OCEANSIDE -- Laurel Elementary School welcomed two new members to the campus' Hall of Fame on Friday, as former students and school officials sought to inspire this year's fifth-graders.

Michael Aguirre and Brendolyn Davis spoke to the school's fifth-grade students Friday before school officials added the pair's pictures to the wall of the cafeteria at the Oceanside Unified School District campus.

"Never let anybody tell you what you can or cannot do," Davis told the students. "You can do whatever you want to."

Davis, who went to the school in the 1970s, owns the Talk of the Town beauty salon in downtown Oceanside. Aguirre, a Laurel student in the 1960s, is chief of logistics for the California Army National Guard. (He is not related to former San Diego city attorney Mike Aguirre.)

At Friday's ceremony, Aguirre said he felt honored to be recognized for his accomplishments.

"I think it's awesome," he said.

Davis and Aguirre are now among 76 former students of the school who have been inducted into Laurel's Hall of Fame since the early 1980s. The group includes sports stars, musicians, actors, politicians and people from a wide variety of professions.

"To be honored to be in the hall of fame at your elementary school is quite, quite an accomplishment," Superintendent Larry Perondi said.

Some of the inductees are former Oceanside Mayor Terry Johnson, former Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, Associate Superintendent Duane Coleman, and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez

It's rare for an elementary school to have a hall of fame. However, former Principal William Wagner said he started one because he thought it would be a good way to inspire Laurel's students, most of whom come from working-class or poorer families.

"We had rich resources of kids who grew up in the area," he said. "We have lawyers, doctors, teachers administrators."

For years, Laurel was the only school in the district with a hall of fame, but three years ago Oceanside High School started one of their own.

Educators and parent volunteers at the school pick new alumni to join the hall of fame each year.

"It's just a really wonderful way to recognize all of the wonderful accomplishments of the people who went to this school," said Kasia Obrzut, the school's current principal.

The first inductee was Willie Buchanon, a former Charger and Green Bay Packer. He attended Friday's induction ceremony to speak to the current students and say an invocation.

School officials picked the fifth-grade class to hear the speeches as a way to encourage them to aim high before they leave Laurel for middle school, said Rachel Lopez, a retired clerk at the school who continues to organize the event.

"They want to be up there, too," she said. "They want to be successful."

Rebecca Meza, a fifth-grader at the school, said she found the ceremony inspiring.

"It makes me think that I should be in the hall of fame one day," she said.

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.