Nearly 700 AUSD seniors crossed the graduation stage last week in ceremonies marked by whoops of joy, tears, and excited cheers, as well as moving speeches about what these students – who were freshmen when the pandemic hit in March, 2020 – have experienced.

• Alameda High School Graduation Slide Show
• ASTI Graduation Slide Show
• Encinal High School Graduation Slide Show
• Island High School Graduation Slide Show
• Alameda Adult School

Their plans, now that they have earned a high school diploma, vary widely. Many are heading off to California’s public universities - including every University of California campus and more than a dozen California State University campuses, including East Bay, Chico, Fullerton, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Northridge, Long Beach, Monterey, Bakersfield, and Sacramento. A good number of our graduates are also  choosing to start their college careers at community colleges all up and down the Golden State, including Merritt College, Laney College, Truckee Meadows College, Cabrillo College, Diablo Valley College, Sierra College, and Santa Barbara City College.

Some graduates will attend public universities in other states – including University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Hawaii, Howard University, University of Oregon, Penn State University, Rutgers University, University of Vermont, Montana State University, and Washington State University.

Still others have chosen private universities and colleges, including: Brown University, Cornell University, New York University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University, Tufts University, and Vanderbilt University, as well as the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Bennington College, Berklee College of Music, Boston College, Bryn Mawr College, Lewis & Clark College,  Harvey Mudd College, Pratt Institute, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence College, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, , and Vassar College. Some have even chosen to go abroad – including to University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, and the Sorbonne. 

Among our graduates, several also are going into the armed forces (including the US Naval Academy and the US Airforce Academy) and some are taking gap years or going straight to work. 

“Our students take many paths to graduation and follow many paths after graduation,” says Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “I congratulate all of them for their achievement in graduating high school and their resilience in the face of the historic challenge posed by the pandemic. I thank their teachers for nurturing, guiding, and giving these students the skills they need going forward and their families for their support.”