Johnie Valencia and Damien Horat have plans of becoming engineers.

They were the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, at last week’s graduation ceremony at East Union High.

Valencia, who is the son of Gilma Palacio and Angel Jose Valencia, earned the school’s top academic honor of valedictorian with his 4.3 grade point average.

He’ll be attending UC Davis in the fall to study Civil Engineering.

During his time at East Union, Valencia was involved in various clubs and activities, including Key Club and AVID.

Damien Horat is looking to major in Electrical Engineer.

He was named salutatorian based on this 4.23 GPA, and will be attending Modesto Junior College with plans of transferring to a four-year college.

Horat is the son of Joanne and Albert Horat.  He was involved in East Union chapter of Future Farmers of America, where his interest was in Floriculture.

About a month earlier, Valencia and Horat were officially announced as valedictorian and salutatorian at the Principal’s Honors Roll Luncheon celebrating students who maintained 3.5 GPAs or higher at the Dalben Center.

They then led the Class of 2025 at last Friday’s commencement ceremony held at Dino Cunial Field, sharing – as the graduation speakers – their time in high school and how they were shaped by the experiences of the past four years.