Moorpark High grads get ready for new adventures
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers PREPARATIONS- Moorpark High College and Career Advisor, Diana Prickett,left, shows Chelsea Daley, April Duchanin, and Cethlian Cunningham where they will sit when they get on stage to receive scholarships at the Senior Awards Ceremony last week.

The last few days of high school are bittersweet for Moorpark seniors who are preparing to cross the threshold of young adulthood this summer.

"It's kind of emotional. We all go our different ways," said Lilia Tejeda, who has attended school in Moorpark since kindergarten.

About 560 students will graduate from Moorpark High on June 14. Most will go to college in the fall because they realize higher education is needed to succeed in the long run, said Diana Prickett, college and career adviser at the high school.

Tejeda will go to Cal State Northridge, with plans to become a school counselor.

She is one of 114 students who received scholarships from local groups, organizations and business owners at the Moorpark High Senior Awards event last week because she stood out academically and she's been involved in extracurricular activities.

Local teachers and the school district work hard to help students achieve, said Tejeda. "They really want people to get an education, and they want us to achieve our goals," she said.

"Moorpark has been so generous, kind and extremely supportive of my family and me," said Emily Tung, the daughter of a Taiwanese family who grew up in Brazil and immigrated to Moorpark when she was in seventh grade.

Tung didn't speak English when she arrived, yet she's finishing high school with a 4.3 grade point average. In the fall, she plans to attend UC Berkeley to study business administration and economy.

Having witnessed poverty and crime in Brazil inspired Tung to harbor dreams of working with the United Nations or an international organization so that she can help to make the world a better place for all, she said.

Tung speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese fluently.

As a member of the school's Future Business Leaders of America Club, Tung will compete in a national contest in Chicago later this month. She was vice president for the club this year.

"It was through FBLA that I met some of my closest friends, developed social and public speaking skills, prepared myself for the professional world and met people from all over California. I have had such a blast with FBLA, and I can honestly say that it possesses some of the best people I have ever met," Tung said.

The club stresses leadership and gives each member opportunities to lead, said fellow senior Ryan Hnarakis.

Hnarakis came to Moorpark High as a sophomore because of the school's good reputation, he said.

"One of the major goals of high school is to make responsible citizens and effective communicators. No one works in a vacuum; you have to work with other people and collaborate," said Hnarakis, who has taken several advanced placement classes.

He will attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to major in computer engineering.

Even though new challenges lie ahead for this generation of graduates, Hnarakis is optimistic about the future.

"Our generation has more and better opportunities, especially in the field of computing because it's still new and exploding," he said.

Hnarakis, the son of a Navy man, received many scholarships to help pay for his college expenses. He spent a lot of time pursuing them, he said.

The college career center at Moorpark High is a great resource for obtaining scholarships, he said, suggesting that high school students take the time to seek as many scholarships as possible because the rewards are worth the effort.

Both Tung and Hnarakis have been volunteering at school and in the community.

"These students worked really hard, and they're ready to reap the benefits," said school Principal Kirk Myiashiro at the Senior Awards event.