The South Brunswick Township High School Class of 2022 is a group of graduating seniors that has learned to “handle and conquer adversity.”
“You are ready for [the adversity of the future]. You have experienced how to endure, how to go with the flow, how to change, change again, pivot then change back,” Superintendent of Schools Scott Feder said. “At the age of 15, you began facing challenges most adults had never faced and you came out on the other side with strength and resilience. You do not know it yet, but you are so prepared for what is coming next.”
Feder addressed the senior class during the high school’s 61st commencement ceremony at CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton on June 24.
He said it is easy to look at the last few years and see what you have missed.
“I want to challenge you to see the other side of that coin. The side that has the good times. The skills you gained. Learning in a whole new way. Many of you will find yourselves in jobs, careers and college where you need the skills learned due to this pandemic.”
Feder was joined by Principal Peter Varela, school administration and members of the Board of Education (BOE).
Armaan Kazi, senior class president, Kritika Nagappa, student council president, Vyas Pujari, salutatorian and co-valedictorians Swetha Yogeswaran and Akshay Mistry delivered their speeches to their peers dressed in black caps and black/gold gowns.
Kazi told his fellow graduates that the most important lessons they learned from high school were about “life itself.”
“You are done with high school and you get to move forward in a new chapter of your life with advantage of knowing everything you learned here [South Brunswick High School],” he said. “You can become the person you want to be. But for who you want to become, strive to be a better person.”
Nagappa said to remember the Class of 2022 will always bleed black and gold.
“Here we are wearing black and gold on our final day as Vikings,” she said. “As you begin to wear your college colors and brighten the world with your every step forward remember you will always bleed black and gold. This community will always be cheering you on and celebrating your many successes.”
Pujari stressed that his advice to the graduating class “is to plunge yourself forward and try as many new things as possible.”
“Find what makes you who you are and embrace your individuality. I know the adversity we faced has made our class more prepared to fail than any other,” he said. “Our class is also amongst a generation that is more connected than ever.”
Yogeswaran told her class to “celebrate the person they have become and challenge themselves in the slightest ways to spark growth.”
“Also realize today is the beginning of the rest of our stories. We are a passionate and diverse class going on to do crazy and exciting things,” she said. “Eventually, high school will be just a 25-minute snippet of the hours long video of our lives. Moving on we will invite new people into our stories and embark on new adventures, but we will forever be shaped by our moments at South Brunswick.”
Mistry noted that no matter how much their class fell off their bikes and scraped their knees “we got up and kept going,” he said.
“In the process we learned how to ride our bikes. Once we take the first step and start working, we realize there is always a better version of ourselves that we can aspire to become,” Mistry said. “In the future, we are going to ride our bikes down different trails, but will always be connected by the memories we created right here at South Brunswick High School.”
