SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – As the days until graduation wind down, Saugus High School senior Kiki Egetoe is spending some time flipping through an old yearbook.

Tucked inside the pages are remnants of memories she will soon add to her senior-year edition.

“This is the article from that day," she said, describing the LA Times article from November, 14 2019. "This is a really important event that happened. I don’t want to forget.”

After all, yearbooks are made to remember important events or defining moments, which is something the Class of 2020 at Saugus has had quite their share of.

Back in November, the Saugus and Santa Clarita community suffered an unimaginable tragedy when a school shooting took place on their campus. Several threats and scares also marked the months to follow.

“We were just done. We had a bomb scare and we were like really? Can people just leave us alone," Egetoe said. "[That's why] I think also that the class of 2020 could be seen as warriors because we did go through so much.”

Just as they began to get back to a new normal during the spring semester, the coronavirus pandemic changed everything, leaving Egetoe with a lot more time at home to reflect.

“There was a lot of really bad things that happened, but from those things a lot of blessings came," Egetoe said.

Among those blessings was Egetoe's love of painting.

“I’m just really grateful I have this style, during this time, I go to this high school," she said. "I think I was meant to go to Saugus.”

It is a feeling shared by her classmate and fellow senior, Madi Roeschke. Senior year is meant to be a year of growth and Roeschke says they have done that despite everything.

“I’ve grown as a person and I’ve found out who I am," Roeschke said. "I feel like I’ve grown a lot closer to my school and identifying myself as a Saugus Centurion.”

In a way, her senior year was still as she imagined it would be, a time of ups and downs and highs and lows. But the biggest difference is a lesson she and Egetoe will walk away with.

“I kind of realized how important life is," Roeschke said. "I remember in those moments when I was hiding, thinking I had so much left to do and now I’m really set on achieving everything I set my mind to.”

They will both begin that journey as they get set to graduate. Both girls may not be able to share the stage together, but they will hold on to their memories.  

“I had so many amazing memories already, with and without the shooting, with and without the quarantine," Egetoe said.

Memories that came together to form a senior year unique to Saugus High School.