‘Go do bold things’

The Hillsborough High School Class of 2025 moved on to the next chapter of their lives with pomp and circumstance.

Principal Jeffrey DiLollo welcomed family and friends to the 54th annual graduation exercises that took place at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the Rutgers University campus on June 19.

“In a special way today, I’d like to remember a transformative educator and colleague,” he began, dedicating the ceremony to Ian Progin, who died on May 2. “[He was] a key contributor as a school counselor and coach and proud alum, who we unfortunately lost this year.”

Salutatorian Adam Fidziukiewicz, Class President Isabella DiStasio and Valedictorian Matthew Goldman followed with their speeches.

Fidziukiewicz, who plans to attend the Honors College at Rutgers University in the fall, addressed his peers with a little humor. In an announcer voice much like the beginning of every NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” episode, he said “In the Hillsborough Township Public School System the futures are created by two separate, yet equally important groups – the students that acquire knowledge and the faculty who educate the students, these are their stories.”

“Dun dun,” Fidziukiewicz followed as he looked out into the crowd.

“Life is like a musical composition,” he said. “… A fifth of a score and zero years ago, when you a student began your high school career, some of the parts were already written, some of the parts were still in the works. Many parts were just blank as you got into the groove and made your way through high school.

“You decided what parts you wanted to develop and what parts you wanted to add, sometimes you find something you are passionate about.”

Fidziukiewicz reminded his fellow graduates that “success does not come to those who don’t take action to achieve it.”

“Don’t sit around waiting for a star to fall,” he said. “When you see a chance, take it. There’s a lot of opportunities if you know when to take them and if there aren’t any, you can make them.

“Be open to new melodies. Find what you love and give your all to it.”

DiStasio, who is heading to the University of Michigan in the fall, spoke about kindness.

“This class showed me the power to care, the power of choosing kindness,” she said. “… What we build through kindness doesn’t vanish when we leave, it remains for others to carry forward.

“But kindness isn’t always easy. Sometimes kindness means speaking up when it’s risky, sometimes it means holding your tongue when you know you’re right, sometimes it means forgiving when no apology ever comes, sometimes it means just showing up again and again when no one is applauding you for it.

“The world we are stepping into is not always kind,” DiStasio continued. “It’s loud, divided and often fueled by competition, criticism and conflict. We see it everywhere online, in our communities. Even in our own lives.

“People can be quick to judge, slow to listen and too often focused on being right instead of being good.

“It’s easy to think kindness is powerless in a world like that, but that’s exactly why it matters.”

DiStasio told her fellow graduates to “Go do bold things, build something that matters, try, fail, learn and try again.

“Make mistakes big enough to learn from, but small enough to laugh about,” she said. “But as we do all of that let’s be the kind of people who slow down enough to really see each other. Let’s lead with kindness not as an afterthought, but as a way of being.

“Let’s show up when nobody is applauding. Let’s be the people who make the world a little brighter, a little kinder, and a little bit more human.”

Goldman is heading to Binghamton University in the fall. He said he was nervous about leaving HHS behind and excited for what the future holds.

“Life is like a race,” he said. “I don’t mean life is a 100-meter sprint … but I argue, life is more like a 5K, which is around three miles long. It’s not only physically draining, as you’d expect, but it is also a mental challenge.”

When his fellow classmates inevitably encounter the bumps, obstacles and branches of a 5K, Goldman said it was important to take the wise words on the back of a fellow runner’s shirt.

“When the going gets tough, the tough go running,” he shared.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Volpe presented the graduating class, Board of Education President Paul Marini awarded the diplomas, and senior Jack Geraci led his fellow graduates to transfer their tassels from the right to left.