Rowland Raiders celebrated their 47th Commencement Ceremony on June 7 with a large graduating class of 546 seniors. The Valedictorian was Wesley Ru, with a GPA of 4.47. He is an IB Diploma Candidate, a National Merit Scholarship recipient, an AP Scholar with Distinction, a two-time American Invitational Mathematics Examination Qualifier, a Bilingual Competency Award and California Scholarship member and member of the National Honor Society, and received the Rowland High School Mathematics and Social Studies Department Awards. Ru will attend the University of Pennsylvania and major in Biochemistry. The Salutatorian was Denita Toneva, also an IB Diploma Candidate, received the Bilingual Competency Award and was a member of the California Scholarship Federation. The Student Speakers at the ceremony were Mariel Bautista and Becky Li.
Rowland High School is proud to have 28 students be International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Candidates, and 14 students receive the Career Pathways Certificate. Two students received Perfect Attendance Awards for their 12 years of school – Man-Sin Leung and Sharon Shin. In addition, 13 other students received Perfect Attendance Awards for their entire four years of high school.
Below is the list of private universities and colleges that the Class of 2012 will attend:
University of California: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz.
California State University: Cal Poly: San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly: Pomona, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Fullerton, CSU Humboldt, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Sacramento, CSU San Diego, CSU San Francisco, and CSU San Jose.
Private and Independent Colleges: Art Institute of California,Abilene Christian University, American Musical & Dramatic Arts Academy, Art Center College of Design, Azusa Pacific University, Berklee College of Music, Biola University, Clarkson University, Hofstra University, Laguna College of Art & Design, Lasell College, Mount St. Mary’s College, New York University, St. John’s University, Texas Tech University, United States Naval Academy, University of Colorado, University of San Diego, University of Southern California, University of the Pacific, University of Miami, University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, West Coast University.
California Community Colleges: Austin Community College, California Baking School, Cerritos College, Chaffey College, Citrus College, College of the Sequoias, Cypress College, East Los Angeles College, Full Sail College, Fullerton College, Interior Design Institute, Las Vegas Community College, Los Angeles Valley College, Mount San Antonio College, Palomar College, Pasadena City College, Rio Hondo College, Santa Barbara Business School, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Monica College, University Technical Institute, Victor Valley College, and West Covina Technician School.