Downey Unified celebrates nearly 2,000 graduates

DOWNEY — When Downey Unified returned from Memorial Day weekend last month, high school students, teachers and administrators had one day back before they were officially in graduation season.

Downey Unified Virtual Academy kicked off the district’s Commencement celebrations on May 31 with its ceremony held in Downey’s Columbia Memorial Space Center. Over half of the graduates were honored for maintaining a 3.0 or better GPA and eight were distinguished as Golden State Seal Honorees.

Downey High School celebrated the achievements of their 947-member senior class during a sunset ceremony on June 1. Family and friends filled the stands to congratulate their students, with the help of giant head posters and noisemakers, as the class of 2023 beamed with excitement crossing the stage in the Veterans Memorial Stadium at Long Beach City College. Thirty-seven of these Vikings and Vikweens finished the 2022-23 school year with a 4.5 GPA or higher, with 127 receiving California State Federation (CSF) Seal Bearer Honors.

Warren High School celebrated its accomplished Class of 2023 with a beautiful Commencement on June 2. Bear families and friends applauded from the stands of Veterans Memorial Stadium as 739 Warren High School seniors took the stage to accept their diplomas. Twenty-seven Bears proudly finished their final year of high school with a 4.5 GPA or higher while 97 were honored as CSF Seal Bearers.

To conclude the district’s commencement ceremonies, Columbus High School held its graduation on June 7 in Justice Stadium at Warren High School. As Mariachi Zapopan brought everyone in attendance to their feet with their lively music ahead of the ceremony, Lion families and friends remained on their feet as a total of 230 students enthusiastically walked the stage to receive their diplomas.

Overall, more than 1,250 students that graduated from Downey Unified will be attending a myriad of colleges and universities in the fall including Biola, Boston University, Colorado State, Loyola Marymount, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Oregon State University, Sacramento State, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, University of Aberdeen and USC.

Additional graduates will be heading straight into post-secondary career fields of their choice or attending several specialty and junior colleges such as Otis College of Art and Design, New York Institute of Technology, Southern California Institute of Technology, Spokane Community College, Long Beach City College, Cerritos College, Golden West College and the Los Angeles Trade Technical School to transfer or pursue industry-specific certifications.

“It is the district’s vision to have our students graduate college and career ready, globally competitive, and citizens of strong character, and I know that this rigorous educational foundation has provided them with the tools that will push them toward success in their future whether that means going to college or directly into the workforce,”  expressed Board of Education President, Giggy Perez-Saab. “ Downey Unified would like to congratulate the 2023 Columbus, Downey, Warren high school and Virtual Academy graduates for their outstanding accomplishments these past four years. With your education, the sky’s the limit and we truly look forward to all the great endeavors each of you will accomplish in the coming years. Please come back and visit us!”