Several local students recently graduated from California Connections Academy @ Ripon.

Included were Kaitlin Beer, Kimberly Fernandez and Caitlynn Patterson of Manteca, and Lindsey Hovis of Ripon.

They were among the 108 seniors from the tuition-free online public school serving those in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade at the June 18 special event held at Delta College.

“The biggest advantage of attending Connections Academy is being able to customize your education to fit your learning needs,” said senior speaker Tatum Osborne from Los Gatos.

She’s also an activist who produced and directed a PSA on sexual assault.

Osborne, who will be attending St. Lawrence University on a scholarship, was the Student of the Year recipient by the Ripon Chamber of Commerce.

She continued, saying: “I was able to take classes my junior year that I would have taken during my senior year at the traditional public school. I also had 24/7 access to my teachers, which gave me the confidence to reach out to them whenever I had questions.”

The valedictorian was Alexandria Yao, a professional figure skater for Team USA. Aspiring actress.

Reagan Harwood from Palo Alto was also part of this distinguished graduating class.

According to site administrator Amy Hunt, California Connections Academy @ Ripon said graduation for these students celebrated “the culmination of their hard work and determination.”

Many of the graduates are college-bound — some will be attending UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Columbia University, Gonzaga University, and San Francisco State, to name a few.

California Connections Academy @ Ripon serves more than 1,200 students in Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties.