High school graduation day: Gunn grads talk about their experiences

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Four student speakers gave a window into life at Gunn High School during yesterday’s graduation ceremonies, and their experiences ranged from one filled with extracurriculars to a senior year with a whopping 183 absences.

“If I’m being really honest, I actually only had braces (in my) freshman year, not all four, and I don’t have bi-weekly acupuncture appointments,” speaker Evan Gold said, coming clean about his 183 “doctor’s appointments.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Madison Yue talked about crying in chemistry lab her sophomore year, dancing in a sports rally her junior year and choreographing a winning performance in the annual “airbands” competition her senior year.

Yue was also the chair of a student equity committee that held all-day training sessions about race, and she wrote about sensitive topics in the student newspaper, the Oracle.

“When you’re a part of something larger, you will gain a multitude of perspectives on life and the world around you,” she told the graduating class.

Teachers honored Yue and fellow student Katie Ruff with the Faculty Cup Award, which is given to two standout students rather than honoring a valedictorian based solely on academics.

Student Jack Poon talked about finding his voice in high school. While other boys’ voices got deeper in middle school, Poon said his voice was nasally with more intonation than others. 

Other students made fun of Poon for having a “gay voice,” he said, but he met a friend during freshman year who had a similar experience and wouldn’t take an insult. 

That friend inspired Poon to stand up for himself too, he said.

Since then, Poon said his voice has been loud, whether he’s yelling out directions as a volleyball coach or announcing homecoming results to the entire student body.

“Our voices can and do have power, whether we like it or not. A single word can break a friend group apart, or a compliment can make someone’s day,” he said.

A total of 433 graduates walked across the stage on Gunn’s football field last night.

Student Juni Kim said she felt like a part of the background in her early years of high school, and she spent countless hours online trying to find herself.

“In the pursuit of self-actualization, I think I became a robot,” she said. But after a choir concert, a mentor told Kim that her expression had captivated the audience. 

Kim said that comment changed her outlook on life, as she was never great at singing or school work.

“The expression in my eyes and the glow in my face wasn’t going to go on my resume, but in that moment, singing in that choir: That’s who I am,” she said.