To the tune of Pomp and Circumstance, played by the Guilderland High School Symphony Orchestra, 466 Guilderland High School graduates marched into the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, Sunday, June 29, to celebrate the end of their high school careers.
`Today is a wonderful day,` said high school Principal Michael Paolino, as he welcomed more than 1,000 guests to the convention center.
Parents waved and smiled as their once-young children took the first step into their independent lives.
Clad in red and white gowns, the students stopped for pictures and whispered amongst their friends as they took their seats to participate in the 53rd annual Guilderland High School commencement exercises.
Graduate Keegan Burke-Falotico offered the student welcoming address, taking the opportunity to thank his parents and his fellow graduates for always providing guidance and support.
`We’ve all worked hard to get here,` Burke-Falotico said, noting that the students have spent more than 4,800 hours in the classroom.
He was not the only one to recognize the accomplishments of the Guilderland Class of 2008.
`This is a significant accomp-lishment,` Superintendent John McGuire said, before he told a story about two third graders who were arguing and eventually ended up fighting. He said when the boys were marched down to the principal’s office, the one boy said he hit the other boy after the other boy hit him first.
The story was meant to illustrate the graduates’ ability to make their own decisions about the future.
Burke-Falotico also commended the teachers at Guilderland High School, who were featured in a senior video played at the end of the commencement.
`We have the best teachers because they care the most,` Burke-Falotico said.
The teachers’ caring nature showed through as they offered advice to the student’s in a five-minute video.
`Follow your heart and you will find your happiness,` Burke-Falotico said.
Kelly Hill, who delivered the graduate address, asked her fellow graduates if they knew of William Addis. As she expected, very few students knew who the inventor of the toothbrush was, but they could all identify the item as she held it for all to view from the podium.
She said although Addis himself is not well known, his invention, which he created to make life better for individuals, is very recognizable.
She said it is important that graduates do not go about their life seeking fame or fortune, but to make life better for others.
`They have dedicated themselves to guiding their lives by choice, not chance,` said Paolino of the graduates.
He said several of the students were graduating with averages above 85 percent, with many attaining an average of 90 or above.
On stage sat 26 graduates who maintained a 95 or above average for their high school years.
Paolino also noted the remarkable time students spent volunteering.
In order to be recognized for outstanding volunteerism, a student had to complete 200 hours of service. However, Paolino said several students went above and beyond that number with figures ranging from 700 to 1,200 hours spent on service projects during the student’s four years of high school.
Economics teacher Lisa Whitman delivered the commencement address, telling students to always pay attention.
The purple-Croc wearing teacher, whom students voted to deliver the speech, said, `Life is what you make of it.`
She told the students to listen to others and live in the moment.
`The best way to make friends is to listen to the people around you,` she said.
Her last piece of advice for the graduates is to do something they love for work. Whitman said she spent a year of her life miserable on Wall Street before deciding to pursue another field.
The attire required on Wall Street is a bit different then the comfortable Crocs she sports now, but that was part of her message, too.
`Life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes. If your feet aren’t happy, you won’t be,` Whitman said with a laugh and a smile before closing her speech.
Every high school graduate dreads the question of what they will do post-high school, but class speaker Molly Clancy put a new spin on the old question.
She told her classmates to think of all the positions they have already filled, including that of lawyer and counselor.
Clancy said as students they have tackled several jobs by helping their friends through difficult times or advocating for senior privileges.
Aditi Chaturvedi, 18, who will attend New York University in the fall to study accounting, said she will miss her friends the most, as well as the comfort level of high school.
`I will miss all of the teachers,` said Meera Chappidi, 17, who will study Neuroscience at Brown University. `They really go out of their way.“