On Friday, May 23, 2025, the Berkeley High School library was filled with laughter and tears of joy as family and friends gathered to celebrate this year’s Responsibility, Integrity, Strength, and Empowerment (RISE) graduates. The celebration began with a dinner service in front of the cafeteria, where graduates reminisced about their memories at BHS. As the clock ticked closer to 7 p.m., family members began to trickle into the library, where a slideshow at the front of the room showed baby photos of the graduates. Soon, “Pomp and Circumstance” began to play as the graduates walked in, donned with red gowns.
The commencement ceremony began with a heartfelt remembering of Kenneth Houff III, a RISE student who sadly passed away and would’ve graduated this year. A commemorative plaque was presented to his family that read: “Those we love don’t go away, they walk inside us every day.”
Then, a few RISE graduates were invited up to give speeches. BHS senior Angel Rivera spoke about how many of the graduates would be the first in their family to attend college. He continued by saying, “We must never forget our roots, the people who helped us in our journey, and that one day when we’re all raised or famous or both, we find it inside ourselves to repay the community and create an environment where we can foster more success for more students like us.”
Many of the speakers expressed deep gratitude for the RISE leaders, Adriana Betti, Javier Rebollar, and Wardell Myles, and for the existence of the program itself.
After the graduates were given their graduation awards and spoke a few words of appreciation, Rebollar gave some closing remarks. “Just want to remind every one of you here that we’re not going to stop calling you after you graduate,” he said, “We’re still going to be bothering you and checking on you and asking how college is going ... The RISE office is always going to be open to you.”