A Rare Winter Graduation at Pasadena Unified

District and school officials welcome the graduates (Photo – Scott Phelps)

Friends and family of 18 Pasadena Unified graduates from the Center for Independent Study (CIS) and Rose City High School attended the ceremony at the former Wilson Middle School auditorium on Thursday, December 19th.

By Scott Phelps

School Board President Jennifer Hall Lee and fellow trustees Michelle Richardson-Bailey, Patrice Marshall McKenzie and Scott Harden and Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco congratulated the graduates for crossing the finish line.

Each graduate had their own unique story, including Rose City student speaker Giselle Covarrubias who spoke of her journey from freshman year to now owning her nail salon and being financially independent, and CIS graduate Houston Blaine sharing in his graduate portfolio/senior defense about recently completing his Eagle Scout requirements. CIS Principal Larry Torres and Rose City Principal Michael Bell added their congratulations, with Torres remarking on how rare a winter graduation is for PUSD and Dr. Bell providing an inspirational quote “Your journey is just beginning—dream boldly, work tirelessly, and believe in the power of your potential. The future is yours to create!”

Marvin Hatchett, musical director and security officer for the Wilson site’s Pasadena Adult Living Skills (PALS) program, CIS and Rose City led the Rose City band in providing musical accompaniment for the event, including concluding with the Bob Marley and the Wailers’ song Three Little Birds (“”Don’t worry about a thing . . .’Cause every little thing gonna be alright””), a wonderful message of positivity to send these new graduates off into their next chapters.

CIS graduate Houston Blaine poses with his father Lee Blaine, his older brother and class of 2019 Marshall graduate Travis Blaine, his mother Kimberley Clayton Blaine and his CIS mentor teacher Gail Stowers (Photo – Scott Phelps)