By JESSE DUARTE

For the Register

After weeks of controversy over a change of venue, St. Helena High School graduation ceremonies zipped by in just 50 minutes. When it was over, most of the 118 seniors were bound for Grad Night at Napa Valley College — and eventually college and a career.

“Every risk you take is an opportunity for discovery,” said the Stanford University-bound Sara Cendejas, who shared co-valedictorian honors with Jessica Wagner.

During her address, salutatorian Desirae Skadal also emphasized the importance of taking risks. Skadal, who plans to study biochemistry at the University of San Diego, encouraged her classmates to experiment with new classes and “turn in a direction that’s unknown or mysterious.”

While congratulating seniors was the main focus of the ceremony, the change of location came in a close second among spectators, several hundred of whom stood and observed graduation from a distance.

The school district and board decided to install a new all-weather football field and track this summer, and the work forced graduation to move from the football field — where it had been held for the last 34 years — to the front of Vintage Hall.

The board decided doing the work during the summer would cause the least disruption to student activities, but many high school seniors objected, with more than half signing a petition unsuccessfully requesting the board delay the project until after the ceremony.

In spite of rumors of seniors planning to boycott or hold alternate graduations in protest, even the most vocal opponents of the relocation attended. In spite of the crowding, most agreed that the Vintage Hall location was aesthetically pleasing.

“It was kind of cramped,” said senior Cody Collins, who plans to attend Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. “I would have liked to have it on the football field to keep the tradition, but it was still nice here.”

St. Helena High School running star Brian Cole was one of the most outspoken critics of the decision.

“The area where they had graduation wasn’t as big a deal as how the district went about the graduation planning. That’s the only thing that peeved me,” said Cole, who added he plans to attend Williams College in Massachusetts, possibly to study environmental science. “I think someone needs to start calling them on the way they do business.”

Other seniors didn’t care about the change. Jake Beltrami said that while this year’s venue was smaller, the relocation didn’t make any difference to him. He plans to stay in St. Helena while attending Santa Rosa Junior College with the goal of becoming a firefighter.