Friends and the future

Dave Brooks

Below a blanket of gray clouds, Edison High School graduated its

senior class June 16 in a quaint ceremony with a theme of friendship

and the future.

About 450 seniors from the class of 2005 participated in the

afternoon ceremony at the school’s central plaza, with music provided

by the high school band and an a cappella group made up of seniors

Sean Wheeler, Alex Stephens, Monika Tayag, Monique Boustani and

Katrina Falde.

While many of the students said they would miss their friends and

favorite teachers, some said they were happy to have completed this

recent chapter in their lives.

“I’m relieved,” said Mike Jorgensen, 17, who will attend Orange

Coast College in the fall. “It’s been a long haul and I finally made

it, so I’m stoked.”

Some of Jorgensen’s best memories were competing on the surf team

and taking a high school leadership class, which helped him develop

professional skills.

Senior Annie Reuter, 18, said there was no one thing she would

particularly miss most.

“For me, it’s a lot of the stuff that happened outside of school,”

she said. “Weekends with my friends, long drives -- just general

nostalgia.”

Rueter, who plans to attend art school in Barcelona, said she was

nervous about making the transition out of high school.

“I’m kind of scared because I feel like I’m expected to do

something spectacular,” she said. “Before I had to just worry about

being a kid.”

Interim Principal John Meyers said he expected the students to

grow, just like the high school itself has grown for 35 years.

“I think from the beginning we tried to show that we could stand

on our own outside of the shadow of Huntington Beach High School,” he

said.

ASB President Mellissa Ermatinger told the hundreds of people who

crowded into the plaza to see the ceremony that graduation didn’t

mean students had to completely disconnect from Edison.

“Although we may be physically leaving Edison, our memories will

remain,” she said, adding that she’ll take away the inspiration she

gained from the school’s teachers.

“That’s something we can use much more than from a grade,” she

said.

Edison Salutatorian Diana Jaffe said she’ll always remember the

big game against rivals Fountain Valley for annual ownership of “The

Bell.” She said she always enjoyed the school pride, the rallies and

the desire to be the local winners.

“The outcome never really changed anything, but the anticipation

was always there,” she said. “If you enjoy the game while you’re

playing it, the end won’t matter very much.

Retiring social studies teacher Ken Ammann called the class of

2005 “the best graduating class ever,” and told parents “the most

meaningful thing you can say to your graduate is ‘I love you.’”