Special Sections

They will attend Barnard College • Cabrillo College • Clark Honors College, University of Oregon • Colorado State University • Cornell University • Johns Hopkins University • NHL Stenden School of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) • Northeastern University • Oberlin College • Oregon State University • Pitzer College • Purdue University • Reed College • Royal Veterinary College (England) • Santa Barbara City College • University of British Columbia (Canada) • UC Berkeley • UC San Diego • UC Santa Cruz • University of Colorado in Boulder • University of Edinburgh (Scotland) • University of Oregon • University of Pittsburgh • University of Northern Colorado • University of Rochester • University of San Francisco • University of Southern California • University of St. Andrews (Scotland) • Willamette University • Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Congratulations Congratulations Graduates! Graduates! SCOTTS VALLEY -- Graduating senior Lucy Norris is headed to the East Coast and an Ivy League university in the fall after excelling in the most rigorous high school academic path available in Santa Cruz County. Norris took the stage on Scotts Valley High School's football field Thursday to graduate with a 4.54 weighted grade point average, falling in the top 10% of her class. She heads next to the private University of Pennsyl- vania, likely to study in the school's Material Science and Engineer- ing Department. To hear from those who know Norris best, the 17-year-old Santa Cruz resident who has been swimming for nearly as long as she could walk always manages to arrive with a welcoming smile -- quick-witted, humble, laid-back and even- keeled. "She's been able to manage all of it -- she's done really well," said Norris' mom, Sancha Norris of her daughter's trajectory. "Certainly, I think, there are times with school that are more stressful than others. But she's kind of figured it out. She's also in with a really good bunch of kids at school. It's important to have that support system." Lucy Norris was one of 19 seniors this year at Scotts Valley High participating in the school's International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. The course- work requires students to take six advanced subjects, where each course is generally two years in length, and to perform more than 150 hours of creative, athletic and service-re- lated projects, accord- ing to school guidance counselor Christie Danner. Students also write a 4,000-word, university-level research paper and complete a final, end-of-program interview with selected staff in order to gradu- ate from the program. Danner described Norris as a "true role model when it comes to integrity and com- mitment to her life as a student, friend, sister and daughter." Offer- ing a telling anecdote, Danner described a sweet moment when Norris was brought to tears of joy when one of her closest friends was named the class' vale- dictorian during a class announcement. "She's so generous and laid back and she doesn't get caught up too much with things," Danner said. Ask Norris what the keys to her success will be and she is quick to cite her many years of team swimming as a place to grow both her confidence and com- munication skills. Norris said her role models in- cluded both of her par- ents, who she looked to the best qualities of each to model herself after. From her father, Bill, she looks to his self- lessness and generosity. From mom Sancha, she takes self-advocacy and commitment to family. Both parents, said Nor- ris, instilled in her the value of education. Norris also credits her parents with never al- lowing her to feel "oth- er" as she navigated the challenges of being born blind in one eye. "I never thought it was wrong to be the way I am," Norris said, reflect- ing on her life. "I never thought it was some- thing I should hide." Santa Cruz Swimming Coach Jake Soares, said Norris, was another piv- otal role model. When it came to racing, she said, Soars would tell her not to focus on the "uncontrollables." "This attitude I think has saved me a ton of trouble in everyday life now," Norris wrote in an email. "Especially in stressful situations like having a ton of home- work instead of getting overwhelmed I can just power through be- cause I can't control the amount of work I have to time to do it, I can only control how fast I do it etc." Dave Crawford, Scotts Valley High's program coordinator for the International Baccalau- reate Diploma Program, Beloved Scotts Valley student heads to East Coast to continue education success Connor Ainsworth Gavin Allen Aja Anderson Madeline Angel Zoe Appel Samuel Armstrong Delia Delia Ashrafzadeh Sidney Barreras Elise Bartlett Elizabeth Bautista Sean Bautista Conner Berlin Brooke Bettencourt Jac Jack Brothers Josiah Bursese Erik Caballero Ryan Cahalan Alexander Cardenas Samuel Catania Sophia Catania Vin Vincent Catania Samuel Cater Ryan Chan Shu Han (Sheena) Chang Ming Lu Chen Faeh Chetcuti Henry Cheung Amaya Amaya Chong Vargas Kristen Chua Heather Cobarrubias Sophia Colaprete William Contreras Marissa Cortes Michele Cutrignelli Mia Deni Mia Denice Aidan Dowdalls Isabella Dunbar Nima Elyasi Delaney Erb Marisa Esau Victoria Fang Gino Felice Victoria Fernandez Luke Finney Nathalie Fontaine Savanna Fo Savanna Fortin Charlie Foy Emily Francis Giselle Garra Abigail Gerhold Gunther Gerhold Hazel Gerwe Al Alexis Giblin Sofia Gonzalez Ian Goodwin Alina Grachek William Hamilton Amber Hanna Nathan Hanson Andre Andrew Hendrickson Hunter Huston Kadin Janisch Anastasia Jaquez Amber Johnson Sophia Johnson Samuel Kahuila Aiden Aiden Keegan Jared Keith Abigail Kennedy Ryan Kenyon Clayton King Jana Komposch Tyler Krajewski Ava Lee Nicolas Lehner Naomi Leung Blythe Liljenstolpe Adam Lilly Cristian Linares Corydon Lindner Thomas Lock Connor Lopes Lucas Loudon Yuchen (Clark) Lu Ilse Luna-Romo Michael Ma Michael Martin Colton Maxberry Jordan Mendoza Sierra Mercer Allison Mercurio William Mesa Diego Mitchell Jade Mon Jade Mon Andre Moretti Jillian Nerhood Natalie Nielsen Nima Ogabian Justin Olhava Sage Oliver Seth Seth Oliver Caroline Ollenburger Rohan Patel Jiselle Payne Savanna Payne Joel Perez Alexandria Persley Joshua Peternel Ibrahim Peters Ian Peyghambary Antonio Ponce Nathan Potkin Bella Bella Primavera Madison Pullen Xiaorong (Evangeline) Qin Luis Quintero Paloma Ramirez Cole Recotta Tyler Robertson Sofia Rocha John Rodriquez Morgan Rush Cordelia Schwager Sarah Segall Bianca Sieraski Jared Silva Ma Matthew Solis Mark Spohn Emilee Stark Andrew Sullivan Annika Sutter YiHui (Barry) Tang Brandon Tomas Kasui (Tony) Tong Alysia Torres Amelia Tracey Maria Udarbe Koen Vandenberg Mengshan (Doryi) Wang Aidan Williams Madison Madison Winchester Jamie Woida Jacob Woods Zhuoran (Zoe) Yang congratulations mvc class of 2022 By Jessica A. York, Santa Cruz Sentinel LUCY NORRIS continues on C5...

• Cover