Tokay High graduates pounce on path to future
Friends and families of Tokay High seniors began staking out seats at Lodi Grape Bowl on Friday as early as two hours before the school’s graduation to ensure a front row seat to all the action.
“I got here at 5:40,” said Lodi resident Grace Rogers, adding that she would not miss seeing her daughter, Danielle Orosco, get her diploma for the world.
When the class of 2005 finally marched out onto the field, those who sat front row center realized the reward of their persistence.
More than 500 Tokay High seniors received their diplomas Friday evening along with recognition for nearly a lifetime of learning it took to get them to that night.
Hundreds of Tokay tigers, resplendent in royal purple, advanced to the center-field ceremony as gusts of wind billowed their robes and mixed gold tassels with strands of hair.
The crowd, about 1,000 strong, stood and roared as the students took their seats. Hundreds of cameras and camcorders stood still, poised to witness the advent of youth into adulthood.
“You’ve permanently left your mark on Tokay High School,” said Principal Sandstrom in his opening address.
He then likened the journey they were about to take to a maritime voyage, fraught with rough waters and obstacles. Don’t sail only in calm waters, he told the graduates, they will not make you a better sailor.
For some, like Rogers, the event was a tearful one. Luckily, she came prepared for the occasion with a box of tissue she had received from a co-worker along with a note.
“Thought you could use a little something for tonight,” it read.
Tokay mom Kori Topping said just the thought of her daughter Andra graduating got her teary eyed.
“She’s my baby,” Topping said, her smile turning into the frown that directly precedes tears.
Lodi resident Cyndi Sharp said she’s cried for the past month at the thought of her son Jersyn leaving the nest.
Despite the sentimentality of friends and families in the bleachers, most students who assembled before the event at the east side of the stadium felt more anxious than sad.
“I’m happy it’s over,” D.J. Ordaz said of his school career. “We went to school for 13 years and we only get one night to celebrate.”
Ordaz, and his friend Joseph Flores, were excited to walk in the ceremony and had even bought new dress clothes just for the occasion. But while they shared nervous anticipation, they knew their loved ones would feel the bittersweetness of the ceremony.
“I know my mom, for a fact, will cry,” Ordaz said.
“And both of my grandmothers,” Flores interjected.
To lighten the mood, Student Body President Marc Doucette made a joke of a microphone malfunction that interrupted a speech on individuality.
“Do not be driven by some predetermined notion of success,” he said after thoroughly tapping on the foamy pad of the mike. “We must as our own questions and solve our own mysteries.”
Valedictorian Ricky Gill added to the sentiment when he addressed the crowd. He encouraged his classmates to see learning as a lifelong pursuit and think in distinctive ways.
Afterward, Gina Edgerly, associated student body vice president, said she was happy to have made it through the end of the year ceremony.
While she said she would really miss those friends who would not be making the transition with her to San Joaquin Delta College, that she was at least looking forward to getting a little rest before fall.
“It’s going to be weird, but I won’t miss getting up at six in the morning every day,” Edgerly said with a triumphant laugh.
Contact reporter Sara Cardine at sarac@lodinews.com.