Graduations

Submitted by Three Village Central School District

The Ward Melville Class of 2022 came together for a final time on June 26 to celebrate their graduation. Graduates marched through balloon arches onto the front lawn of the school to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance,” as family and friends cheered them on.

Commencement exercises began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by student government president Riley Meckley, followed by a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by student-musicians. Ward Melville Principal William Bernhard welcomed the crowd, as Board of Education President Deanna Bavlnka gave opening remarks.

Bernhard introduced this year’s keynote speaker, Superintendent of Schools Cheryl Pedisich. This marked Pedisich’s first and last graduation address, as she is retiring. She noted that she feels a special connection with the Class of 2022, as they are entering the next chapter of their lives together. Pedisich touted the graduates’ resiliency and strength as they navigated high school amidst a pandemic.

“We had much to learn from our students, as they did from us, and together we continue to prevail as a district that celebrates unity, respect and collective strength led by the motion, the message invoked and exemplified by the Class of 2022.”

Meckley returned to the podium to reflect on the graduates’ time at Ward Melville High School. She presented the school with a gift — a new, updated Mr. Patriot mascot costume.

Class of 2022 valedictorian Claire Yang and salutatorian Alexander Lin both delivered speeches, saying farewell to their high school careers while looking forward to the future.

“Today, as we end one chapter of our lives and prepare to embark on the next, I hope you will all continue to embody the ideals of resilience and understanding,” Lin said. “With our resolute determination, I’m confident that this class is well-equipped to tackle grander issues in the future.”

“I know how bright and driven our class is,” Yang said. “We are visionaries with big ideas. It goes without saying that the future is in phenomenal hands. But more than that, this is a class of people that can inspire change and goodness in others.”

Following their remarks, the graduates were called on stage by assistant principal Vince Cereola to receive their diplomas from Bernhard, alongside the board of education and district administrators. Class of 2022 President Alexa Moore led the turning of tassels, and students tossed their caps into the air as the Ward Melville High School bell rang, signifying the end of an era.

Seniors from Smithtown High School East and Smithtown High School West filled their schools’ football fields as students for the last time on Thursday, June 23.

Smithtown East’s commencement ceremony celebrated the graduation of 401 students and featured the district’s Assistant Superintendent Kevin Simmons, who was the principal at East for 3 1/2 years before moving to the district office, as the keynote speaker.

The two student speakers were Aman Mistry, who was voted by fellow seniors as the honor speaker, and Trishaulla Kanhai, who is president of the Class Council.

At Smithtown West, 358 students received their diplomas. Superintendent Mark Secaur addressed the students. National Honor Society President Tyler Nagosky was chosen by his classmates to speak at the ceremony and co-presidents Hunter Hayes and Madison Hilman also delivered speeches.

METRO photo

By Father Frank Pizzarelli

Father Frank Pizzarelli

June is the time of year when school ends and summer begins. It’s a time of year when our high school seniors graduate and prepare to transition into young adults. Some will go away to college; others will prepare to enter the workforce. All of our graduates will hopefully deal with all of the challenges of change and transition in a positive way.

The hard question to answer is are these graduates ready and prepared for the new challenges before them? The pandemic has definitely impaired many of these extraordinary young men and women.

However, despite the challenges and the lack of holistic services in the area of mental health and addiction services, many of these graduates have begun to navigate the difficult road before them with extraordinary character and integrity.

Despite the polarizing landscape they must navigate, the class of 2022 are genuinely beacons of hope. So many of them have courageously challenged the hypocrisy of our present age. They have reached out to the most vulnerable and marginalized among us.

A growing number of high school students who have graduated and have been victimized by the mass school shootings that have ripped at the soul of America have become prophetic voices in our midst. They have worked tirelessly to raise people’s awareness that sensible gun laws don’t infringe on our Second Amendment rights, but rather remind us that all life is sacred and we need to protect all!

Graduates of 2022, thank you for reminding all of us that hope lives in our midst and that your class is going to make a profound difference in our world! Thank you for reminding us that all people matter, no matter what their race, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status.

Class of 2022, may you always have the courage despite our social climate of divisiveness to build bridges instead of walls, to create a world where love, forgiveness and inclusiveness are foundational.

One of your classmates this graduation season did not walk with his fellow seniors because he was killed due to gun violence. His high school career was marked by compassion and service to others. He constantly talked to his mom about wanting to go into public service after college and trying to make a difference in the world. He won’t have that opportunity but many of you could choose that career path. We desperately need you; our democracy is moving towards autocracy; we need your help to reclaim the soul of our nation and protect our freedoms.

May you always remember hope does not abandon us, we abandon hope! Class of 2022 —  always be men and women of hope!

Father Francis Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.

Proud family members and invited guests gathered at Cold Spring Harbor High School on June 12 to join in celebrating the 59th Commencement of the 145 graduating seniors of the Class of 2022. As the graduates processed into the field house for the final time, High School Principal Daniel Danbusky congratulated the class on their dedication and commitment to achieving their goal of academic success.

“We are all gathered here to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments,” he said.

—Photos from Cold Spring Harbor Central School District

Pixabay photo

By Father Francis Pizzarelli

Father Frank Pizzarelli

Spring is a time for new beginnings. As you read this column, many of our college graduates will have graduated or are preparing to graduate this month. They are closing one chapter and opening a new chapter across the landscape of great division and polarization.

Four years ago, when they began their college adventure, the world was radically different. They have seen the polarization of our nation. They have witnessed the senseless destruction of a sovereign nation in Europe. They have been profoundly affected by the coronavirus and everything associated with it; two years of total disruption and having to live in ways unimaginable. 

For the first time in 40 years of teaching, I have had a growing number of bright young men and women who were clearly ill-prepared for their first year of college. They had a very hard time with balancing school, work and life. College is not high school. College professors usually don’t pamper their students. They expect that students will attend class regularly, hand in assignments on time and engage in lively conversation and debate.

Time management has been a real challenge. The quality of their critical thinking and their writing skills is clearly impaired. The issues of depression and anxiety are profoundly present as well as a lacking of ability and skills to do something about these issues.

So many colleges this year have been ill-equipped to respond to the growing number of students needing mental health support. Many local college campuses do not have enough mental health professionals to respond to the growing need.

We need to reshape our college learning landscape. We need to collaborate with our local high school colleagues and identify the ways that we can support students preparing to go to college, to help them address those weaknesses that will impair their success.

Educators at every level have to work harder on behalf of our students and make adjustments that will empower students at every level of education to do their best. Learning is a process, not a product. Despite these challenges there are extraordinary men and women that are graduating this year from our community colleges, our local universities and our graduate schools.

This past semester I have been privileged to teach the best of the best at St. Joseph’s College, Suffolk County Community Honors College and Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Services. These graduates at each level possess a passion for learning that I thought was lost. Their critical thinking and analytical skills are above the norm and their capacity for being sociologically mindful is beyond words and profoundly well-developed.

As a veteran educator, my spring semester students have inspired me to stay the course. They have taught me so many important life lessons. Each of them is committed to making a difference in their particular fields.

They really embody Gandhi’s words: “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Congratulations college graduates of 2022!  

Father Francis Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.

Photo from Three Village Central School District

This year’s graduation ceremonies were worthy of more celebration than ever before.

The Class of 2021 has been through an unbelievable two years of academics.

As the school year of 2019 began, everything was the same as usual, and then March of 2020 saw drastic changes. One minute, students were studying in school, attending clubs, practicing for plays or out on the fields, the next they were home learning remotely with no extracurricular activities. 

Proms were canceled, graduation commencements were put on hold until July where seniors graduated with just a fraction of their class at a time, as ceremonies needed to be spread out over a few days.

The beginning of the 2020-21 school year varied depending on what school district a child attended. For some there was a hybrid schedule, others fully remote and for a few in-person instruction five days a week, if they chose to do so.

Then things began to change slowly but surely as the calendar flipped to 2021. Students were given the green light to return to their classrooms every day as the year progressed. Activities after studies resumed and the fields were filled once again with football, field hockey, baseball, lacrosse and so much more.

While masks were still worn and plastic dividers remained, students began to emerge from their cocoons like butterflies ready to take on the world. Proms were held and graduations were celebrated with the whole class.

Last year school administrators, faculty members, students and parents banded together to come up with resourceful ideas such as car parades and staggered ceremonies to commemorate the momentous occasion of completing high school. This year after weathering the storm, students witnessed that a light at the end of the tunnel can exist no matter how dark that tunnel may seem at times.

They have emerged strong and resilient which can be seen in the sports championship wins across the North Shore and the smiles on the graduates’ faces.

Education is a valuable resource but, in the last two years, teenagers have stepped away from their desks with more important lessons than any high school class can provide. Life has taught them that with some flexibility, resourcefulness, resilience and optimism they increase their odds of making it over any hurdle to achieve success.

Graduates, take the lessons you gained in your cocoon and take flight as a butterfly would. A whole new world awaits all of you, and we look forward to hearing all about the wonderful things you accomplish.

The Elwood-John H. Glenn High School Class of 2021 celebrated the culmination of four years of hard work at their graduation ceremony June 25. On a beautiful Friday evening, seniors received their diplomas and concluded their time as high school students.

Valedictorian Rithika Narayan reflected on the resiliency of the Class of 2021 and shared inspiring messages for the future.

“I urge you to turn your departures into arrivals. Cherish who and what you’ve loved and learned at John Glenn, both academically and personally, and tuck them into your luggage for the next stop on your journey,” she said. 

Salutatorian Daniel Rourke and Class of 2021 Secretary Kerri Giambruno also spoke, offering words of encouragement to their fellow peers.

 

The Harborfields High School Class of 2021 were celebrated by family, friends, community members, faulty, staff and administrators at the school’s graduation ceremony on June 26. As the graduates processed on the field in the classic Harborfields green and white, joined by Principal Timothy Russo, Superintendent of Schools Rory Manning and members of the board of education, the crowd cheered enthusiastically.

“Much in the same way your family has cared for you, we have also,” Manning said. “The staff of Harborfields has been your second family for the last 13 years and we selfishly don’t want you to go, and why would we? You proved to the world that you were capable of the unimageable, and despite countless odds against you, you thrived.”

Principal Timothy Russo initiated a special tribute to Gabby Cava, a beloved member of the Class of 2021 who passed away in January 2020 from cancer. Gabby’s family was in attendance to accept the first diploma from Russo. 

Before continuing presenting diplomas to the graduates, Russo took some time to commend the Class of 2021 for their perseverance and ability to succeed in the face of huge challenges. 

“You are an incredible group who will be missed by many as you go onto achieve whatever greatness is coming your way,” he said. “Your enthusiasm, kindness and respect for Harborfields has led us through a challenging year, and I thank you for being the young men and women you are.”

Photos from Comsewogue School District

This year, Comsewogue High School held their commencement at Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium on Wednesday, June 23.

Speakers at the ceremony included High School Principal Michael Mosca, Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Quinn, Valedictorian Sydney Carter, Salutatorian Anthony Lin, Board of Education President John Swenning, Vice President Alexandra Gordon and Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini.

Photo from PJSD

With proud parents, siblings, friends, teachers, administrators, and members of the board of education, the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Class of 2021 received their diplomas during the 127th annual commencement exercises on June 25.

Principal Eric Haruthunian welcomed everyone to the momentous ceremony. Grace Keegan led in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the National Anthem, which was performed by valedictorian Peggy Yin.

Photo from PJSD

Words of wisdom and congratulatory remarks on the accomplishments of the students were offered by Superintendent of Schools Jessica Schmettan, Haruthunian, and parent speaker Stephen Rabeno, father of twin graduates Mattea and Michela Rabeno. 

He shared an inspiring story of his daughters’ growing up in Port Jefferson and referred to Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” as a reflection of the kindness and acceptance of students in the school community.

Yin and salutatorian Massimo Cipriano shared memories with their fellow classmates and thanked family members and teachers for the continued encouragement for all students to succeed in the small school community.

Haruthunian then presented the class of 2021 to Schmettan and Board of Education President Ellen Boehm before inviting each student to the podium and highlighting their high school careers and future plans. 

He was assisted by Assistant Principal Kevin Bernier in handing out the diplomas. The students then stood and tossed their caps in the air in celebration of becoming the newest graduates of the high school.