The Beverly Hills High School Class of 2025: Shooting for the Stars—and Reaching Them Through Resilience

Graduation is often marked by a theme. For this class, it was “Shooting for the Stars”—a poetic phrase, sure, but also a fitting metaphor for a journey defined not by ease, but by sheer perseverance. Because reaching the stars isn’t easy. It takes force to break through gravity. It takes precision to stay on course. It takes courage to launch when everything around you is uncertain. And this class? They launched anyway.

Their Roots Were in the Rubble—Literally

Their story begins in the dust—quite literally—as elementary schoolers at Beverly Hills’ El Rodeo School. The passage of Measure E (2008) and Measure BH (2018) authorized nearly $720 million in total to upgrade district facilities, but the impact on students was immediate and personal. They studied amid active construction zones. Classrooms were replaced by cramped bungalows. Playgrounds vanished under scaffolding. Dust hung in the air like a second curriculum.

While the promises of modernization were long-term, the daily reality for these children was disruption and discomfort. And yet they showed up. They learned. They made it work.

Middle School: The Guinea Pig Generation

As they transitioned into middle school, this class once again found itself at the frontline of change. They were the inaugural group at the newly consolidated Beverly Vista Middle School—an experiment in unifying students from different elementary campuses under one roof. It was an ambitious, high-pressure shift in BHUSD’s structure. There were growing pains. Identity and community had to be rebuilt from scratch.

And again—they adapted. They didn’t just survive the uncertainty; they helped shape what that new community would become.

The Pandemic That Changed Everything

Then came COVID-19. At a critical stage in their development—academically, socially, and emotionally—these students were sent home. What was supposed to be a time of new friendships, sports, activities, and adolescent growth became a time of Zoom fatigue, isolation, and unpredictability. Beverly Hills Unified worked hard to support students, but no amount of planning could erase the toll of that disruption.

But perseverance doesn’t mean perfection. It means moving forward anyway. These students didn’t just return; they reengaged, rebuilt connections, and redefined what it meant to show up for one another.

A High School That Still Wasn’t Finished

As they entered Beverly Hills High School, it was clear the dust hadn’t settled. Despite years of construction, the campus remained a work-in-progress. Bond delays, oversight challenges, and budget issues slowed progress. Students endured outdated or incomplete facilities, noise disruptions, and a campus that felt more like a temporary space than the crown jewel of their public education.

But while the buildings lagged behind, this class surged forward. They embraced leadership roles. They starred in musicals, won championships, launched clubs, and advocated for change. They weren’t waiting for their school to be perfect—they made the most of what they had.

Shooting for the Stars—By Fighting Through Gravity

So when the Class of 2025 chose “Shooting for the Stars” as their theme, it wasn’t about dreams plucked from the sky. It was about fighting through the gravity of real-world challenges: construction chaos, a pandemic, systemic change, and the countless personal struggles along the way.

They didn’t get a storybook experience—but they got something better: resilience forged in fire. Their trajectory wasn’t easy or linear, but it was real, and it was earned.

Now, as they scatter across the country and around the world—to colleges, careers, creative pursuits—they leave behind a legacy that future BHHS classes will walk through every day. Not just in the newly modernized halls and classrooms they helped pioneer by enduring years of upheaval, but in the example they set: that even when the skies are cloudy, the stars are still reachable.

The Class of 2025 didn’t just shoot for the stars. They showed the rest of us how to build a launchpad.