| 06/16/2007 |
| Onward and upward |
| By NICOLE WIETRAK |
|
Oakers Class of 2007 graduates
The gray skies hovering above didn't keep the soon-to-be graduates, 363 strong, from their sublime procession, clad in CHS's vibrant reds and whites. Class Vice President Jonathan Cybulski kicked off the event by welcoming the audience members and distinguished guests to the 73rd CHS commencement exercises. Following the National Anthem, sung by seniors Rose Bartholomew and Leah Urwin, the crowd was presented a moving tribute to fallen comrades, led by the Air Force Junior ROTC cadets and set to the patriotic verse of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA." CHS Principal Michael Hobin was first to address the graduates. Hobin said goodbye to his students and congratulated them on a job well done. First, Hobin asked for a moment of silence to recognize Andrew Coit, the CHS senior who was killed in a tragic accident in March. Addressing the class, Hobin imparted on them the advice that they must be able to adapt to a changing world while still having the spirit and drive to follow their dreams. "I challenge you to find your passion and find someone who will pay you for doing just that," said Hobin. Following greetings from School Committee Chairman Raymond E. Spear and Town Council President Justin A. Pomfret, class President Aimee Belanger took to the podium. Quoting a poem near and dear to her, Belanger told her classmates to listen hard, laugh (since it is the best medicine), continue to learn, appreciate your friends, and above all else, live for today. Boston University-bound Salutatorian Ali Briden offered a few words of advice to her departing classmates in hopes of reminding them that the most important lessons learned during high school did not come from the pages of a textbook. "It is the little things we have experienced over our four years at Coventry High School that will stay with us forever," said Briden. "These moments seem mundane and ordinary most of the time, but secretly they are the ones that teach us the most about connection, compassion, courage, and confidence." Addressing her classmates as family, Briden talked about both good and bad times shared during their four year together, saying "when one hurt, we all hurt, and within our circle we understood each other enough to offer selfless support." "Do not shed a tear as you replay the glory days of high school back in your mind," she said, "because, now, good times never seemed so good." Coventry High Valedictorian Peter Ross, who will attend Carnegie Mellon in the fall, took his fellow classmates on a journey from early childhood to the present with the plethora of new choices between college, military or workforce all laid out in front of them. "The road ahead is undoubtedly full of twists and turns, and at times we may want to stop and take an easy way out," counseled Ross. "I maintain we should never give up on our dreams; we should continue to persevere, because in the end, the rewards will be great." Ross recounted the rise and fall of former President Richard Nixon, starting with Nixon's humble beginnings after he declined his acceptance into Harvard University due to financial constraints. "He wore the same suit, shirt, and tie every day while attending Whittier College and he lived in a groundskeeper's shack in order to afford tuition," said Ross. "Because of his perseverance, he achieved his childhood dream of becoming president." After Nixon became president, Ross said, he lost sight of his ethics and morals and at the same time lost his spirit of perseverance. Playing off of Thomas Edison's famous observation, "genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration," Ross told his classmates that perseverance is the key that will open the doors to success. "We all have the capabilities to use the key," he said. "We just need the will to open the locks." Before receiving their diplomas and venturing out into the world, the new graduates listened to the words of their superintendent, Kenneth R. DiPietro, who named the 2007 class the "best and the brightest that America has to offer." DiPietro produced a large glass jar that he began to fill with rocks, then smaller pebbles and topped the whole thing off with sand, completely filling the jar to the brim. The rocks, he said, represent our families, our health, our children; anything that is precious to a person. The pebbles represent smaller things in life, such as cars, houses and big screen televisions, while the sand represents everything else that fills the spaces. "If you put the sand in the jar first, the rocks and pebbles wouldn't fit," said DiPietro. "The same goes for life. Pay attention to the things that are central to your life. Enjoy your life. Set your priorities, the rest is just pebbles and sand."
|