High School Graduation is one of our society’s major milestones. Our accomplishments, activities and many of our friendships come to an end to be replaced by a whole new set and direction in life. It’s during our class reunions in years to come that we begin to realize how profound those life changes have been.
Concentrating on the present, we asked the fourteen Valedictorians and the Salutatorians of the Soquel High School graduating class of 2015 to summarize their student careers and their plans for the future. This most special class is a very active and involved group of students with most of them taking part in competitive sports during their school careers.
Valedictorians
Alexandra Meek
Parents Brian & Susan Meek
Alexandra’s favorite subject is history and she will be attending Loyola Marymount University on a full-ride Trustee Scholarship. She writes, “At Soquel High I never felt pressured to put a label on myself, which helped me explore all of my interests and taught me that there are many different dimensions to every person and I shouldn’t judge them by just one.”
Michael (Mikey) Threet
Parents Mike & Patty Threet
Michael’s favorite high school subject was history and he will continue his education at UC Santa Barbara. In Michael’s own words, “I will move forward in life taking with me my experience of playing football for the past four years, the advice and guidance of the excellent teachers I’ve had, the support of my parents, and the privilege of growing up in Santa Cruz.”
Lauren Wood
Parents Doug & Kelly Wood
Lauren’s most important takeaway from high school is a “positive mindset and a strong sense of community.”
She also considers science as her favorite subject as she continues her scholastic endeavors as UC Berkeley.
Cade Gotthardt
Parents Richard & Kelli Gotthardt
Cade values the sense of community he found at Soquel High School. His favorite subject was music and he will be attending college at Long Beach State University.
Hannah Frankl
Parents Tom & Rachel Frankl
Hanna is heading for the Midwest to attend Wheaton College in Illinois taking with her an enjoyment of English and an appreciation of Santa Cruz and its “small town vibe.”
Joe Martin
Parents Tim & Heather Martin
Joe will miss all the connections he has made with friends and faculty at Soquel HS as he continues on to UC Berkeley. His favorite subject in high school was government.
Melissa Braun
Parents Eric Braun & Wendy Siegel
Melissa said, “I will take my track coach, Joe Miyoshi and my friends from high school with me lifelong.” Her favorite subjects at Soquel HS were Biology and English as she moves on to Occidental College
Joseph Robello
Parents Jonathan & Debby Robello
Joseph’s favor subject was math and he notes that his high school experience was learning, “The ability to succeed in very difficult subjects.” He will be continuing his education at Cabrillo College.
Samantha Gaboury
Parents Eric & Shelley Gaboury
Samantha said that from Soquel High School she would be taking an appreciation of science, her favorite subject, and “an optimistic attitude” as her academic road leads her to California State University, Chico.
Jason Chew
Parents Bill Chew-father, Phung Luong-mother, Frank Mowley-stepfather
Jason will be entering UC Santa Barbara. He writes, “I will definitely remember playing saxophone for the Soquel High School Jazz Band.” And proving the link between math and music, his favorite subject was calculus.
Salutatorians
Kyra Chamberlain
Parents Scott Chamberlain & Larissa Printzian
Kyra seems to have definite political goals as she describes, “My best moments… involved mobilizing my army of feminists in the Soquel High Feminist Club.” Kyra will be enrolling this fall at George Washington University and taking with her an appreciation of history.
Isabella Meyer
Parents Kevin & Anne Meyer
Isabella will be taking with her from Soquel HS an understanding of science and “the ability to multi-task” as she continues on to UCLA.
Hannah Thomas Pullen
Parents Ed Pullen & Mary Thomas Pullen
Hannah appreciates from her Soquel HS experience having developed, “The ability to write quickly” – which should stand her in good stead at UC Santa Barbara doing term papers – and an enjoyment of history.
Margarita Servin
Parents Sacramento & Enedina Servin
As Marganta moves on to Cabrillo College, she takes with her an appreciation and knowledge of math and science. She writes, “Santa Cruz is quite accepting … I would love to take that with me.”
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