in Thursday ceremonyCorrespondent
Brick Township High School graduates 348
in Thursday ceremony
Correspondent
The Brick Township High School class of 2003 marches during Thursday’s commencement.
‘It’s about time" was how valedictorian Alexandra Monesson summed up her graduation experience in her speech to Brick Township High School’s class of 2003.
In Thursday’s blazing sun and heat, Monesson delivered her speech as students’ families and friends crowded Keller Memorial Field to watch the 348 graduates begin a new and exciting stage in their lives.
Monesson urged her classmates to reflect on what the four years of high school have taught them and to thank those who had helped bring them to this day. It’s the people the class has met and the experiences its members have gained that helped them become who they are today, she said.
"These past four years have shaped us in ways we don’t understand," Monesson said.
With temperatures above 90 degrees, some graduates chose to remove their shoes.
Gregory Schaefer, senior class president, reflected on his high school memories and said he tried to make his high school experience the most it could be.
Schaefer spoke of how graduation day begins a new chapter in life.
"Be sure you’re the author of your own life story," Schaefer said.
Schaefer reminded his classmates that a successful future after graduation lies in the power of the individual.
Other speakers at commencement included Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Seidenberger and 1972 Brick graduate Dr. Jeanette Harrison.
Harrison, an employee of Intel and a member of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, congratulated the class on a job well-done and promised a short speech so students could receive their long-awaited diplomas.
"Graduates, this is your night," Harrison said.
Both speakers stressed the value of education and the challenges that await them after graduation.
"Life will throw you curve balls," Seidenberger said.
Do not be afraid of the challenges and the unexpected, he said, but be ready to face them.