget where we came from remember your responsibility to protect those deep orange sunsets and wild burros of the state that made you who you are today good evening our time at sunny slope has granted us the opportunity to explore to take chances and learn more about who we want to be now as we move forward these choices we make take on a greater weight and yet our graduation here today represents more than just the
011assumption of responsibilities though it certainly that to both ourselves and the human race what we are being given here today is an opportunity the world is both in our hands and at our feet and yes as we go forward we must bear that responsibility in mind but we also must recognize that we now have the power to begin creating the world in which we want to live and think about that for just a moment we are forging our world and doing the same with our paths these paths will be riddled with our triumphs and our failures our joys and our sorrows and as we decide how the trials of our lives will define who we are we get to choose not only our own futures but that of the world each will leave an impact
012on the adults we have already begun to become so ironically as the sun sets outside this arena our day dawns and we now have the opportunity to make of that what we choose thank you we have a tradition at sunny slope called letters of gratitude where seniors write to teachers um who made an impact on their four years at sunny slope their rights to teachers who made an impact on their four years at sunny slope so as i was writing my letters of gratitude this past year i didn't think about um the characteristics of acid-base reactions or my analysis of to kill a mockingbird but i did what i did remember was when mr curry noticed that i had a bad day and asked how he could help or when miss willis accepts all of
013my work no matter how late because she knows just how much i struggled this past semester because the teachers here aren't um just here to teach us they're here to show us what it means to have good character and to grow and develop as students and people so i can't thank the teachers here enough and express enough gratitude for what they've done to help us these last four years thank you good evening my name is peyton fox i'm the student body president of sunny slope high school i'm here tonight to talk to you about crocs yes crocs if you were like me many of your early childhood adventures wouldn't have been possible without the revolutionary ultra hip italian styled foam shoe i'm before you now wearing my crocs not only because of my questionable fashion
014choices but also because they represent our transition into adulthood we the senior class of sunny slope high school are each our very own pair of crocs the first steps we took as freshmen and our blank and empty crocs are not the same steps we take tonight tonight we take our final steps as vikings as crocs chock-full of gibbets gibbets the little charms found on crocs are synonymous with experiences thus made possible by this school this family and each and every single one of you without each other and all those who've helped us along the way we would never have become the colorful random and unique crocs we are today as i conclude i wish you all the very best on your quest for more gibbets and remind you of your impact on each other thank
015you this is close enough yeah all right hello and good evening parents family members friends teachers faculty and last the reason you are all here sitting in a freezing ice rink for the next two hours the class of 2021. my name is ariana colossimo your senior class president and it is an honor to be here speaking in front of you all today before i announce the senior gift i want to start out by thanking all of the amazing teachers and staff that dedicated so much of themselves and made this unprecedent entire year a success if someone would have told me four years ago that i would be cl that would that i would be completing my senior year for my couch in my pajamas i would have bet both of my legs well as you
016can see but in all seriousness this class has sacrificed so much for missing out on being able to go to an after school sport event hearing the band play our fight song seniors not being able to rush the field on senior night to sing our school's alma mater to not having a homecoming or just not to even be able to see one another smile we took hit after hit but guess what else we did we persevered and as overused as that word is we earned it to borrow my mom's favorite quote from robert frost in three words i can sum up everything i've learned about life it goes on life doesn't stop when there is a worldwide pandemic going on that will cause you to miss out on a lot of things you looked forward
017to over the course of your entire school career it goes on life doesn't stop for anyone regardless of what situation you're in bad or good it goes on that is what is certain that is what is true so remember to always make the best out of every situation because one thing i have learned is that even though things may seem bad at the moment they could always be worse so take the good with the bad and always be grateful for every day that you are given because not every day is promised make sure to think and show appreciation to everyone who helps you along the way the love and support of family and loved ones got a lot of us here today so thank you mom dad gia and all of my family and friends
018that i have been that i've been here helping me get through this challenging year thank you i love you all and cannot have done this without you and now it's announced the senior gift this year we wanted to purchase a gift that would serve the sunny slope campus and represent our contribution and dedicated and dedication to the continued support of the school on behalf of the senior class our 2020-2021 senior gift will be purchasing a new music box thank you and congratulations to the graduating class of 2021 i'm the only junior here so i'll try to keep it short uh as the incoming student body president i've had the opportunity to get to know many members of the senior class over these past four years all of them have changed developing their personalities honing their
019values and discovering their future paths but through it all their sense of camaraderie has been unwavering especially this year the class of 2022 has huge crocs to fill but we look forward to upholding the precedent set by these seniors on behalf of the next generation of sunny slope students i gratefully accept the new music box and wish the senior class the best of luck in their future endeavors thank you [Applause] so in addition to the students in the top one percent i would like to recognize scholars earning distinction in a number of different fields they are reflected by the chords that they are wearing students who belong to the following groups please stand and be recognized students in the top 10 percent [Applause] air force junior rotc student government slash student council french honor society
020german honor society [Applause] international thespian society national honor society quill and scroll spanish honor society speech and debate and finally unified sports i recognize that there are two speeches that remain between now and your diplomas so i thank you for your patience and i promise my remarks will be brief in designing a speech that is about two minutes long it ceases to be a speech and becomes more set of bullet points of advice so with that first piece of advice be skeptical of adults offering unsolicited advice i don't know that i've ever addressed a group with a better understanding of this simple message appreciate what you have because nothing is guaranteed treasure the moments treasure the moments you have with those that you cherish rather than lamenting opportunities lost relish the gorgeous sunset rather than
021bemoaning the end of the day find beauty in who you are and never conform to some arbitrary definition of beauty provided by someone else marinate in moments of joy savor the splendid know that you are loved look around seriously look around in any direction that you look you will find that this place radiates love none of you accomplished this alone so be generous with your gratitude enrich the world with kindness may your humility always exceed your pride know that you are special you were born in the shadow of 9 11 graduating in what we hope is the twilight of a global pandemic few generations in recent history can claim similar 18-year bookend events and while you carry the same brilliance and kindness and generosity as all of your predecessors you boast a unique record of
022grit and determination and perseverance that no living generation can claim your walk across the stage tonight is less about mastery of academic content than a testament to all that you have overcome when you leave here tonight as viking alumni carry the tools that you collected the characteristics developed confident that in the face of adversity we fight on should obstacles emerge we fight on and in quiet moments of doubt we fight on sunny slope graduates whatever tomorrow may bring fight on it is my privilege at this moment to introduce our governing board member miss lara arrita miserita began serving the glendale union high school district as a governing board member in january of 2021 she is a first generation glendale high school and phoenix college graduate who earned an associate degree in global business ms arita
023and her husband are proud parents of two elementary aged children and a glendale high school senior she is an employee for the glendale elementary school district and has served as an active volunteer for the glendale and phoenix communities since the mid-1990s please welcome governing board member laura arrita good afternoon principal jonathan parker distinguished faculty 2021 graduates and honor guests my name is laura arita and i serve as a member of the governing board for the glendale union high school district as a glendale union high school district graduate i am truly it is truly a pressure to be here and i am so very honored to address the graduating class of 2021 from sunny slope high school i would like to begin with offering my sincere congratulations first to the parents who have raised these young
024adults to value their learning and who have supported their teens during their time in school you have put in a heroic effort to get your graduate to this point in their life second to the faculty and staff of sunny slope high school who have dedicated themselves to ensuring success for all students who have walked the campus of shs your commitment has played an important role in their education finally to you the graduates of this class you did it your hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed especially during an academic year where you face adversity and challenges a year where we all had to make adjustments to our daily lives that we can never have imagined however through all these adjustments you persevered and continued doing what was necessary to ensure you would make it
025to this day and here you are getting ready to launch to a new beginning a beginning that allows you to apply the knowledge that you have gained in the last four years to become the person that you want to be whether you choose to attend a major university a community college a trade school join the military or jump right into the workforce we know you are prepared to take that next important step as you move forward in your journey express thanks to the families and those who have gained guided you i'm sorry guided you along the way on behalf of other members of the gu hsd governing board please know that we are inspired by you we are proud of you and wish you a successful future congratulations class of 2021 before we begin the
026next portion i will ask your cooperation as student names are read every student and every family deserves to celebrate this moment please refrain from whistling yelling or extended noises that would interfere with the next graduates moment thank you for your cooperation it is my pleasure as principal of sunny slope high school to certify that these students have met the requirements for graduation as set forth by the state of arizona in the glendale union high school district board member lara rita i present to you the graduating class of one miserita i respectfully request that you accept these graduates and that you and ms mosquito confer diplomas to them as a member of the governing board of the glendale union high school district and by the authority vested in me by the constitution and loss of the
027state of arizona i accept and confirm that the sunny slope high school class of 2021 has met the requirements for graduation mr parker please present the graduates to receive their diplomas [Applause] [Music] [Applause] maxwell james layman margaret renee sinclair kiara dasha joshua elliott martin stephen michael baramunti peyton robert fox marty flores emma lorraine swanton daniel martinez mary elizabeth zimmerman cynthia de la caridad garcia eleanor lillian mchugh devin james barbour samantha ava parker arcelli garcia hernandez ariana dominique colossimo [Music] [Applause] michael andrew leonard peter james ing antonio de jesus lily catherine zello nubia cristal aguirre mendoza eston james brower dominic john king [Music] sophia grace lovesie suzette adams tate zakari bhatti rosvaldo hernandez castillo emmeline karen bond avery ann chambers adam joseph buskirk alexander william castle action caitlyn ann mccarthy mackenzie gene banks [Music] david robert
028singh [Music] vasumanakrama kylie rose gilbride kendra brianne crowe dylan joseph lipschitz jordan james earhart don marie heatherly mariah janita limly caleb michael burbank umberto ariano rodriguez [Music] reagan victoria gentry [Music] jasmine esquivious [Music] jacob barkley belkin kenneth alexandra lindstrom flores jacqueline marie noelani ulysses acosta alana wells stone alina michaela ariola isabelle tract hyzer [Music] ethan christopher rose nathaniel coyote juarez avery luna kronholm jocelyn cruz rodriguez coulter gerald nizotzky ty minley dylan denise brownell [Music] victoria willis jennifer cruz morales haddad owies dean [Applause] jackson richard carr kayli lynn brown [Music] vanessa de la toba fajardo rhys ella brown brian alejandro ayala tafoya jaden samantha thompson [Music] crystal guevara diaz angela maria santana torres henry carson kriegbaum amber lynn coleman samantha elaine light rachel marie crait maxwell harris king kylie berlin stanky solano rose hernandez isabel nicole
029del orco isaac anthony homerick mia drusilla fairing sophia madeleine fabiano sofia saldana mariano john william ellis sophia l collins jaden o'clock ashley noriega galvan [Music] braden victor fairmon cindy navadliskas sophia ella falmouth aurora dawn michael caceres connor riley bayless jacob andrew moore gia michael garcia melissa amira doleman ramirez munoz [Music] francisco galvan hernandez martinez jennifer samantha pacillas sean michael armenta daniel teresa valencia aguilar michelle lyanna jung jessica danielle dary mandap kenny burrell bowman [Music] kevin francisco soto caitlin nicole coleman alondra michelle ornelas eric charles kruger alberto sanabria gonzalez sydney ray graves jennifer melissa perez finnegan paige dame guadalupe ortiz brian bernando gonzalez castro tristan dean murray [Applause] alexa arenas gonzalez andy espinosa jeffrey oliver morris patricia lisette chica rania valerio martinez beatrice guadalupe estrada [Music] brian angel ramirez jason damian diaz mata brianna susana soto
030ellen enriquez sophia isabella cortez jairo ariel flores guerrero [Music] hey emmanuel vasquez donovan francis dizon jessica esmeralda al husseini kevin alexis ramirez medina josiah adam coburn maria valenzuela michael emiliano pimentel caitlyn ladon askew [Music] lopez antonia anna bachake mariana rose rangel schultz esteban [Music] ariana skylar aqui jocelyn guadalupe nunez rocio noel cruz lopez randy hector nava sanchez [Applause] [Music] david espinosa sarissa jolene mendoza christian elizabeth france laura oakley thomas wells daniel james tunnel jenna brynn davis ariana teresa molera samuel joel joe calderon axel ian valancourt grace patricia pertoncino eden nishama wine gwyneth reese daves macarthur spear pangborn adam brian doherty aaron rachel snyder daisy hernandez ellis omar mendoza castro jake hayden grunwald [Applause] [Music] xavier albert preciado caitlyn nicole larian rose marie wiesinger saiser alexander chacon castaneda daniel monsonares andrea garcia olate david guadalupe bernan
031lopez luis angel lopez de la cruz daisy benito mata michael childs yariela pargasfarias [Music] fernando morales danielle alejandro perez gaspar elijah peter belmonte antonia marie pena diana garcia nicholas frank spellman miguel jared jaime aaliyah ann simmons connie abigail gomez orvina victoria jane north benjamin espinoza [Applause] ashley reyna camacho hugh william finlay [Music] alexis mendoza castro jasmine guadalupe luna vasquez jennifer ring sosa wig isaac brown [Music] junius ramirez [Applause] [Music] jude and cenas eric oswaldo rafael sophia marianne dunsworth [Music] kaya heaven austin elliott burns brandon yair santiso ramirez emily rochelle day jackson christopher adkins jonathan urias corrales heather marie cunningham [Music] valerie zareth sablado grady scott lewis desmond mason woods [Music] serena marie arnold christina caitlin villa senor gonzalez dylan michael cohen angel ramirez annabella rose gonzalez claudia liliana vargas vega david nicholas billy mitchell ossiler
032[Applause] [Music] elijah iverson alexander matthew duncan ross madison ray hunter mandy natalie perez gavin paul acosta miles solomon raymond quincy elaine ludwig isabella velasquez torres bennett busker trevor patrick snodgrass peyton grace purcell ashley lynn vandersey kade hilker seamus woodward simmons kennedy faith archer julia julia marie vega mitchell john kosovec [Applause] ashton michael clark your cue [Music] lauren emily gross [Music] megan and ward aiden connor lingenfelter christian jorge turner macy jane brown [Music] [Applause] hannah richmond rocco joseph conti benjamin mack tiffany abby elizabeth sievert nico master antoino jonas atien skyler garcia reed avery ortega taylor marissa han diego adan rodriguez spencer john hofstein lindsay jasmine rosas isabella emily losada lola bell russell finn barrett buckner drew mckay morrison kyla quinn inman priscilla adriana macias hernandez ethan wesley krantz brandon michael troupe avery noel crons trinity marie
033thompson ryan joseph de beninetti samuel puckett yancey olivia simone cavazos [Applause] hannah marie stevens henry james keeler [Music] joshua john zachariah zamora asia hope romano [Applause] aliana maria martinez romero [Applause] dylan j mitchell parker powell williams ariana yvette bella maria walker jordan henry gonzalez delfino ramirez morales paisley and beatrice poole [Applause] liliana catherine abrams artemius noah sanchez richard quite angel damien mourinho [Music] alden danielle lucia gear emma caitlin perez brian dillon burr eli daniel shocker kathleen he young geary alexia iman scott [Music] seth michael brenton stefan brabette therian ashley corrina galaxia rivera [Music] caitlyn mary ruck fabian luria riley paul mansfield gretchen elizabeth kellner catherine grace ramella ryan oscar cunanan anthony alexander monge cloy duran lila bell o'dowd calvin thomas of us isaiah emmanuel ventura kendall chandler dooley [Music] kirsten alexandria schmidt claudio lopez bautista
034[Music] dylan thomas shillington lila francis langdon benderette [Music] [Applause] alyssa may milham edgar alejandro ho cole marlon jeffrey whitfield amber nicole leighton simone ray mcmanus-sanchez jason avila roman [Applause] marshall williams mary paulino lopez gutierrez esmeralda avila roman maggie dean bacon stephanie michelle paso duarte jorge isaac garcia [Applause] miles andrew turley wendy jimenez cruz [Music] katie maria tovar jeremy arnold gutierrez [Music] cody james weathersby [Music] trinity rose marie galindo angelica bradley montalvo william michael amaro [Applause] [Music] [Applause] nathan lee wagner angelique calderon brian alberto flores aguirre [Music] christopher ramirez abigail almada [Music] lupe moreno felix rj lipka [Applause] eileen perez rios jacques patrick dame jaren enrique gonzalez michelle guadalupe reyes [Music] pedro hernandez solis he ran garcia felix ruffina osorio hernandez [Music] [Applause] melissa fernandez palacios [Music] uriah short timothy scott madison [Applause] guadalupe perez sanchez
035[Music] giovanna lopez valdez javier rodriguez lopez [Music] adrian thiel louise lims lindsey ryan wall alberto gutierrez cruz tanner joseph romero austin travis hamilton enzo arlen tenard [Music] jennifer cuevas brianne emma osborne [Music] [Applause] garcia quintero ainsley skye orozco colin michael hooper [Music] gustavo [Applause] [Music] sebastian mcintyre kits artem mcgurgey shamira priscilla contreras [Music] ashley daisy velador jordan mary elise gilbert alyssa renee james evelyn damaris kovan diaz savion loris clark james paul hartnett vanessa denise rodriguez alice and campos [Music] elizabeth nicole navarro wendy natividad robles juarez [Music] autumn breeze valentine gage alexander lambert deviant deshaun ashlock dalila mayo maria ilana shields [Applause] jennifer jacqueline bravo flores claudia rodriguez pasulto nolan stephen curtis nini pasha [Music] christopher lee dixon jr trey joseph falk candace olivia oliver [Music] malia janae johnson mitchell eden grace street [Applause] jake why
036is your eddie ali phaedra green ramirez andy jane rose jasmine deleon perez lindsay marie schubert leslie segovia aguilar [Applause] [Music] elizabeth alicia martinez lopez reagan nicole nicely janai yari mckee kelly pierce aaliyah olsen chloe madison perron is muhammad delaney brennan estrella maloney [Applause] [Music] sora rasheed eliana bronte taylor fernanda isabel rodriguez madrigal [Music] madeleine virginia wall [Music] daniel valeria rivera miranda [Music] nicole yarelli orozco valdes katie sarko aiden sheamus terry satowski [Applause] [Music] guests during the recessional please remain in your seats until all graduates have enjoyed the opportunity to exit the floor you will meet your graduates outside the arena once they have picked up their diplomas graduates at this time will you please stand [Applause] before we depart we have one last order of business graduates please move your tassels from right to left
037congratulations class of 2021. [Music] [Applause] [Music] we are now beautiful [Music] [Applause] [Music] give me your son