Defined by resilience

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman
California National Guard Public Affairs

June 15, 2021

PERRIS, Calif. – After more than a year apart, attending classes via computer instead of in classroom, California Military Institute seniors gathered one final time June 4 for an in-person high school graduation ceremony made possible as the state prepares to re-open during the weakening COVID-19 pandemic.

"They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," principal Dr. I. Nicholas Milosavljevic told the class of 117 graduates seated before him on the Perris High School football field. "You sure made a lot of lemonade this year."

Milosavljevic praised the students' resiliency as their classes abruptly moved online in March 2020 and continued that way through their senior year.

"You truly are a class that knows how to put a positive spin on difficult situations," he said, noting the students' embrace of relaxed attire and grooming standards as they attending classes from home instead of in their uniforms on campus.

Cadet Samantha Duran, the class salutatorian, acknowledged how tough the year had been, but added "everyone is really tired of hearing that."

"This year wasn’t what any of us expected our last year of high school to be like, and I don’t know if I loved it or hated it," she said.

Valedictorian Jesse Areliz is one of 22 graduates who enrolled at CMI in fifth grade and stayed through graduation.

"It’s crazy to think I’ve spent almost half my life in one school," he said of eight years spent on the Perris campus a couple miles from the graduation site.

Areliz, now a cadet staff sergeant, said senior year was different than he thought it would be, but he's thankful for how it is ending.

"We didn’t get to spend time together, have many senior activities or a normal senior year," he said. "But we are grateful to be here and celebrate the most important tradition there is in high school which is a physical graduation ceremony, walk the stage in front of our families, turn our tassels together and take pictures."

Last year's seniors were not as lucky, he said.

"This is something the Class of 2020 didn’t get to have, and I’m pretty sure they wish they would’ve," he told his classmates during his valedictory address. "Let’s be thankful that we got this. Let’s appreciate what we did get and not everything we missed."

Though their junior and senior years were marked by pandemic shifts, the class adapted and rose to the challenge.

Collectively, the seniors earned admission to 24 different colleges and universities, including seven University of California campuses and six California State University sites. Graduates were also accepted to private schools including California Baptist University, University of LaVerne, and University of Redlands as well as two out-of-state schools: Texas Tech and Northern Arizona universities.

A dozen graduates are heading for military service, including one who already shipped to U.S. Army Basic Combat Training and missed the ceremony.

"I hope that is what you learned here at CMI: You will refuse to allow 2020 to define the rest of your life. You will adapt. You will overcome, and you will move forward to your goals," Milosavljevic told them. "You will find success."

Areliz believes in his classmates' ability to endure any storm.

"The resiliency we have shown throughout this difficult year shows me that each and every one of us will do big things in this world," he said.

California Military Institute is one of three military-themed public charter schools facilitated by local school districts in conjunction with the California Military Department's Task Force Torch. CMI is part of Perris Union High School District and uses Cal Guard's California Cadet Corps youth leadership development program as its military foundation. It is open to students in fifth through twelfth grades who collectively form the corps' 9th Brigade.