Huntington's Class of 2013 Graduates
As members of the Class of 2013 streamed out of Huntington High School and toward Blue Devil Stadium, an overflow crowd of more than 2,000 stood and cheered in an emotional salute to the 316 seniors who garnered more than $24 million in scholarship offers.
The teenagers paraded into the school's 152nd commencement exercises to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1," as parents angled to snap photos and film the proceedings. The ceremony signified both an end and a beginning, drawing to a close one phase of life and opening the door to a new and even more exciting stage.
Tears could be seen welling up in the eyes of the teenagers and their family members as the Class of 2013 assumed its position in the storied history of Huntington High School.
Valedictorian Todd Colvin, who is headed to the University of Virginia in the fall delivered his well-received and energetic five-minute speech from memory, glancing only once at his notes. "Our class at Huntington is passionate," the Class of 2013's top student told the huge crowd, which filled the grandstand and spilled out for dozens of yards on either side of the structure.
"I believe that if you bet against the Huntington student body, then you are on the losing side of history," Mr. Colvin told the crowd. "Who says that a Huntington athlete can't drop 20 points down the stretch of a close playoff basketball game, or an actor can't play Captain Von Trapp as well as anybody on Broadway? Who says that our generation, accused of being materialistic and selfish, can't collect two busloads of food to deliver to Huntington's food pantries? Who said that the Science Bowl Team isn't worthy of being mentioned in the Congressional Record, or that our marching band can't get third in the state? It is never a wise idea to give a Huntington student the added motivation of having a chip on their shoulder, because it will rarely work out well for you."
Principal Carmela Leonardi provided stunning testimony to the academic prowess of the graduating class, stating that 150 seniors (up from 96 in 2012) took one or more Advanced Placement exam, an indication of the challenging level of studies they had pursued. A total of 95 seniors took three or more AP exams (up from 53 last year), with 18 taking five exams and nine taking six AP tests.
Huntington High School's college counseling center processed 2,092 applications (up from 1,486 in 2012). As of last Friday, the graduating seniors had been offered $24,149,593 in scholarships, nearly double last year's total of $12,849,554.
The seniors marched into Blue Devil Stadium behind a Veterans of Foreign Wars color guard and a school banner carried by Isabel Casey and Stephanie Quesquen. A talented group of seniors performed a sweet-sounding rendition of Francis Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner."
"Never Let Go of Your Dreams"
Salutatorian Molly Prep, who will attend New York University in the fall, was upbeat and poignant in her address. "All of you are about to take your first step into the real world, as a high school graduate," she told her classmates. "Some of you will shortly be stepping back into the education system to go to college, while others may go directly into the workforce, take time off to think, or do any number of the endless options that lie before you. Still, no matter who you are or what your 'next step' is, I urge you to never let go of your dreams."
Members of Huntington's Class of 2013 earned honors in every academic discipline as well as in the fine and performing arts and in the athletic arena. Vanderbilt University-bound Alexis Weitzner was named a National Merit Finalist, placing her among the top seniors in the United States. Brent Filippini is headed to Cornell University and dozens of other graduates will be attending top tier colleges and universities.
"Learn from Failure"
Superintendent James W. Polansky told the seniors that failure is never final, but is instead something to learn from, pointing to Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and J.K. Rowling as one-time "failures" who went on to reach the pinnacle of their professions.
"'Success' – each of us wants it, and the sooner the better," Mr. Polansky said. "But the concept of 'success' takes on a different context for each of us; word of advice - do not let others define the concept for you. Use the tool at your disposal, a tool more powerful than any computer, smartphone or other digital device – your brain. A quote from Michelangelo about his legacy … 'If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius.' First, your brain needs knowledge as much as food and oxygen. Desire and ambition mean that you will have to work both smarter and harder to gain this knowledge. Secondly, your brain is hard wired to endure. Indeed, obstacles may force you to broaden your determination. Third, your brain accepts failure as a step toward success. Learn from the failure. Accept it as part of the journey to success."
Seniors Accepted by Top Colleges
Huntington seniors have been accepted by many of the top colleges and universities in the country including Cornell University, American University, Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon, University of Delaware, Dickinson College, Emerson College, Emory University, Fairfield, Fordham, Iona College, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins University, Lehigh University, Loyola University (Maryland, Chicago and New Orleans campuses), Massachusetts College of Art and Design, University of Michigan, New York University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Penn State, Quinnipiac, Rutgers, Syracuse, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Southern California, Tufts, Vanderbilt University, Vassar College, CUNY's Macaulay Honors College and the top SUNY institutions.
Serving as master of ceremonies of Huntington's 152nd commencement was Jonathan Wood, who will study history at Lehigh University. He introduced "honored teachers" Lauren Desiderio and Donna Nugent, who announced the name of each senior before diplomas were presented by members of the Huntington School Board. The two teachers served as the Class of 2013's faculty advisors.
Graduates Pursuing Interesting Majors
Dr. Leonardi said the graduates have plans to pursue a variety of interesting academic majors including criminal justice, computer engineering, architecture, education, molecular biology, athletic training, sports management, nursing, fashion design, illustration, speech pathology, baking and pastry arts, film/television production, mathematical methods in the social sciences, horticulture, pharmacy and marine operations, among many others.
"Educators across the state know that in this age of standards-based educational reform and the over-reliance on test scores as a measure of school success, a heavy demand has been placed on the professional and economic resources of public education," Dr. Leonardi said. "What remains special and unique about the Huntington School District, however, is the constant focus on the part of administrators and teachers to provide a balanced and rich experience for all students. A valuable public education is one that allows students to explore and spread their intellectual wings while building a strong academic foundation. The years our students spent at Huntington High School allowed them to learn, explore and compete. We as adults were fortunate to help them along the way and to rejoice in their creativity, their energy and drive."
School Board President Emily Rogan, herself a 1983 Huntington High School graduate who went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees at Cornell University and NYU, told the seniors "this world really needs your help. In fact, we, the adults before you, owe you an apology. We're handing you a world rife with violence and discord and a struggling economy. Our political leaders, on both sides of the aisle, can't seem to get out of their own way to talk to each other in a respectful manner. It seems that civil discourse and compromise have gone the way of the Model T."
Looking out toward the seniors sitting in chairs arranged in neat rows on the Blue Devil Stadium turf, Mrs. Rogan told the teenagers that as bleak as the current situation appears to be, there is no need to despair.
"I am an Optimist"
"I am an optimist," Mrs. Rogan said. "I have faith in your ability to affect change. I believe that you are the ones who will find solutions we don't see and make choices that will profoundly impact the future. You have studied and grown up in a school community as steeped in diversity and tolerance as it is in tradition. If what you've done here in Huntington so far is any indication of what you're capable of doing, then we should all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Indifferent? Self-serving? Indulged? No way. Not you."
Mrs. Rogan listed the many volunteer initiatives the Class of 2013 pursued to make the world a better place, from raising $165,000 for the American Cancer Society and collecting and donating thousands of pounds of food to local pantries to traveling to storm stricken communities both near and far to help them rebuild their homes and lives.
As the ceremony drew to a close, the new graduates tossed their caps high into the air to cheers before embracing one another and being congratulated by their families. The classmates and their loved ones lingered for more than an hour on the stadium turf and adjacent athletic field, posing for endless rounds of photos and saying goodbye to one another. Many of them sensed this would be the last time class members would all be assembled together and they appeared reluctant to let go of the moment.