The sound of Pomp and Circumstance has been echoing down the byways of Riverbank this past week.
One final time, on Thursday, May 29, the familiar notes ushered Riverbank High School seniors, 151 members of the Class of 2025, in to their final gathering as Bruins. The 7:30 p.m. start time helped guarantee that temperatures would be getting cooler, not hotter through the event.
Staged on the football field in Angelo Novi Stadium on the RHS campus, the layout was a bit different from years in the past. For instance, last year the graduates sat in chairs on the track surface, and the stage was set up on the grass right at the edge of the field. This year, the stage was set up in the middle of the grass field, with audience chairs, and two bleachers, on the track, in addition to the seating in the grandstand. The seniors sat in chairs on the grass in front of the stage.
An addition this year was a huge video display mounted across the back of stage, likely to help those in the audience in the grandstand so far from the stage.
A drawback, with the sun still setting as the ceremony started, it shined directly in the faces of those stationed on the stage as it did so. It also made the video screen difficult to see when it started, with a sort of recap program of seniors, that began about 7 p.m.
At 7:30 p.m., Riverbank Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Constantino Aguilar led members of the administration, school board members, teachers and graduating seniors across the grass and onto the field to the strains of that traditional graduation processional, Pomp and Circumstance.
When seated, the ensemble was led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Associated Student Body President Chantel Andalon.
RHS Principal Ed Vaca welcomed the graduates and the accompanying crowd, then Counselor Elsie Lazar announced the awards and scholarships achieved by the seniors, a listing of which was included in the printed program. She pointed out that members of the class received more than $100,000 in scholarships.
Valedictorian Hector Jimenez and Salutatorian Yumalai Duran spoke of their experiences and hopes for the future.
Principal Vaca presented the Class of 2025 as qualified to receive their diplomas, then Superintendent Aguilar accepted them, followed by the presentation of individual diplomas, by administrators and the district school board.
The board is made up of Riverbank residents, including President Ana Vigil, and members Diana Gonzalez, Elizabeth Meza, Gary Vernon, and student representative Katie L. Wedge.
The graduates mounted the stage, alternating side to side, when their names were called. Afterward, Principal Vaca had some closing remarks, then the recessional sounded as the graduates left the area.
Most gathered with parents, family and friends near the large 2025 numbers on the south end of the field.
And summer officially began for all involved.
Also last week, graduations and advancements happened throughout Riverbank, including Cardozo Middle School, California Avenue School, the Riverbank Language Academy, Mesa Verde Elementary and Crossroads Elementary in Crossroads, part of the Sylvan School District.
