125 in 2013: The Nicholas Academic Centers Celebrates Its Fifth Annual Graduation Celebration
The Nicholas Academic Centers held its fifth annual NAC Graduation Celebration on Saturday, June 15, 2013, at the
in Anaheim, California. Nearly 700 people gathered to celebrate this year’s 125 graduating seniors, up from 81 graduates last year. As in previous years, this year’s guests included friends, families, high school counselors & administrators, community leaders, and more.
It has become a tradition to feature the Santa Ana High School Mariachi Band during the opening reception, and this year’s wonderful performance left no doubts as to why. While the music played, guests not busy eating chicken skewers & quesadillas took pictures in one of two photo booths located on opposite ends of the ballroom promenade. In addition to a collection of more than 60 posters featuring NAC students, four large screen TVs lined the hall and continuously played two separate slide shows; one featured a pictorial retrospective of the NAC over the years, and the other presented portraits and biographies of this year’s graduating class.
Soon after the ballroom doors opened, Dr. Nicholas took to the stage to greet the audience. “Tonight, we’re here to recognize 125 students and their families, who through their hard work, diligence, and superior academic execution have managed to overcome, in many cases, significant economic and cultural barriers to graduate the rigorous program we have at the NAC.” While on stage, Dr. Nicholas also shared a number of impressive NAC statistics, including the fact that this year’s NAC seniors earned over $1.5 Million in scholarships and grants, bringing the cumulative total to over $4.5 Million, including $700,000 in direct NAC Scholarships.