San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Nipomo and Shandon celebrate graduating classes

Friday marked another night full of pomp and circumstance as four more San Luis Obispo County high schools celebrated graduation.

San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Nipomo and Shandon high schools each held commencement ceremonies on Friday evening.

Central Coast New Tech High School in Nipomo was set to celebrate its grads Saturday morning.

San Luis Obispo High School

San Luis Obispo High School celebrated its 389 graduating seniors in a ceremony at Holt Stadium on Friday evening.

“In times of difficulty, let us remember those bonds we have formed, the support we have received and the strength we have found within ourselves,” graduate Gavin Wren said at the Friday ceremony. “This is a class I have watched embrace, love and appreciate one another. So let us recognize the lessons learned during our time together, knowing that we are capable of overcoming anything in our way.”

Erin Chae was valedictorian, and Emily Pan was salutatorian.

More than $350,000 in local scholarships were awarded to 150 seniors. Aidan Maples was awarded the Cal Poly Army ROTC scholarship.

Of the graduating students, 62 are going to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, 42 to University of California schools, 28 to private universities and 36 to out-of-state public schools.

Another 152 students are going to Cuesta College and other community colleges, while six are set to go straight into the workforce, four are undecided, three are enlisting in the U.S. military and nine are taking a gap year.

Paso Robles High School

Paso Robles High School had 387 students graduate during a commencement ceremony at its War Memorial Stadium on Friday evening.

Of those students, 206 plan to attend Cuesta College, 13 plan to attend other two-year colleges.

Another 63 Paso Robles High grads will attend a California State University school — 19 of which will go to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo — 34 plan to attend a UC, and 45 a private university.

A total of 31 Paso Robles grads are enlisting in the military: seven in the U.S. Army, two in the U.S. Navy, 11 in the U.S. Air Force, nine in the U.S. Marines and two in the state and national guards.

The school’s valedictorian was Olivia Wright, earning a 4.84 total weighted grade-point average. She will attend Saint Mary’s College of California.

Miguel Muniz and Gwenyth Lemon were co-salutatorians, both earning 4.8 GPAs.

“Thank you ChatGPT for writing the speech,” Lemon joked during the ceremony. ““It is an honor to be standing here as your co-salutatorian. I used to not know how to spell or say ‘salutatorian,’ but I’ve come a long way since Tuesday.”

On a more serious note, Lemon thanked fellow students, the faculty and family.

“I would especially like to express my gratitude for our principal Mr. Overton, our counselor Mrs. Thompson, and also my parents Beth and Justin for getting me where I am today — speaking in front of a crowd in matching, really unflattering garments,” Lemon said.

Muniz will attend UC Berkeley while Lemon will attend Colorado School of Mines.

During the ceremony, Muniz promised to keep the speech short and sweet: “Mom, dad — thank you.”

Nipomo High School

At Nipomo High School’s stadium on Friday evening, 190 graduates celebrated earning their diplomas.

Lauren Boersma, Kayden Sanders and Joe Hunt were named the school’s valedictorians. Boersma will attend Cal Poly in the fall, while Sanders will attend University of the Redland and Hunt will go to UC San Diego.

Of those graduating from Nipomo High School, 11 will attend Cal Poly, 23 Cuesta College, 75 Allan Hancock College and 43 other four-year universities.

Three Nipomo grads will enlist in the Army and one in the Air Force.

About $163,750 was awarded to 33 seniors.

They included Ahtziry Lemus who earned $32,000 over four years from the Northern California Scholarship Foundation, and Joseph Hunt, who received $20,000 for the Towru Kobara Scholarship for Engineering from the Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County.

Shandon High School

At Shandon High School, 16 graduates were honored in a commencement ceremony Friday evening.

Cadence Guizar was named valedictorian, earning a 3.79 GPA. Guizar will go to Southern Oregon University.

Jovani Ramirez was named salutatorian. He earned a 3.77 GPA and will attend Cuesta College.

Of Shandon High’s graduates, 13 will go to Cuesta College, one to Fresno State, one to Allan Hancock College and one to Southern Oregon University.

Another grad will enlist in the military.