Without previous mistakes and memories from the past, we wouldn’t be able to prepare for the future. UC High’s Class of 2012 has endured hardships and obstacles in their four years of high school, but has also enjoyed adventures and fortune, all of which they will be unlikely to forget. As seniors, we may have been overly confident and taken advantage of our seniority over the underclassmen; however, we have to remember the obstacles we initially faced when we were the lost freshmen on campus.
The Class of 2012 entered their first year of high school worrying about earlier schedules, difficult classes, and intimidating upperclassmen, but we would never have expected what happened during the middle of the year: a jet crash. On December 8, 2008, a Marine pilot jet came crashing down from the skies over UC during lunchtime. Senior Julia Miller revealed, “I was scared at first, but I was relieved when I found out that it wasn’t as close as it seemed.” However, when UC students discovered that it had landed in a nearby neighborhood, killing UC Resident Don Yoon’s family, it was hard to feel any comfort.
And of course, we can’t forget the unforgettable dry ice bomb “threat” which took place during our freshmen year. For AP Environmental Science Teacher Joe Krupens’ final project, students had to create an experiment that was environmentally stimulating, such as solar cookers. One group’s experiment involved the use of dry ice and a water bottle, and unintentionally using these materials to create a “dry ice bomb,” which led to serious consequences and punishments. The threat was so unnecessarily large that the school was even put on lockdown for a few hours.
Not only did a jet come crashing down during our four years at UC, but the credibility of the class came crashing down as well. During our junior year, the “APUSH Scandal” came to fruition. Senior Amanda Singh explained, “It … occurred during Mr. Brown’s first semester AP US History final. Students were caught cheating when someone posted something involving the leaked answers on Facebook.”
Several students were involved in this drama, and were called to Former Vice Principal Brian Mihalka’s office one-by-one. Slowly, our class realized that we were in the wrong, which forced the honest truth to break through the lies. Hopefully, we will have learned from this mistake to prepare ourselves for the future. Senior Scarlet Augustino said, “It felt like something that only happened in the movies.”
Well, one year later, we did experience something very Hollywood-like. Since our freshman year, the Class of 2012 has found a school spirit that roared deep within us, and it came to the surface and resulted in things like winning the most points during spirit weeks, ultimately leading to the participation in a contest to win our own Baby Bash concert at the school. ASB President Sally Sa said, “It started with one poster, telling UC students to go online and submit to win a radio-sponsored concert. I didn’t think we were going to win.” Unexpectedly, we did win, allowing the 36-year-old rapper to perform at UC.
Bomb threats and crashing jets don’t really sound entertaining at the moment, but as teenagers, we love drama-filled, adrenaline-pumping events that will be interesting stories to tell future generations. As mere 17 and 18 year olds, the Class of 2012 has a long road ahead of us, and while we all had different experiences and will remember different things, we won’t forget the highlights of our four years in high school.