Lawrence High School graduates enjoy ceremony in Trenton.
By: Lea Kahn
The rain was coming down in buckets outside the Trenton War Memorial Friday night, but you wouldn’t know it from the smiles on the faces of the 320-member strong Lawrence High School Class of 2003.
With a handshake from school board President Mary DiMartino, Schools Superintendent Max Riley and Lawrence High School Principal Donald Proffit, the graduating seniors picked up their diplomas and were dispatched into the world.
The crowd of parents and friends began gathering on the steps of the Trenton War Memorial around 5 p.m. The doors opened about 45 minutes later, and the families and friends streamed into the Patriots Theater for the graduation ceremony the first LHS ceremony to be held at the Trenton War Memorial.
School district officials decided earlier in the 2002-03 school year to move the graduation ceremony to an indoor location. Last year’s graduation ceremony for the Class of 2002, which was held at its traditional location on the Lawrence High School football field, was interrupted when it began to rain.
To the strains of composer Edward Elgar’s "Pomp and Circumstance," school district administrators, school board members, high school faculty and staff and Mayor Greg Puliti walked down an aisle to their seats.
Then, the Class of 2003 marched down two aisles to take their seats on the stage. Some of the girls smiled, while most of the boys wore serious expressions on their face. One girl gave a small wave to her family. One boy spotted his mother standing at the end of a row of seats, and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek as he passed by.
After the seniors were seated, Class President Christine Lino welcomed the families and friends of the Class of 2003. She also offered some advice to her classmates and the audience, based on her experiences over the past few years.
Although Friday was graduation day for the high school seniors, Christine said, Sept. 11, 2001 marked her own graduation day from childhood innocence into adulthood. The events of that day, as well as the deaths of family and friends in the past year, have forced her to re-evaluate her priorities, she said.
"Through the years, we have each survived our own set of life experiences, which have made us who we are," Christine said. "Being here now is proof that we were strong enough to get to this point, and stronger to move on in life. For many of us, some of these life experiences have included the pain and heartbreak that comes with death."
Christine said that since the day of the terrorist attacks, she has changed. She has grown, learned and come out stronger for that experience, in which she lost her uncle. While the students stand at a crossroad in their lives, they should not forget what life’s hardships have taught them, because those lessons will help them travel whichever road they choose, she said.
"In life, everything happens for a reason, whether or not those reasons show themselves at first," she said. "In some cases, it take time before they are revealed. View the world with an optimistic attitude, without the blur of pessimism, and these reasons will be seen more clearly.
"Carry this optimism into everyday opportunities and once-in-a-lifetime chances," Christine said. "When shadowed by doubt, sometimes we hesitate to try. Well, I challenge each of you to live in such a way that you never hesitate to find out what could be. Don’t spend the rest of your lives wondering what might have been."
Whether high school was the time of one’s life, or a time in one’s life that should be left behind, it is important to move on and take along the good, the bad and the ugly, she said. She told her classmates to take with them the times that made them laugh until they cried, and the times they cried that made them wonder whether they would ever laugh again.
In preparation for the annual address of the valedictorian and salutatorian, Mayor Puliti read the proclamations prepared for class valedictorian Daniel Mejia and class salutatorian Neil Taunk by Township Council. He presented the proclamations to the two students.
When it was his turn to speak, Daniel urged his classmates to pay heed to President Abraham Lincoln. The 16th president said, "In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years." It means that life is about quality, and not quantity, Daniel said.
"We have to enjoy what we do in life," Daniel said. "If we can make one of our passions our profession, then each and every one of us is more likely to succeed in life. I urge you all to live your life with passion, drive and enthusiasm."
Daniel also urged his classmates to keep in touch with each other. It is important to maintain quality friendships over time and not necessarily through instant-messaging on the computer, he said. It would be good to call three or four friends and go out to a movie or take a trip to an amusement park.
"While each of you will surely be engaging in many new endeavors whether at college, in the military or in the workplace, be sure to remember where you came from whether it be Lawrence or Washington townships and seize the day to actually call somebody to invite them to hang out," he said.
It is important to volunteer one’s time through community service, Daniel said. Teenagers can change the lives of others through volunteer work, he said. College students should join a service club at school. Those who work or join the military can volunteer their time on the weekends, he said.
Daniel told his classmates that they should play some sort of sport or engage in regular exercise. They should try out a sport, whether it is something as mainstream as soccer or as unique as fencing, he said. It’s a way to make new friends, as well as enjoying the benefits of becoming healthier, he added.
And finally, Daniel urged his classmates to take part in some artistic activity whether it be art, music, dance or drama. It would contribute to a more well-rounded life, he said.
Neil Taunk, the salutatorian, told his classmates that he was astonished to realize that they had finally made it they were graduating from Lawrence High School, closing the chapter on their childhood.
"A fitting line I found that encompasses our growing up is from ‘The Wonder Years,’" Neil said, referring to the television show. That line says "Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you’re in diapers, the next day you’re gone, but the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul," he said.
The Class of 2003 is sending its members into the military, as well as to the top colleges in the country, Neil said. It has had some of the best athletic teams in years, and it has established itself as a service-oriented class in the community through the creation of SOAP the Society of Adolescent Philanthropists, he said.
"Together, we have created a Lawrence High School experience better than any previous year, and this has led to a strong community of close friendships that will last through time," he said.
"We were fortunate enough that LHS and our class was not driven by cliques and personal vendettas. Friendly faces always surrounded us and the experiences we have shared, teachers we have come to know and love, and friends we have bonded with have all changed us in positive ways we can only begin to imagine," Neil said.
"I’m sure I speak for many when I say that I can hardly recognize the person that I was four years ago," he said. "The people we are on this stage now will provide the foundation for the people we will become in the future. Now empowered with the confidence this school has instilled within us, the immeasurable potential this class has may be realized."
Preparing to present the Class of 2003 to receive its diplomas, Mr. Proffit said he would miss "each and every one of you." He told the class that it had made his job as principal "seamless."
Then, the long line of red-gowned seniors lined up to receive their handshake and high school diploma from Ms. DiMartino, Dr. Riley and Mr. Proffit.
The students’ reactions varied. One girl made a circle in the air with her hand as she walked across the stage to pick up her diploma. She hugged Mr. Proffit after she received her parchment.
Another girl happily strutted across the stage, and another girl held up her diploma as she walked back to her seat. Other students waved to their friends and family, in response to calls of support to them from the audience.
When the last diploma was handed out, seven brightly colored beach balls suddenly appeared in the air on the stage as the seniors bounced them from one to another. A beach ball landed in Dr. Proffit’s lap, and he bounced it back to the class.
Once the students calmed down and the beach balls were captured, Christine led her classmates in the ceremonial turning of the tassel that marks graduation.
And then the Class of 2003 became history.