Clovis seniors reflect

CLOVIS - A stream of purple poured Saturday night across the grounds of the Curry County Events Center, accompanied by a cheering audience of thousands and the Clovis High School Band's rendition of the graduation march. That stream collected in front of the stage, where 441 outgoing seniors made their last formal reflection on high school and departed less than 2 1/2 hours later as newly minted members of the CHS Class of 2019.

"You are not just anybody," Principal Jay Brady told the students. "You are all Wildcats and you will always be Wildcats."

Much of the ceremony was occupied in each individual's walk across the stage, shaking hands and smiling with their diplomas for posterity.

The proceedings opened with four student speakers addressing CHS Past, Present and Future as well as a challenge to fellow graduates.

Mario Heredia spoke to his experience immigrating to Clovis as a fourth-grader from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. His first word of English was the number "four," spoken at the age of 10. Two years later he was able to hold a conversation in English, and as a graduating senior he delivered his speech on CHS Past to a crowd that almost filled the ground and stadium seats at the events center.

"Your past, I'm sure, had its challenges as well," he said. "I'm thankful that my parents took a difficult path to have a brighter tomorrow. ... Even after all the hardship, we made it."

James Burroughes followed, encouraging his peers to not be "so caught up in what was, and could be, that we lose sight of what is in front of us."

Burroughes quoted the wisdom stated again recently by a character in the film "Kung Fu Panda:" Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.

"That's why they call it the present," he continued, exhorting the crowd to "make today ours."

Marissa Cabrera had a forecast for the future. Her message was for bravery and resilience.

"We will make mistakes. Not a few, a lot," she said. "It is time to get outside of our comfort zone. We must experience what we fear."

For the new graduates, the following days, months and years are varied: some are going to college, some straight into civilian or military work, some don't have a definite vision yet. Nobody has a crystal ball, or a guarantee of the time ahead.

"So many emotions, so many questions," said Cabrera, who closed with a quote from the actor Will Smith: "God placed the best things in life on the other side of fear."

Bailey Weiss had a similar point in her Challenge to the Class of 2019, urging them to "take the lead on (their) own lives."

"Don't change yourself for the sake of being accepted by anyone," she said. "I challenge my class of 2019 to be the truest version of you."