Surrounded by stars, glitter and balloons dancing, seniors were the stars of the show on May 30, 2019, at the annual Senior Awards Night. Accompanied by their supportive friends and family members, the Class of 2019 strode down the isles and up the steps to the stage to receive recognition for their wide variety of achievements throughout their high school careers.

Senior Advisors Justin Frazier and Melanie Lindsey welcomed the crowd into the Buena Auditorium, where the event was taking place.

They began by distinguishing the many different scholarships that were presented to students, ranging from the Ventura Unified Education Association (VUEA) all around district scholarships to more specified awards such as the“Scholastic ‘Semper Fidelis’ Award for Musical Excellence.”

According to Lindsey, around 1.4 million dollars in total scholarship money were awarded to Foothill students this year.

Next up, students who partook in specific academies, such as the first cohort of DTech seniors, Foothill Intervention, Reinforcement and Enrichment (FIRE) mentors or those who received the multilingual seal, were invited to the stage.

After students were recognized through the broader scope of academies and community service achievements, a medley of Foothill teachers, each representing certain subject areas, presented the “Dragon Hall of Fame Awards.”

The last award handed out during the night were the “Best All-Around Male/Female” honors, gifted to Abby Sourwine ‘19 and Ryan Sequeira ‘19.

Although Sequeira didn’t think he “would get that award” and that many of his “peers […] could have gotten [it],” he is “glad to represent them.”

He claimed it was a “combination of [his] four years of high school,” where he can be proud and be honored for his achievements.

Receiving this award, Sequeira believed, acted as a “self-esteem booster,” with a “symbolic way of telling [him] that [he] can set out to do what [he] wants to do.”

Leticia Cruz ‘19, who was awarded the BioScience “Hall of Fame” honor, felt that “it was great” seeing the awards night involve “people of different categories” this year.

She feels that “Foothill focuses a lot on academics,” but “involving people who maybe are doing other stuff on campus that maybe others don’t know about […] was great.”

To conclude the night, Cherie Eulau presented “The Chris Prewitt Award,” to the senior she felt most assimilated the beloved Mr. Prewitt in their “infectious enthusiasm for life.” Eulau awarded Zion Denzel ‘19, feeling that the student who was a “constant teammate and constant team builder” alike should be recognized.