As graduation looms overhead, the Class of 2024 has begun to say goodbye to their high school careers and embrace their future. To celebrate this, Foothill Technology High School’s (Foothill Tech) Associated Student Body (ASB) has planned a variety of events to congratulate the graduating seniors. To kick these events off, ASB held the annual Seniors-Only Academic Rally (SOAR) on April 17, 2024, in Spirito Hall. Organized by the Senior Cabinet Officers of ASB, SOAR recognized the graduating class with prizes, games and awards to honor those who have made an impact throughout their four years at Foothill Tech.

Decked out with banners, balloons and Star Wars decorations to fit the year’s “Lights, Camera, Action!” theme, Spirito Hall packed in all 231 graduating seniors. Each student was given a gift bag consisting of snacks, toys and a necklace, and placed into groups for the games played later in the ceremony. “As hard as senior year is … coming to school is a lot harder than you think, so having some incentives at the end of the year is really good and it adds fun to some hard times,” Rebecca Walker ‘24 said.

To commence the ceremony, teacher-nominated awards were called out with a variety of categories. The categories consisted of: the Off the Charts award, Life Long Learners, Most Inspirational students, Hidden Gems, “Makes Class Tick” and Teachers Choice award. Each reward granted the student recognition for participation in the classroom and their remarkable behavior and attitude with a certificate of achievement.

“It’s important to celebrate people for all they did the past four years,” Angelina Hernandez ‘24, ASB Senior Class Vice President, said.

Amidst the heartfelt rewards were given out to seniors, ASB students set up games led by Melanie “Captain” Lindsey in between award announcements. Split into four “Star Wars” themed groups, the dragons loudly cheered with excitement as they encouraged their peers on.

The next rewards consisted of the National Honors Society (NHS) awards for seniors who participated in the club during their time at Foothill Tech, given to Isheeta Pal ‘24, Nisha Reddy ‘24, Lola Tennison ‘24 and Ashley Brown ‘24. This meant that they participated in meetings, maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher and participated in a minimum of 15 community service hours, represented by a white cord.

The California Scholarship Federation (CSF) cords were then given out, certifying students as “Life Members” of the association. CSF is a membership that is applied to every semester of high school and earned based on grades. Students who achieved this membership all four semesters between semester two of sophomore year and semester two of senior year are rewarded with a special graduation cord, a seal on each student’s diploma and the title of “Life Member.” This award also allows more access to scholarships in the state of Calif. for those moving on to a university.

Community service rewards were given to the dragons who had participated in more than 15 hours of volunteer service. The rewards ranged from Silver, Gold, Platinum and Ruby to acknowledge numerous hours of voluntary work Dragons had done for the community.

Next, the Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude awards were given to students with exceptional grades. The Magna Cum Laude award was given to students with a GPA of 4.0 to 4.3, and the Summa Cum Laude award was given to students with a GPA of 4.4 or higher.

After the array of awards were presented to the students, a raffle prize was won by Skyler Chaffey ’24 for a free prom ticket, and the excitement for the seniors had just begun. The Class of 2024 reflected on their futures with the end of their senior year just around the corner.

“There’s mixed emotions … it’s exciting to move onto a new chapter and go off to college but it’s also kind of nerve-racking,” Adler Swierkocki ‘24 stated, “It [the awards ceremony] was … a good way to start the end of our senior year.”

To conclude the afternoon of recognition, the seniors migrated to the quad to toast to their achievements with apple cider and cupcakes, and a graduation gown signed by all seniors was given to Erik Sanchez Moreno ‘24 for his commitment to various ventures at Foothill Tech. As the event came to a close, students Walker, Diego Flores Orozco ‘24 and Reddy made passionate speeches, ending with the Class of 2024 dragons cheering to their senior year of high school.