Childhood’s end came on a warm summer morning for the Hightstown High School Class of 2018, as the seniors came together as a class one last time on the morning of June 19.
The 350-plus seniors gathered at the Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton, marking Hightstown High School’s 103rd graduation ceremony.
Seven graduating seniors, all of whom are entering the military or who have signed up for the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in college or who are entering the National Guard, strode into the arena ahead of their classmates, carrying the American flag and the New Jersey state flag.
Seniors William Garzon, Bryan Steven Enriquez Vela and Joseph Alejandro Ordonez Panama are entering the U.S. Marine Corps; Catherine Marion Tomaselli and Mike Joel Cedono Tigrero are entering the U.S. Army; Rachel F. Dzieminski has signed up for the U.S. Air Force ROTC program at the University of Pittsburgh; and Abigail Charlotte Barreto is entering the U.S. National Guard.
And then, as the high school band played the familiar “Pomp and Circumstance,” East Windsor Regional Schools administrators, high school faculty and Board of Education members marched onto the floor. They were followed by the 382 seniors who made up the Class of 2018.
The seniors – boys in blue caps and gowns, girls in white caps and gowns – stood in line patiently as they waited for their turn to enter the arena. When they stepped into the arena, family members and friends applauded and cheered them on.
Some of the seniors decorated their mortarboard caps, mostly with the names of the colleges they will be attending – Rutgers, Temple University and the University of Vermont.
A few others struck out on their own – from “Hightstown High School graduate,” “I still have no idea what I’m doing,” to “Thanks mom and dad” and “Have courage and be kind.”
Once her classmates were seated, senior class President Claire Anders greeted them. She thanked her teachers for supporting her “wild ideas” for the high school, her friends for making her laugh and her family for loving and supporting her.
Claire said the class has spent more than 5,000 hours at Hightstown High School since freshman year, studying and making memories – from Ramboozles to proms, spirit days, homecoming, Friday night lights, pep rallies, clubs, practices and even classes.
In those 5,040 hours, she learned a few things – that every flag that hangs in the high school commons represents a culture and a different group of people that deserve equal respect. Everyone has a different background and one should always approach a situation with kindness first, she added.
Claire said when it was time to pick a quote to put on a banner that will hang in the school after the class graduates, the class council chose a quote from Manny Hale – “Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.”
“Class of 2018, we have already done things bigger than I could ever have imagined. I am so proud. We will all go on to change the world,” she said.
In an unusual twist, the Class of 2018 had two valedictorians – Sree Charan Reddy Chinta and Gabriel Sherwin, whose grade point averages were identical. Both offered their own remarks.
“While I would like to stand up here and give you advice with a smug sense of satisfaction associated with being valedictorian, I can’t. I know I’m neither the best nor the brightest in the room,” Sree said.
Although he will put “valedictorian” on every resume he ever sends out, Sree pointed to the girls championship tennis team, a cheerleading squad that places at nationals every year, and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse and basketball teams that made history this year, and his classmates who are entering the military.
“Each and every one of the people sitting before me excels at things I could only hope to achieve,” he said.
Sree pointed to his father, who defied the odds, he was living in a one-room compound with a dirt floor and no electricity, and moved to the United States to provide a better life for his family. It is a story that is not so different from that of other immigrant families, he said.
“As we depart into this world as adults with greater freedom, remember that it is our relationships that allow us to get through hard times and feel the joy of victory. The relationships I have formed over the past four years have definitely shaped me to be who I am today,” he said.
“I’ll miss pulling up to school every day, I’ll miss almost getting smacked by the gym doors as they fly open, but most importantly, I’ll miss you guys,” Sree said.
Gabriel encouraged his classmates to look back on their four years, beginning with freshman year, when they were confused, young, immature and desperately trying to figure out how they would spend the next four years.
Each year, they learned a little bit more and the pace began to pick up, Gabriel said. By junior year, “most of us found what direction we wanted to go in.” And then came senior year – the final stretch of high school and the best year of all, he said.
“We have all emerged a lot wiser than when we entered high school, and we have finally reached adulthood,” he said. “If we can survive picking out the right clothes in the morning, acne, and not having enough followers on Instagram, then I am sure we can get through anything.”
Hightstown High School Principal Dennis M. Vinson Jr., in his parting words to the class, told the seniors they had been faced with challenges. Watch television, read the newspapers, check out social media and see what’s out there, he said.
The class has found its voice and it has taken action, whether it is spearheading a voter rights drive or organizing student action groups, Vinson said, as he encouraged the students to continue to try to make changes.
“Rams, we are so proud of what you have accomplished. Once a Ram, always a Ram,” Vinson said.
In his remarks to the seniors, Superintendent of Schools Richard Katz urged them to do their best. He told the soon-to-be-graduates the life they are building is the only one they will build.
Katz encouraged them to live a life of enthusiasm and to make things happen. They should find out what they love to do and do it with enthusiasm. Passion and desire will make them leaders, he said.
Then, one by one, the seniors walked up to the podium and received a handshake and a diploma from school district administrators.
After the last senior received a diploma, it was time for them to turn the tassel on their mortarboards and to join the long line of Hightstown High School alumni.
