Bunker Hill High School's 207 departing seniors spent their Saturday-morning graduation ceremony looking toward the future and honoring the past.
Each of them wore a purple ribbon on their black robes in memory of a girl who should have graduated with them: Pauline Chao.
Beside the stage, an easel held a poster-sized print of Chao's senior portrait. The chair where she would have sat amid her graduating class held her robe and diploma.
Chao's classmates honored her memory, but their spirits were high as they celebrated the end of their high school years and readied themselves for their future.
Salutatorian Mai Vang quoted the class motto, originally penned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, as she addressed her classmates, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
She urged them to "tread carefully and practice compassion" as they set forth into the world to make their marks.
Valedictorian Dana Dellinger encouraged graduates to make the most of every opportunity that awaits them.
"As we walk across the stage this morning we are taking the first steps toward the rest of our lives," she said. "We should never be afraid to set our goals high and dream big. No matter what direction we choose, our opportunities are infinite."
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