San Clemente High School Class of 2025
BY ANGELICA ESCOBAR
The June 5 graduation ceremony for San Clemente High School’s Class of 2025 was one to remember, as thousands packed into Thalassa Stadium to celebrate the school’s 61st commencement.
It was the first for new principal Dr. Brad Baker, a 1996 SCHS graduate himself, who introduced student speakers and proud parents along with other local officials.
“I once sat where you now sit. I dreamed the same big dreams,” Baker said during his address.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Dr. Brad Baker, SCHS Principal
Thank you to our Triton teachers and to our 2025 SCHS Teacher of the Year and the OC Teacher of the Year., Mrs. Erin Bro, for leading today’s processional. Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Brad Baker, and I’m honored to serve as the principal of San Clemente High School. It is my great pleasure to welcome you to our 61st commencement ceremony. Today, we gather here to celebrate the remarkable Class of 2025. We are grateful to be joined by parents, families, friends, and members of our community as we honor this exceptional group of graduates.
To begin our ceremony, please join me in welcoming the Class of 2025 as our Principal’s Honor Orchestra, under the direction of Mr. Tony Soto, performs “Pomp and Circumstance.” emente community, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to the remarkable class of 2024.
PRINCIPAL’S SPEECH: Dr. Brad Baker, SCHS Principal Welcome, Triton families, friends, teachers, staff, and most importantly, the San Clemente High School Class of 2025. I’m honored to stand before you today. I’ve had the privilege of serving as your principal this year—but I’m also a proud Triton alum. I crossed this very stage as part of the Class of 1996. Now, nearly 30 years later, I return with deep pride to watch YOU—this next generation of Tritons—take your place in our school’s incredible legacy. As I reflect, I think about how much has changed ... and what has stayed the same. In 1996, there were no smartphones. We had pagers and pay phones. You share Spotify playlists—we shared CDs. You stream Netflix—we wandered the aisles at Blockbuster. To share a photo, we had to wait a week for the film to develop. And “group chats”? Those were handwritten notes folded into wild shapes and passed in class. There was no Canvas. No Enriching Students. We waited at the mailbox, hoping to grab our report card before our parents did. But some things haven’t changed. The connection between students and staff. The roar of the Loud Crowd on Friday nights still shakes the stadium. The friendships, the laughter, the pep rallies, senior sunrise ... they’re still here.
Class of 2025—you’ve grown up in a world we couldn’t have imagined in 1996. You’ve navigated uncertainty, technology, and global change with courage and heart. You’ve shown us what it means to lead with resilience and compassion.
“And while the road ahead may twist and turn, know this: You are prepared.”
Baker reflected on how much had changed since his own graduation—like pay phones, handwritten notes, and trips to Blockbuster—but celebrated the lasting traditions of Triton pride and connection.
The first commencement speaker and Scholar of Scholars, Macey Punak, was followed by Emma Barbernell and Sofia Trevisan, each of whom delivered personal and heartfelt messages to their fellow graduates.
As you prepare to walk across this stage, remember: Change will continue. Life will challenge you. But your values, your character, and your relationships—those will anchor you. You are ready. Ready to lead. Ready to make a difference.
From one Triton to another … I once sat where you now sit. I dreamed the same big dreams. And while the road ahead may twist and turn, know this: You are prepared. Prepared to lift others, to chase greatness, and to live with kindness and purpose. Your story is just beginning. Write it boldly. Carry the spirit of San Clemente High School with you—always. Congratulations, Class of 2025. We are proud of you. We believe in you. And we can’t wait to see what you’ll do next. Go, Tritons!
First commencement speaker and Scholar of Scholars, Macey Punak
Thank you, Dr. Baker. To all the teachers and faculty who helped us arrive at this point today, thank you. We are lucky to have so many dedicated and passionate people supporting us. To my friends, thank you. You make everyday brighter. I wouldn’t be up here today without all of you. And to my parents, thank you for providing your unwavering support, for encouraging and believing in me even when I didn’t really believe in myself.
This year, we read TheBellJarin AP Lit, but in case you didn’t, there’s a moment early on where the main character, Esther, is thinking about her future. She says, “I saw my life branching out before me like a green fig tree … and from the tip of every branch, like a purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked.” Now the book is pretty dark, and Esther gets stuck there, frozen by indecision, unable to pick any one future — because that would mean giving up the rest.
When I read this for the first time, my only thoughts were “Oh, God, I hope that doesn’t happen to me!—but it did. For those of you who know me personally, you know I’ve been set on becoming a doctor for quite a while now. In fact, only this fall, as we were submitting college applications, did I begin to question my choice. I mean what if I do all this work, go all the way to med school, only to discover I hate it? What if, by the time I get there, I realize I actually wanted something else? What if I regret it?
I don’t think I’m the only one of us who felt like this. Moving into a phase of life where everything is up to us is terrifying. Exciting and wonderful, yes, but also terrifying.
Now I’m a nerd, through and through, so it shouldn’t be surprising that when I needed something concrete and reliable, I defaulted to science. In biology, there’s a phenomenon known as phototropism, which is where trees don’t grow straight up, but instead, they bend and curve to grow toward the light. Sometimes, this results in whole forests that grow crooked and sideways, or fully change direction before they find the sun. And this might be a sign that I need to get out more, but looking at these trees was really comforting. I saw that, despite how they started, or where they were planted, they never gave up. They always found another option, another path, to the light.
It reminded me of this George Eliot quote that goes: “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” I realized Esther got stuck because she believed moving forward required her to cut away the rest of her choices—but she was wrong. In reality, nothing is preventing us from changing direction, bending, trying something new or trying something different—nothing is stopping us … except maybe ourselves.
So if, right now, you know what you want to do, who you want to be, for the rest of your life—congratulations. But if you don’t, welcome to the club. It’s normal to be unsure; it’s normal to not know where you’ll end up or what you want “forever” to look like. But by no means let uncertainty stop you from moving forward, from growing, even if it’s only a little bit every day.
Regardless of your experiences over the last four years, we will always be rooted here, intertwined with this place and with these people. But starting today, we will begin to grow in our direction. Take your time, explore, change direction—multiple times if you need to—but keep growing. Eventually, you will reach your light.
Second Speaker: Emma Barbernell, who was selected by a panel of staff members to deliver a farewell speech to the senior class:
White-and-navy-striped Tweety Bird overalls, red Converse and a new smile I was just getting used to after getting my braces off a few days before. That’s what I wore as I walked in the doors of San Clemente
High School on the first day of ninth grade, awkward yet confident, unsure of where the next four years would lead me. I had a narrow vision of my future. School was my fashion show: it wasn’t about grades or getting involved. But that changed dramatically over the course of four years here. Thanks to my teachers, especially Mrs. Bennett, classmates, and camera, I started to realize everything my life could be. At first, I limited myself, but I’ll never make that mistake again.
As we all embarked collectively on our high school career, we brought with us our own perspectives. We had different experiences while we were here; maybe it was singing under the stage lights at one of our talented Drama productions, writing for the school newspaper or taking pictures for the yearbook, being a part of one of our league champ athletic teams, or taking advantage of the trade programs offered on campus like culinary, ceramics, or auto shop.
Some things we do have in common: (pause) going to In-N-Out after a football game or event, watching Mr. Bisch and Mr. Krough fight to the death in dodgeball during a spirit assembly, freshman orientation, a Bagel Shack outing followed by T-Street, or a walk down Del Mar passing by teachers, friends or me dipping ice cream bars at South Swell. All a part of our shared home by the beach. When I think about leaving our home, I think about the doors I’m stepping out of, but better yet the spaces I’m walking into. Even if I’m a little late, just like the times I walked through Mr. Popovich’s door for zero period.
I’m sure many of us don’t think about the doors we walk in and out of on a daily basis. Did you think about the doors of the aux gym as we just walked out onto the football field for the final time we’ll all be together as a class?
Now, the doors we once walked through here are closed, but just imagine all of the new ones that are waiting for us to open in the next chapter of our lives. Some may be blocked by obstacles, some may lead us to a place we don’t expect. But you never know where a different door may lead you: a new field of study, relationship or passion. Let each door be an opportunity to learn, grow, and expand our
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horizons.
I know we are all impatient to begin our next steps, but next time you walk through your door, take a second to reflect on where it has led you and where you might go. We are the future. We have the power to work together toward unity and equality for all. In times of hardship, I want you all to remember what you already achieved through perseverance. I urge you all to welcome new perspectives. Let’s embrace the art of thinking independently together. Ultimately, our strength will reside in our differences as well as our similarities.
As author Daniel Keyes once said, “There are so many doors to open. I am impatient to begin.”
Third Speaker: Sofia Trevisan, who was also selected by a panel of staff members to deliver a farewell speech to the senior class:
Everyone’s journey begins with a dream, a dream so full of passion that it opens doors to opportunities we never imagined. As a Mexican in the United States, life has opened many doors: like having the courage to stand up here and speak to all of you. We have all experienced challenges … but waiting for things to change is not enough to make a difference. If you want to see a difference, you must be resilient, adapt to change, and find the courage to knock on every single door that is just waiting for you to be open.
Like it was yesterday, I remember stepping on a
plane carrying nothing but hope, a small suitcase that held 15 years of my life built in Mexico, and a head full of questions. I arrived in San Clemente High School as a junior with no friends, no clue how the school system worked, and my basic level of English that I learned in second grade. I wasn’t just starting at a new school, I was starting a new life.
I believe this should be a superpower.
Since the day we were born, we all have had special people in our life. They offered their love in many ways: friends who stuck by your side when you were struggling, a teacher who believed in you, or coworkers that helped you in difficult moments. As for me, I wouldn’t have the courage necessary if it wasn’t for my parents. All of their sacrifices and their unwavering love and belief in me reminds me everyday that I’m never alone on this journey. We all need to hold on to that love and never take it for granted because that’s what makes home a special place.
I know there are other parents here who are still learning English like my mom, so this is for you:
Muchaspersonassolovenlossacrificiosque haceunocomohijoperoselesolvidaquedetrásde unhijoexitosohayunpersonaquesacrificótodolo queteníaparaapoyarasuhijoalograrsussueño, Graciasmamaportodoloquehacesdíaadíaquees untrabajoquenoseveperocomocansa,hoyhago estoporti.
I won’t say I was brave; that wouldn’t be true. No one is ever truly prepared to start a new life. I felt that every door was closed, I missed home; well, I still do. But as the days passed, things began to make
more sense in my brain ocomomegustallamarlomi pequeñocerebrito mexicano. The same way I overcome all those obstacles that led me here, everyone is more than capable to fight fear and follow the path that will take you to your dream life.
Things happen for a reason; it is not always what we expect or what we want is what we need in order to grow. Moving to a new country, a job you didn’t plan, the fear of not fitting in, the pressure for what
the future had planned but every big or small decision leads to big things. Now, we look back and we can say we made it.
Dear Class of 2025: the closed doors are waiting for you. Be brave enough to knock on every single one until you find one that truly makes you happy. Make following your dreams your superpower; don’t wait for someone else to do it for you.
For over 50 years, Capistrano Valley Christian Schools has been dedicated to providing educational excellence in a Christ-centered environment. We equip students with credentialed teachers and championship level coaches who genuinely care, ensuring they are fully prepared for life and leadership.
