MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Most members of Columbia High School’s 475-member graduating Class of 2015 wore smiles as they walked across the stage at the Essex County College Gym on June 24 to pick up their diplomas during the school’s 128th commencement ceremony, many eager to leave behind the hours of homework and late-night study sessions of high school for the freedom of college life.
But for many CHS students graduation is bittersweet, as it means leaving behind the friends with whom they have grown close during the past four years, the towns they grew up in and the families whose love and support have brought them to the next stage of their lives. As a result, a sense of nostalgia pervaded the graduation ceremony, enhanced by the video retrospective screened halfway through the event and the CHS Senior Choir’s final performance together.
Above all, this nostalgia was felt as each speaker addressed the class, providing them with a few words of wisdom as they move on from Columbia forever.
Principal Elizabeth Aaron, after telling her students that they will always hold a special place in her heart for being her first graduating class at the school, reminded them that CHS is not at all like real life in many ways. After all, Aaron pointed out, life does not come with bells or schedules or a phone call to one’s parents in the case of a missed class, which elicited cheers from the students.
But in a lot of other ways Columbia does reflect the real world, Aaron said, by containing a wide variety of both people and opportunities. CHS and the real world are also places where the right thing to do is not always the easiest, though Aaron said that does not make it less worth doing. And just as students spoke out for what they believed in at CHS, she said there will be numerous chances to do so again in society.
Overall, the principal said attending the high school has done much to prepare the students for life, something she urged them to take advantage of as they move forward.
“My advice to you is to take the lessons you have learned at Columbia and use them to shape the rest of your life,” Aaron said. “Take responsibility for your actions. Be aware of and ready to own the consequences of your decisions. Pay attention to the people around you, and be kind to them. Ask for help when you need it, and give help when you aren’t asked. Think before you speak, and always speak thoughtfully. Don’t settle for average. Aim for excellence always and when you achieve it, share it with others.
“Excellence doesn’t always come easily,” she concluded. “In fact, it often happens after much trial and error and hard work. It is worth the effort. Don’t give life half of your effort — give it all, and then some more.”
Class President Nathalie Spidle also acknowledged that Columbia shaped every student that walked its halls over the past four years. After taking a selfie from the stage with her classmates, Spidle reminded them that they are all not children anymore, but young adults on the verge of going their separate ways. As they move on, she stressed that they should be grateful for their time at CHS and for the future it has provided them.
“In a few days, months or years when you look back on high school, I hope you can all be happy for your experience because it’s what shaped the kind of person you are today,” Spidle said. “And if for whatever reason you aren’t happy with something in your life today, you have the ability to change it. Make yourself a better person. Push yourself to be the best.”
Spidle also told the class that they can do anything they put their mind to, so they can be whoever they want to be.
But who they want to be might not be the person they ever expected. Acting Superintendent James Memoli revealed that when he was a senior at Columbia in 1964 he never thought he would one day be an educator congratulating a graduating class. After thanking the parents and teachers in attendance for taking the students this far, Memoli encouraged every graduate to follow their own life’s path wherever it takes them.
“Life will take you to places you may not expect,” Memoli said. “Whatever you do next, each of you leaves here today with dreams of what you would like to accomplish and the skills, talents and passions that can help you achieve those dreams. Make the most of every opportunity that comes your way.”
Class of 2015 graduates are planning to go on to college, the military, employment and other opportunities.
The ceremony was especially bittersweet for Board of Education member Beth Daugherty, whose daughter, Lucy, is the last of her four children to graduate from CHS. Having seen many of the students grow up before her eyes, Daugherty told them how proud she was to see them accomplish so much in the years before going to college. As they leave South Orange and Maplewood, she reminded them that they will always have a community that supports them.
Daugherty also said the graduates should appreciate the fact they attended such a diverse school and put to good use the lessons they learned from experiencing issues of race, religion and sexual orientation firsthand. She urged them to continue taking the lead in discussing and acting on matters of social justice because Columbia has empowered them to be “independent-thinking and action-oriented young adults.” In doing so they will truly make a difference, she said.
“You are the leaders at Columbia now, but in a little while when you walk through those doors, you’ll enter a much bigger environment,” Daugherty said. “Believe in your power to have an impact. Bring people together and use your voice to make a difference. Continue to be confident in yourself, compassionate towards others and never underestimate what you can accomplish.”