Courtesy of San Benito High School:
The 650 graduates of the San Benito High School Class of 2019 who will be walking across the stage on Friday, June 7 are embarking on various post-secondary paths, from junior college to four-year universities to trade school, along with apprenticeships, entering the workforce right away, or taking a gap year.
According to surveys completed and information relayed to the SBHS College and Career Center, Cal-SOAP advisors and the school counseling team, Baler seniors received hundreds of college acceptances this year, representing no fewer than eight University of California campuses, nine California State Universities, private colleges in California and throughout the country, and a number of community colleges.
More than 20 seniors indicated they will join the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. A number of students are taking a career path, through apprenticeships, trade and technical schools, employment training centers, culinary institutes or joining the Job Corps.
Approximately 25 students plan to attend schools in the University of California system, including, Berkeley, UCLA, Santa Cruz, Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Riverside and Merced. More than 70 students are headed for California State Universities, with CSU Monterey Bay, Cal Poly and Sacramento State welcoming double-digit Baler grads and San Jose, Sonoma, Chico, Fresno, Stanislaus, Long Beach and San Francisco among the destinations.
The Class of 2019 salutatorian, Ian Sills, will attend Stanford University, and co-valedictorians Jaron Cota and Frederick Keith will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UCLA, respectively. The Baler Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Alyssa Ito and Joseph Loredo, are headed to U.C. Davis and the University of San Francisco, respectively.
Some grads are heading out of state for college, to campuses including Georgetown, Brown University, the University of Oregon, BYU, Boise State, the University of Mississippi, the University of Hawaii, Oklahoma State, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Mount Olive and the University of North Carolina.
Two students also graduated early and are attending the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Loyola Marymount and St. Mary’s are among the private schools that SBHS grads will attend and approximately 325 students plan to attend a junior college in the Fall, with Gavilan College, Monterey Peninsula College, Hartnell, Cabrillo and Cuesta among the preferred destinations.
San Benito High School Vice Principal Claire Grissom said she is proud that the Class of 2019 has so many options after high school. “I am very proud and excited to see our students go into a wide variety of avenues in pursuing their post-secondary education. It is important for us to celebrate our students equally as they pursue the passion that drives them.”
File photo from last year’s graduation courtesy of Juan Robledo and SBHS.
