When the school year began, the plan was for Bishop Montgomery’s 60th Commencement Exercises to be a momentous occasion. A 60th anniversary is certainly a moment to be celebrated; it turns out that the Class of 2020’s Graduation was a moment that will go down in school history for being unlike any of the prior 59 ceremonies.

The Class of 2020 will be remembered for many things. Yes, they are the class that experienced the disappointment of having the final months of their senior year marred by a global pandemic. But more than that, they will be remembered as the class that made the most of a difficult and unprecedented situation. They will be remembered for being an inspiration for many people in the Bishop community. Their resilience, perseverance and optimism was an example for everyone to follow. At a moment when they understandably could have felt sorry for themselves and their situation, they chose to be positive and accept the challenge in front of them. They were a shining light.

“Class of 2020: You are seen because each and every one of you is a radiant beam of light within the darkness. As long as you are in this world, there will always be light.”

_{^{Jacqueline Raetz-Vigon ’20}}

Despite the challenges they faced during the last three months of the year, the seniors were also a typical Bishop Montgomery graduating class; that is, they accomplished great things in the classroom, completed thousands of hours of Christian service, and represented Bishop with pride and distinction in extracurricular endeavors.

Academically, the numbers for the Class of 2020 are impressive. Ninety-nine percent of the class is headed to college and many students were accepted to prestigious universities all over the United States. Additionally, 138 members of the class graduated with honors; 75 graduated with seal bearer status from the California Scholarship Federation; 24 were members of the National Honor Society; 5 were recognized as National Merit Commended Students; 4 were part of the National Hispanic Recognition Program; and one student, Svetlana Altshuler ’20, was a National Merit Finalist.

The class had 30 students named as Valedictorians. These students were acknowledged for earning cumulative GPA’s of 4.50 and higher. Jacqueline Raetz-Vigon ’20, who earned the class’ highest GPA of 4.71 and attends Loyola Marymount University, gave the valedictory address. Salutatorian Clare Houston ’20, who joins Raetz-Vigon at Loyola Marymount, graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.57. In her salutatory address, Houston left her classmates with some words to guide them as they navigate a world much different than the one they lived in at the start of their senior year: “Bishop gave us the tools to better understand the world around us, the people to help us learn to value ourselves and others, and a family to help us be strong and to love.”

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A wonderful part of the community is that many alumni choose to send their children through Bishop Montgomery. The Class of 2020 was no different, as 16 graduates have at least one parent who is also a Knight.

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• Shelby Bach ’20 (Lawrence Bach ’82)
• Sophia Bero ’20 (Bryan Bero ’84)
• Caeley Carnahan ’20 (John Carnahan ’85 & Veronica Contreras ’87)
• Brandon de Castro ’20 (Maria Wong ’88)
• Danielle Greenwade ’20 (Tanya Simen ’81)
• Jessica Gonzales ’20 (Mary Reyes ’90)
• Kate Hall ’20 (Sharri Tons ’89 & Mike Hall ’91)
• Isaiah Johnson ’20 (Leland Dodd ’01)
• Elizabeth Klein ’20 (Michael Klein ’77)
• Meagan Moore ’20 (Monica Litjen ’82 & Ron Moore ’82)
• Joseph Murphy ’20 (Danny Murphy ’87)
• Jacqueline Raetz-Vigon ’20 (Yvette Vigon ’87)
• Reynaldo Rivera ’20 (Tracy Schneider ’87)
• Patrick Stofila ’20 (Peggy Branigan ’82)
• Joe Takeuchi ’20 (James Takeuchi ’78)
• Ryan Yearley ’20 (Steve Yearley ’87)

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Class of 2020 Matriculation

The Class of 2020 saw a senior year marked with another outstanding number of honors-at-entrance awards and merit scholarships from colleges and universities across the country, as well as other scholarships and recognition from local, state, and national businesses and organizations.

Of the 176 seniors, 175 will attend college and one is leaping feet first into the business world. Below are the Class of 2020 statistics including the list of schools to which the graduates were accepted and the school they are attending.

Bold = Class of 2020 member attending.
* indicates US News & World Report Top 100 National University.

Seniors attending college/university – 175 (99%)
Seniors attending a 4-year college/university – 138 (78%) 
Seniors attending a 2-year college/vocational school – 37 (21%)
Seniors who applied to 4-year colleges/universities – 164 (93%)
Seniors who applied & were accepted to 4-year colleges/universities – 152 (93%)
Seniors attending Cal State System – 29 (16%)
Seniors attending UC System – 28 (16%) 
Seniors attending Private, In-State – 31 (18%) 
Seniors attending 4-year, Out-of-State – 43 (24%)
Seniors attending 4-year, Out-of-United States – 2 (<1%)