By Marisa Iati, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE – Under threat of thunderstorms and with families and friends watching from the bleachers, Robbinsville High School graduated 163 members of the Class of 2011 on the school’s athletic field Tuesday evening.
After the band’s rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance” welcomed the graduates-to-be, the Honor Guard posted the colors and Senior Chorus members sang the national anthem.
Schools Superintendent Steven Mayer asked students to consider what it means to be human, courageous and successful.
”Being human means knowing, appreciating and understanding each other’s stories,” Mr. Mayer said.
”Being courageous means putting someone else’s gain ahead of your own, and being successful means living courageously as a human,” Mr. Mayer said. “Be uniquely human, live with courage, and find a path to success that combines both of those.”
Board of Education President Michael Reca informed students that they have “a golden opportunity to play a significant role in building this district’s legacy” and that graduation is not the end of their journeys.
”This is just the first chapter in creating your life’s legacy,” he said. “Stay true to yourselves, and do not forget where you came from.”
Principal Molly Avery suggested that students always maintain a balance between work and play.
Dr. Kathie Foster, assistant superintendent, recognized Christine Chun as the class valedictorian. Christine will attend Princeton University and plans to major in chemical and biological engineering.
Christine’s classmate Paul McGlew read her speech because she is currently recovering from surgery.
In her speech, Christine urged her classmates not to forget the challenges and successes they experienced in high school and the people with whom they shared those moments.
”Remember the challenges that you overcame, the inner demons that you defeated and the strength that you gained from the experience,” she said. “Remember the prizes, the honors and the pride that you brought to your loved ones.”
”Our high school years will persist within us as the launch pad of our identities,” Christine added. “They are a stamp in our psyche of the knowledge we gathered, the wisdom we received, the companionship we celebrated and the enduring spirit that kept us going all the way.”
Sean Pethybridge, senior class president, reminded his classmates that they are the first graduating class to have spent four years in the school, which opened in 2005 and phased in grades 9-12 over several years.
”The RHS Class of 2011 is the first class to find its way through a true high school experience,” Sean said.
Sean joked that since he was giving a graduation speech, he needed to include at least one clichéd comment.
”The end of one era leads to the beginning of another,” he said. “Do with it what you will.”
Several graduates had emblazoned on their caps the names or logos of the colleges and universities they will be attending in the fall.
Before students received their diplomas, turned their tassels and celebrated while Phil Collins’s “On My Way” blared from the sound system, Kenneth Gibson, last year’s teacher of the year, told students to consider themselves global citizens.
”See yourself in others to see where they’ve been and where they are going, and see yourself where you want to be, and the future is yours,” he said.
