By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — They emerged from underneath the stands at the Sun National Bank Center — Superintendent of Schools David Aderhold and school board president Anthony Fleres, school board members, administrators, faculty and finally, the long line of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South seniors.
The 360-plus graduating seniors — boys clad in green gowns and caps and girls dressed in gold gowns and caps, reflecting the school colors — strode into the center of the arena as parents and family members called out to them.
“Brendan, Brendan,” shouted one family member. Brendan scanned the seats in the arena, looking for the woman who had called out his name. Other seniors also looked around, their heads swiveling on their shoulders as they searched for family and friends.
And then the seniors took their own seats on the floor of the arena.
Looking back, the 12 years of schooling “passed like sand through your fingers,” said class speaker Ana Mulcahy. But now she and her classmates have reached the finish line — the last concert, the last athletic contest — and “we are on our way,” she said.
Student Council President Kathryn Schoenauer picked up the race analogy. The race toward the finish line began in 9th grade — the starter’s gun fired and “we were off,” she said. There were times when the racecourse was tight, and other times when it seemed that there was no end in sight.
Once they found their rhythm, it became easier, Kathryn said. And as they approached 11th grade, she and her classmates could see that the end was in sight and they did all that they could to reach the finish line and the sense of accomplishment that goes with it.
And as seniors, they all had the same thought — “we can’t wait to get out of this place,” Kathryn said. “Well, now we are here. Are we even ready for this (graduation)?”
For William Jiao, the class valedictorian, it was not about the race but about finding one’s niche. His four years of high school taught him to find his passion and his niche. Everyone has a niche, and “it is up to us to find it,” he said.
William also praised the faculty, because they are the ones who made West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South what it is. And on graduation day, he said, “we leave here not as classmates or friends, but as family.”
Principal Dennis Lepold told the class that they both survived and thrived during their four years in high school. They worked hard and made the most of their time at the high school, but they did not do it on their own. Their parents and teachers helped them, and for that, they must be grateful, he said.
Turning to the future, the keys to success are simple, Mr. Lepold said. It’s all about being honest, productive, kind and having the right attitude. It’s being honest with oneself, and choosing every day how to treat others they meet. Attitude is all about being positive, he said.
“No matter where life takes you, you will always be Pirates (the school emblem). Make us proud,” Mr. Lepold said, as he presented the senior class to Superintendent of Schools David Aderhold and school board president Anthony Fleres.
After the final diploma was handed out by Mr. Aderhold and Mr. Fleres, the newly minted graduates tossed their mortarboard caps in the air — and with the high school band and orchestra playing the “Pirates March” from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the Class of 2016 sailed away into the future.
