Sacred Heart Preparatory Graduates Its 128th Class

Sacred Heart Preparatory (SHP) awarded 157 diplomas at its 128th high school commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 21, on Gator Nation Field.

 

Graduates from the Class of 2026 will attend at least 74 different institutions: at least 68 students will study in California, 88 will study out of state, and one will study out of the country. One graduate will commit to serving the country by enrolling at the U.S. Military Academy. Three will pursue a gap year, one will attend a vocation/trade school, and two will attend California community colleges.

 
For 20 consecutive years, SHP’s athletics program has sent 15 or more student-athletes to play at the intercollegiate level. The Class of 2026 will send 25 athletes to play in college across 11 different sports.

Thirty members of the graduating class have been on the preschool – grade 12 Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) campus for 12 or more years.

At the ceremony, diplomas were presented by Marnie Marcin, chair of the Board of Trustees; Richard A. Dioli, director of schools; Jorge Reyes, assistant principal, curriculum and academics; and Jason Armstrong, assistant principal for athletics. Dioli gave remarks along with SHP Principal Dr. Jennie Whitcomb, valedictorian Oskar Herlitz, salutatorian Marcus To, and faculty speaker Armando del Rio.

Preceding the commencement, a traditional Honors Convocation and Graduation Mass, presided over by Fr. John Whitney, took place on Gator Nation Field on Wednesday, May 20. Following a century-old school tradition, "Blue Ribbons" were awarded to select students, nominated by the faculty and ratified by the administration. Blue Ribbons are the highest honor given by SHS to graduating seniors and reflect outstanding achievement in academics and standards of character in the fulfillment of one or more of the school's guiding Goals & Criteria.

Graduates receiving a Light Blue Ribbon, for embodiment of a particular Goal and its criteria, were awarded to:

Victoria Battistini, Matthew Bowers, and Charlotte Butcher for Goal I: A personal and active faith in God;

Kieran Armstrong and Brooke Soderbery for Goal II: A deep respect for intellectual values;

Diana Caamal and Daniela Villalobos Pedroza for Goal III: A social awareness which impels to action;

Monserrat Avalos Franco and Charles Van Dyke for Goal IV: The building of community as a Christian value;

Patrick Boesen and Miguel William Espinosa for Goal V: Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.

Andre Freccia, Peyton Fu-Sarosa, and Robert Duke Tom each received a Dark Blue Ribbon, for embodiment of all five Goals of a Sacred Heart education.

Other notable academic achievements are the five students – David Edelman, Jaiden Ghumman, Ario Hamrah, Brooke Soderbery, and Katherine Ware – who earned recognition as National Merit Scholarship finalists. Another 20 students received recognition as commended students.

With college choices ranging from public and private institutions large and small, the Class of 2026 shows a breadth of interests in its future academic goals. Students plan to pursue programs as wide ranging as STEM, visual and performing arts, humanities, social sciences, media production, business, and more.

In closing, valedictorian Oskar Herlitz said the following to the Class of 2026, “I beg you to build a life so vast and alive that fear can no longer shrink it. I beg you to protect the child in you that still looks at the world with those wonderstruck eyes and prove those scientists wrong. And when the world tells you to become smaller, safer, more certain, I beg that you continue reaching anyway... fear nothing and stand in awe of everything."