Senior Gabriela Gutierrez, who was accepted into music programs at the Peabody Conservatory of the John Hopkins University, the University of Miami, and the University of Michigan, played the harp as her fellow seniors processed into the church.
Pace president Reverend Paul Vuturo and principal Ana Garcia presented seniors with baccalaureate medals during the mass, and the event was capped off with a charming guitar and vocal performance of the senior class song “Stole the Show” by the Pace Choir’s senior members as their classmates clapped along.
After a few trips back to campus throughout the week to prepare, the Class of 2016 seniors closed out their high school careers at Pace’s 53rd Annual Commencement Exercise on May 27 at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium.
Senior Cristina Castillo gave the farewell address, reminiscing about the things they learned and the legacy they left behind, such as being the first class to transfer completely over to an iPad curriculum as freshmen. Castillo mentioned in her address that her class raised $90,000 across all four years for Pace’s sister schools in Haiti.
In her address to the seniors, Garcia wished the graduates well, expressed that she expects great things from them, and announced that the Class of 2016 received $7.4 million in academic scholarships and $2.2 million in athletic scholarships.
Finally, after receiving their diplomas, moving their tassels from the right to the left, and walking out of the auditorium, the Spartan Class of 2016 celebrated by tossing their caps into the air, creating one more memory for the road.