Lancers lead…others follow.
That’s the motto at East Union High.
Leading the Class of 2018 at the Thursday, May 24, commencement exercises at Dino Cunial Field will be three distinguished seniors – valedictorian Kevin Green and co-salutatorians Hunter Maestretti and Matthew Pilkay.
All three have a 4.27 grade point average.
Green, who will be attending the University of the Pacific in the fall – he’s looking to major in Computer Science – got the top-honor nod based on a few decimal points difference.
“We took a lot of the same AP classes so we were aware (of our GPAs),” he said on Monday.
The son of Debbie and Chris Green, Kevin relied on a family connection to help him out with his graduation speech.
“My uncle is a toastmaster,” he said.
For Maestretti, his graduation speech is still a work in progress.
He’s the grandson of Ken and Frances Lawbery and is anxiously looking forward to attending the University of California, Berkeley.
Maestretti, who will be studying Chemical Engineering, is getting an early start at Cal. He’ll be taking classes during the summer.
Piklay, meanwhile, will be going to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in the fall, majoring in Civil Engineering. He’s the son of Mike and Andrea Pilkay.
In sports, he’s been described as a “hard-working, all-around” player in football, according to Principal Raul Mora.
Pilkay, who played wide receiver and defensive back on the gridiron, also took part in baseball and volleyball during its inaugural year.
Green was involved in various clubs and organizations on campus, including KIWINS, Coding Club and two years (sophomore and junior years) in Gamer Inn.
Maestretti was involved in the Thespian Club – he did several plays – Interact, track & field and cross country.
He enjoys running including long distance on the hiking trails of Mount Diablo and Klamath. For that, Maestretti credits Ricardo Cuevas.
“He’s been my mentor,” said Maestretti of his track and cross country coach.
Graduation at East Union starts at 7 p.m. At last count, Mora noted that 362 seniors will be honored during that time.

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.