Class of 2015 graduates with a sense of unity

Emma Zwick, Staff Writer

The class of 2015 officially concluded their high school careers on Fri., May 29 to begin the next chapter of their lives. Graduation is one of the biggest and most memorable days in a young person’s life. It is a turning point for each and every one of the students who piled into DAR Constitution Hall that afternoon, and Principal Jennifer Baker, and many other coordinators, worked all year to ensure that the two hour ceremony went as planned.

With the changes, having only one color of graduation robes and mixing the genders, graduation was different this year, but because they have been so organized they were able to deal with any obstacles that accompanied this change.

Baker was positive during the early morning rehearsal on Wed., May 27.

“We always handle things as they come up, it’s always been just little things, so I don’t anticipate anything big. I have an incredible staff whose very confident. And you know if there were something that would come up, I would have the confidence that we would be able to handle it well,” said Baker.

In the middle of the year, there were many discussions about the upcoming changes for the graduation ceremony. These changes were implemented so that all students could feel comfortable and accepted during their special day. One change was that the robes were all one color, and as a result, students would not have to identify with a gender, and instead students were called in alphabetical order. Such significant changes to the graduation tradition sparked much debate among students, parents and staff.

“Some people are definitely not accepting of [wearing one color robe during graduation], but it’ll just take time for people to understand that it’s for the better of our school,” said senior class secretary Scott Salvatore.

During the ceremony, the crowd of green students sitting all together, created an atmosphere of solidarity and unity unlike any other graduation before it. This theme of cohesion carried on throughout the afternoon and will remain a cherished memory as the class of 2015 moves forward with their lives.

“[It was all about] the WJ class coming together and unifying as one because these are our final moments together as a class,” said Salvatore. “Chances are, we are never going to be seeing all of these people ever again and these are our last moments together.”

After the processional to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance,” the chorus sang a poignant and timely song to set the mood; this year they performed “Hall of Fame” by the Script. The song was an appropriate choice for this class, as it is all about perseverance and being capable of succeeding in anything you set your mind to. The student body graduating on Friday is a group of very bright and caring people who will go places in their lives, and with this song, they wanted to set the tone for all of their futures.

“[The song] was something we decided would fit at graduation. “Hall of Fame” is all about achieving your dreams and not letting anyone get in your way which is something that I know we will be aiming for as we go on to college and into the real world,” said graduate Megan Tuncer.

Like every other year, senior class and SGA officers gave speeches that honored their peers and thanked those who helped them get to the point they are now. Afterwards was the guest speaker, Michael Williams, a former WJ history teacher. Williams began his speech with the dramatic background music from the song “Glory” originally made for the award-winning movie “Selma” about the civil rights movement. As one of the founders of the Minority Scholars program in the county, it was fitting that he would tie this piece in. However, he mostly used this subject to talk about the larger theme.

“Mr. Williams’ speech was a lot about how we need to make our lives really count because we only have one. I loved how he compared it to a book because it was simple to understand and grabbed my attention,” Tuncer said. “It talked about character development, plot, and word choice as elements of your life and it all made sense when comparing it to the future.”

His speech was empowering and emphasized that each and every one of the students who were sitting in Constitution Hall could make a change in the world. He wanted to send them off before they walked across the stage with the thought that they are all capable of being great; as individuals they should keep striving to be better people, learn as much as they can, and make the world a better place. Williams achieved in not only touching the hearts of the audience, but also inspiring the graduates to continue on to be the greatest versions of themselves.

“After my last day of high school and the graduation ceremony were finished, I knew that I was ready to move on, even if I’m sad to leave WJ, because I know that good things await me in college. And with such encouraging speeches, I feel like I am capable of doing anything,” Salvatore said.

 

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