Garden Grove seniors graduate just a day after chemical crisis risk eliminated

Just a day after tens of thousands of Orange County residents were finally able to return to their homes after days of uncertainty due to a chemical tank crisis at a nearby aerospace facility, a group of high school seniors was able to walk the stage for their graduation on Wednesday. 

Pacifica High School seniors, decked out in shiny blue caps and gowns, gathered with friends and family to celebrate the moment they thought wouldn't happen. 

"We were all ready to go to school and we got the notification, like, 'School's canceled.' And that day was our last day," said one senior.

For her and other seniors, the days leading up to their graduation were filled with unease, evacuation orders and emergency updates revolving around the compromised tank at GKN Aerospace, which was at risk of a catastrophic explosion or toxic chemical leak. Their school, which sits just a mile from the facility, was in immediate danger, as were many of their houses. 

"I was, like, at my aunt's house in Long Beach and all my friends were like at hotels and we were like, 'I guess this is our life,'" said Penelope Jesson. "We're gonna graduate and our house is gonna blow up."

With the threat now mitigated, seniors said that the fear of missing out on another graduation milestone was far too familiar. The same group of students missed out on their sixth-grade promotion due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. 

"It was not a unique feeling," Jesson said. "We were like, 'Not again.'"

Garden Grove Unified School District Board member Teri Rocco lifted spirits during her speech to students, despite also having to evacuate from her home in the midst of the crisis.

"This even is more meaningful now for our kids. They need that sense of normalcy, they need to celebrate, they need to be joyous and happy and focus on this day," Rocco said. 

For Jesson, now the eighth family member to graduate from Pacifica, she said that moment is all the more special. 

"Not all of them are here with me. I'm wearing [my grandfather's] ashes and class ring. I just feel really good and proud right now," Jesson said. 

John F. Kennedy High School, which acted as an evacuation shelter for some of the thousands of people who fled their homes, had to postpone their graduation ceremony by one week. It is still scheduled to take place in the coming days.