Graduation is around the corner for seniors, and after four years of pushing themselves in academic courses, sports, community service, and extracurriculars, they are being recognized for their accomplishments at Senior Awards Night. 

On May 4, 2026, Norte Vista celebrated the graduating class of 2026 on their accomplishments in the school’s Performing Arts Center, where family and friends gathered to watch over forty students receive awards and scholarships. This event has been a school tradition coordinated by counselor, Ignacio Pelayo, for the past 15 years and is planned at the beginning of the year due to the amount of preparation it requires.

“We recognize students for their academic excellence because these students work hard throughout all four years of high school,” Pelayo said. 

Waleska Lopez, an IB Diploma candidate who plans to go to UCR,  gave an opening speech and spoke about her transformational experience here at Novi, where she went from feeling alienated in school to being accepted by communities she found within clubs and sports. 

“I started off as somebody who really struggled a lot, and through different programs I feel like I found my community” Lopez said.

She shared that it is important that the school takes a moment to recognize the accomplishments of seniors since they have dedicated much of their time to their academic courses throughout the years.

“It takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of sacrifice in your life; your social life, your physical life, and mental life…it feels rewarding to be acknowledged for all your hard work,” said Lopez.

Yaretzy Evidarte, an AVID member who has committed to UCLA and plans to major in math, was also in attendance and received $15,000 in scholarships, and shared that later on that night she received a scholarship worth $61,600, covering most of her tuition.

“Honestly, I just feel very grateful because college is very expensive, and I was trying to avoid debt as much as possible. Thanks to the help of my AVID teacher, and actually putting in the work myself, I was really grateful to find out it all pays off,” Evidarte said.