Graduation Special Section, June 30, 2018

Graduation Special Section

Class of

Photo By Austin Marsdale

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The Class of 2018: Excitement and Exhilaration

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Salute Kevin DelGiorno

There is no limit to success if you work hard and believe in yourself. Keep pursuing your dreams, Kevin.

Congratulations!

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TO

GRADUATES

Julianna Kaiser

Jake Vitagliano Best wishes, always!

We are so proud of you. We wish you success in all your future endeavors.

- Love, Poppy

- Jayne & Dennis Cabrilla

- Love Grandmom & Grandpop

There is always room for the best, and you're it.

Keep it up.

Michelle Haines

Michael Jurkiewicz Congrats Michael. Good luck at Stockton University.

We love you, buddy!

- Love, MomMom, PopPop, Mom & Monica

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Cherokee Grads Advised Class Lessons Are Less Memorable than Experiences

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

EVESHAM—The aspects of a highschool education that most tend to recall are not the facts and figures conveyed in classrooms, but rather the life experiences and social interactions, said Cherokee High School Valedictorian Samuel Schepps during the school’s 41st annual commencement exercise at William H. Flotz Stadium.

“As important, useful and necessary as the content that is taught in the classroom is—the math, science, and history—let’s be honest here: these are not the lessons that will stick with us over the course of our lifetimes, or, for some of us, past the weekend,” said Schepps, who is also a National Merit Finalist. “If any of you have ever asked your parents for some help on an assignment, you’ve discovered that, if they don’t use a skill in their lives on a regular basis, they probably don’t remember the lessons they learned in high school. “…Instead, they remember the times they waited for their boyfriend (or girlfriend) to come over on his moped from the next town over to pick them up for a date. They remember the time they spent on the landline talking to their friends, hoping none of their parents or siblings were snooping and listening in. They remember the other things we, too, have learned during our time at Cherokee.”

He added that the lesson the members of

Cherokee’s Class of 2018 were learning that night, and will continue to learn in the days, weeks and months ahead, is probably most important.

“How to move on,” said Schepps of the lesson. “How to close the proverbial book on one chapter of our lives and transition to the next.”

The valedictorian concluded his speech by offering a quote from the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

“It has become time, in today’s end, for us to acknowledge and appreciate all of the valuable lessons and growth that this beginning has given us, and finally, wonderfully learn to apply them and move on to our next, great beginning,” Schepps said.

Class Salutatorian Ashwin Mahadevan, another National Merit Finalist, stressed the importance of affecting change in the world, while ultimately shaping the unknown into the known.

Choosing to address what he and his fellow graduates had in common, Mahadevan said he had determined that there is one universal truth that everyone shares.

“None of us can say with certainty what the long term holds,” he said. “But, armed with the knowledge that the past four years have given us, it is our duty to parade into this world and never to accept defeat. Now it’s time to get the future started.”

Cherokee North Principal Donna

Charlesworth assumed the role of cheerleader for the ceremony by referencing “Cherokee Chiefs,” the school’s mascot.

“Tonight, we are one town, one tribe, Cherokee pride,” she said. “Being a Chief has taken on a deeper meaning than just (that of) your school mascot. A Chief is someone in charge of his own destiny.”

The principal told the graduates to remember that their roots trace back to Cherokee.

“While your high school chapter ends tonight, your heart will always bleed orange,” she said. “Once a Chief, always a Chief.”

Class President Dante Casella, who presented a class gift to the administration, also reminded his fellow students that there are endless opportunities to succeed in life.

Scott Agnew, athletic director, acknowledged seniors who received financial awards totaling nearly $175,000, as well as eight students committing to military service upon graduation.

Assistant Principal Christopher Callinan recognized students who had attained perfect grades and attendance records, and who were in the top 10 percent of their class academically.

The Cherokee Symphonic Band, directed

by D. Michael Lynch, kicked off the festivities with processional music as the 538 graduating seniors, in brown and white gowns, proudly walked a track circling Cherokee’s football field while parents, friends and family members cheered carrying balloons, waving signs and snapping photographs.

Photo By Scott Kern

A Cherokee student walks towards the stage to speak.

Photo By Scott Kern

Cherokee Chiefs' scoreboard

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Lenape High Graduates Reminded They’re Now Part of a Shared Story

By Mark Hatoff

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

MEDFORD—Members of Lenape High School's Class of 2018 were encouraged to realize how important the school years they have just completed will continue to be in their futures.

Lenape Principal Anthony Cattani set the tone for the 58th Lenape commencement ceremony on June 21 by reminding the 434 graduates of their permanent connection with each other based on shared experiences.

“While each of you has your own individual stories, they all intersected here at Lenape,” he said. “As a result, all of your lives are permanently intertwined with each other’s Lenape stories.”

Cattani characterized the graduating class’s combined story as one of the compassion and concern for others in the community it has demonstrated.

“Empathy is the tie that binds us all together,” he said. “Parents and guardians, I can’t thank you enough for all of your efforts towards raising the outstanding young people who sit before us today. We talk about this all the time—character is like a good soup, made at home.”

As for Cattani’s favorite personal story of the year, he said it was when Lenape’s football team won the first state championship in its history.

“I know that I will be telling my grandkids the stories of how awesome it was to see Lenape overtake Rowan University stadium on Dec. 2, 2017,” he said. “The sea of red and grey in the stadium that night will be a permanent picture in my life story.”

Cattani ended his presentation by telling the graduating class to “never stop learning and keep growing.”

“When you hit roadblocks on the path to success, please realize that they are not failures, but opportunities to grow,” he said. “Your stories of success will not end with items on your high-school resume.”

Also addressing the assembled students, families and friends were Senior Class President Aria Murray, Valedictorian Sakshi Chopra, and Salutatorian Matthew Kane.

“Do not define your worth and success based on what everyone else is doing,” Murray said. “Declare that you are great and your endeavors are valid simply because you are doing it. Don’t look at what you would call a driven person and internalize their accomplishments as your own failures.”

Everyone has his or her own talents and skill sets, she pointed out, but these need to be cultivated.

“You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t get it right, nothing happens,” said Murray, borrowing a quote from actor and director Robert De Niro. “Do not allow nothing to happen.”

Murray also urged her fellow graduates not to let other people define who they are.

“People will doubt you,” she said.

“There will be people that try to bring you down. Navigate away from them.

Don’t allow people to keep you in a box.

Expand your horizons and go for your dreams.”

Chopra, who has also been named a National Merit Finalist, advised her classmates not to let a fear of failure get in the way of their dreams.

“It is only as kids that we dare to live a life of impracticality,” she said.

“We plan to grow up to become famous You-Tubers, secret agents, astronauts and professional athletes. Our childlike curiosity once kept us from limiting our goals.”

But, as fear of failure becomes increasingly intimidating, she pointed out, it too often gives rise to doubts about one’s capacity to be extraordinary and sometimes results in settling for less than one’s full potential.

To provide some inspiration, Chopra then discussed actor Will Smith’s observation that greatness “is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive God-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste, but rather it is something that truly exists in all of us.”

“No matter your next step, you must never stop chasing after the thing that you love, no matter how impractical it seems or how tough it gets,” said the valedictorian. “Don’t be held back by the past, because as wonderful as high school was, the best years of our lives are still ahead of us.”

Perhaps the most unique student speech was made by Kane in the form of an original poem: “We first came to Lenape four years ago, as eager young freshmen, with book bags in tow,” he began.

“Our transition, admittedly was not really that cruel, as we all knew each other from middle school. Still, we had to get used to all the long walks to classes, and the junior and seniors who could sometimes be…kind of mean.

“Getting used to our new schedules was somewhat amusing. And when Lunch and Learn started, it was a little confusing. We could eat lunch outside, in the gym or the hallway or attend a club meeting or take a nap, but not all day.

“But, we filled in and began to take part in Lenape’s many offerings—from yearbook to art. Some of us tried out for sports or ran for class rep. Our class of 2018 got involved step by step.

“Football games and pep rallies, we sat in the bleachers. We learned quite a lot from the Lenape teachers.

“We made Lenape our home, every last nook and cranny under our chief officer, Mr. Cattani.

“We studied together, took PARCs, SATs. Read those ‘One Book, One School’ books—to various degrees.

“There is Spirit Week, Naviance, Disney and prom. With that smashed up SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) car there on the front lawn.

“Though we couldn’t use junior luck by the time we were driving, we made it through the four years and we’re all still surviving.

“Now, as we prepare to come out of our comas and pick up our welldeserved high school diplomas, there’s so many people waiting to acknowledge who helped us through high school and got us ready for college. So, thanks to all of our parents, sisters and brothers and grandparents, teachers—there are so many others. Thanks to our aunts, our uncles and tutors, our friends, our coaches and of course, our computers.

We couldn’t have done this without you, you know. That you helped us get here.

To our thanks we bestow.

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LENAPE HIGH SCHOOL

Congratulations Class of 2018! and a Special Thank you to all our AWESOME Teachers!

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CLASS OF 2018

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‘Seneca Family’ There for You, Speakers Remind Class of 2018

By Dominick Cella Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—While the 282 members of the Seneca High School Class of 2018 may be headed on separate paths, they were reminded at their June 26 commencement that the bonds of friendship formed during their high-school years will be among the most enduring ones of their lives.

That message was conveyed in speeches by both Student Council President Kasey Mitchell and Senior Class President Mark Oddo II. Mitchell, after sharing her fondest memories of her own senior year, including winning the first-ever Sectional Championship with Seneca Field Hockey, talked about the personal perspective she had gained since senior year began.

“In (those moments), all we knew was that we didn’t want to have to say goodbye,” Mitchell said. “I now realize that we don’t have to say a final goodbye after all. We may be at the end of our list of final moments, but we are not at the end of the friendships and bonds we have created here.”

Echoing that sentiment, Oddo told the graduates that, “Whenever things seem bleak, or you need some help, remember your Seneca family will always be here for you to fall back on.”

Oddo also related how attending classes at Seneca had instilled in him a sense of pride that was unmatched, so far, in his life.

“The feeling that the Seneca Class of 2018 is one of the most motivated, unified and enthusiastic classes that has ever walked through this school’s doors (is a great one),” he said. “Whether it be college, trade school, the Armed Forces, the work force, or the Boston Red Sox, we are all ready for the next stage of our lives.”

He added that the skills the graduating class acquired, the mistakes they have learned from and the memories they have shared will help each graduate get through whatever life decides to throw at them.

Kayla Pfeffer, salutatorian, said that while everything may be “copacetic” right now for the graduates, it doesn’t mean that their accomplishments have come without hardship—the juggling of maintaining a social life, work, and school—and it

doesn’t mean that everything will always be copacetic.

“It’s an important sentiment for a group of 282 seniors, who are about to beat their own paths in the world, because for us right now, everything is in its place,” she said.

“With every challenge we faced, there was a lesson learned. The overarching lesson: without the downs, without the pain, the heartbreak, the grief, the general grit of it all—our accomplishments would be that much less sweet and that much less rewarding.”

Valedictorian Alexis Tierney followed her fellow graduates with her monologue on growth, dedication and what those going on to college might anticipate.

“In the next few years, we are going to experience so many new things: eating pizzas at three in the morning, working all night to finish that paper we swore we wouldn’t put off, going out with our friends for some drinks—at Starbucks, maybe falling in love, maybe earning our dream job,” Tierney predicted.

Tierney reflected on a time in study hall when she spent 30 minutes splitting an apple perfectly in half, only to realize she had just wasted all that time just to split an apple.

She reminded everyone that some challenges will take the graduates plenty of time and effort to crack, but charged everyone to find their apple and split it.

“For better or worse, they are kicking us out of here,” Tierney said. “We have been a memorable class at Seneca, and if the pattern continues, I have no doubt of all the great things we will go on to accomplish.”

Principal Jeff Spector related the story of Paralympian Katie Holloway and the “fire in her eyes” to the graduating class.

Holloway has admitted to lashing out at her parents in moments of frustration knowing they will love her and support no matter what.

“If you expect your high school graduation to be a miraculous passing of which your parents will stop doing what they do best—nag, hassle, advise, worry, suggest, and praise, I’m sorry to say, they won’t—ever,” Spector said. “So, listen more intently, because underneath your loved one’s words is the means for See SENECA/ Page S16

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SENECA HIGH SCHOOL

Photo By Skip Harris

CLASS OF 2018

Congratulations Class of 2018! and a Special Thank you to all our AWESOME Teachers!

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A Seneca student giving a speech to fellow students.

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Bone-Cancer Survivior Given Standing Ovation by Classmates at Shawnee High Graduation

By Jayne Cabrilla Staff Writer

MEDFORD—Among the 405 members of the Shawnee High School Class of 2018 was a senior whose journey to graduation was a bit tougher than it was for his classmates.

While other students might have been concerned with grades, tests and their desire to be unique while yearning to fit in, as well as with the prospect of going to college, joining the military, traveling or exploring other options, the main challenge Danny Hill focused on was simply staying alive.

So, when Hill’s name was read during the presentation of diplomas, his fellow graduates, in a spontaneous display of love and respect, gave him a standing ovation to celebrate the fact that he had indeed survived to receive his.

With that unscheduled display of affection and admiration, those young men and women showed that their highschool education had included invaluable lessons in compassion, empathy and the meaning of courage.

In 2014, Hill, who was considered by his coaches to be one of the area’s best baseball players, went to the Rothman Institute for a knee injury, where an x-ray showed a suspicious mass that was soon confirmed to be osteosarcoma, a relatively rare form of bone cancer.

Throughout his subsequent years at Shawnee, Hill was in and out of hospitals, where his young body was ravaged by no fewer than 32 chemotherapy sessions, as well as an excruciating and debilitating series of rounds of an immunotherapy drug trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City.

Yet, time and time again, he received the devastating news that the cancer had returned.

In a journal of his medical journey on the Caring Bridge website, his mother, Ann Hill, wrote that her son’s first antibody infusion, “was exceptionally painful, but as always, Danny endured it with great determination and courage.

We are just amazed by the number of incredibly difficult things he has been through over the last two years. Danny gets up every time he gets knocked down.”

The community also showed its support. At least five American Red Cross blood drives were held at Medfordarea schools “in honor of Danny Hill,” at which the stricken teen even put in an appearance.

The journal also noted that in spite of heavy fatigue, Hill was keeping up with his classes via home instruction and “incredibly supportive teachers.”

Ann Hill told the Pine Barrens Tribune that her son studied non-stop, including on weekends and during summers.

“Dan was very passionate about graduating with his peers,” Ann Hill said.

“Not only did he succeed in doing that, but he managed to graduate in the top 10 percent of his class.”

Near the end of a 2017 journal entry, Danny Hill’s mother proclaimed, “We have great news to share!” as she

Photo By Austin Marsdale

Danny Hill gets a congratulatory hug.

announced that Hill’s lung scans had revealed no tumors.

“Fatigue continues to be an issue for him, but four lung surgeries in 10 months is very difficult to recover from,” the journal noted.

Current lung CT scans have continued to show no return of cancer. The last journal entry, from April 25, reads, “Danny’s lung scans are clear!!!”

Hill, who returned to the baseball mound on April 30, playing his first high school baseball game against Cherry Hill East, now plans to attend Rowan College at Gloucester County in the fall, majoring in communications.

In addition to Hill, the Shawnee Class of 2018 had an abundance of shining stars.

Caroline Grace O’Rorke and Alexander P. Stone were each honored for having achieved dual diplomas: both a high school diploma from Shawnee and an associate degree from Rowan.

At some point, the Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) entered into partnership with Rowan College at Burlington County and Rowan University to offer eligible students a way to earn college credit by completing College Acceleration Program-approved high school courses.

District officials did not return messages seeking the date when the partnership began and Linda Eckenhoff, a Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education member, when reached by phone, hung up after being asked about the date that the partnership began.

O’Rorke, who was the recipient of several community-sponsored scholarships, will enter the University of Pennsylvania as a junior in the fall.

Senior Class President Olivia Grace Goldberg shared some of the things she had learned during her years at Shawnee: to keep an open mind, to embrace opportunities, learn to adapt to changes and make back-up plans.

“The moment we walk off this field our lives will change in a million different directions,” she said.

Valedictorian Sharon Li Pantano urged her fellow graduates to put their minds to some of the more formidable problems See SHAWNEE/ Page S16

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Pemberton High Grads Urged to Build Bridges, Not Barriers

By Judy Cohen Minches For the Pine Barrens Tribune

PEMBERTON—The sweet smell of success was in the air as nearly 270 new graduates of Pemberton Township High School walked onto the William McDowell Athletic Field at Helen A. Fort Middle School on the evening of June 25.

Hundreds of families piled onto bleachers and spilled out onto the surrounding greenery to get a glimpse of their graduates.

Following the Presentation of the Colors by the high school’s JROTC Color Guard and the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, led by graduates Naomi Israel, Eugene Sandel and Cayla Katana, Senior Class President Brittany Toledo took the stage to officially welcome all those who were in attendance.

She spoke of her vision of supporting one another through life’s ups and downs and remembering to celebrate individual achievements that help create a better world.

“In times of crisis, the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers…We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe,” said Toledo, quoting from the “Black Panther” movie.

Salutatorian Jazmin Belton shared reflections focusing on the influential women in her life, such as her strong and courageous mother and grandmother, both of whom she credited with helping to shape her into the woman she has become.

She also spoke about the guidance that students get from parents and other significant figures in their lives.

“They may see a destiny for us that we do not see for ourselves, envisioning us as future presidents and Olympians, trying to help us map out our future,” Belton said.

Ultimately, however, it is up to each individual to make the decisions that work best for him or her within the scope of one’s own personality, Belton told her fellow graduates.

Valedictorian Jessica Lecorchick focused on the importance of remaining positive, regardless of what life throws in one’s way.

“It takes five positive interactions to make up for one negative one,” she said, adding that graduates need to know that they “always have value” and shouldn’t berate themselves for what they haven’t accomplished.

Lecorchick noted that one of this generation’s struggles is to find contentment, and that we must remember that, “There is no deadline to greatness.

Stop racing and start living.”

Superintendent of Schools Tony Trongone said that students should prioritize the core values of integrity, perseverance, respect and responsibility instead of focusing on having a nice home, a nice car and traveling.

“Overcome your challenges and capture your victories,” he said. “You are our future, and we expect you to contribute to the greater good.”

Adelina Giannetti, assistant superintendent of Secondary and Special Services, gave a “Tribute to Military Families,” which included recognition of students embarking on a future in the Armed Services. She also acknowledged the 15 cadets who participated in the JROTC throughout their four years in high school.

A moment of silence was observed to remember David Hopkins, who would have been among the graduates had he not died of injuries sustained in an ATV in an accident last summer.

Doug McGill was among those in attendance to celebrate the graduates in his family: Ammar Tzanakis, his stepson, and Michell Marinnie, his niece, who also completed the Advancement Via Individual Determination or AVID program.

Both graduates received recognition for college credits they earned in high school, with Marinnie also being credited with having had perfect attendance for all four years.

McGill, who was accompanied by Nicholas Tzanakis, the grandfather of Ammar Tzanakis, said he was so relieved and happy that the family had made it through the trials and tribulations of the teenage years.

“I think we are happier than they are,” McGill said, referring to the graduates.

He said that his stepson is undecided what his major will be in college, but Marinnie is planning to pursue a career as an attorney.

Parent John Cross was all smiles as he spoke about his youngest daughter, graduate Talyn Cross, who is headed to Albright College in August to explore the field of physical therapy.

Vernice Cross, John Cross’s older daughter, also spoke of the pride and confidence she has in her sister, who she said had been accepted by every school to which she applied. She said she did not know that her sister would also be recognized for her perfect attendance— since fourth grade—and would be receiving a college scholarship.

“She is the first one in the family to go away to school,” said Vernice Cross as her sister walked by wearing gold cords to signify that she was graduating with scholastic honors. “She’s going to do well and she is going to do what she’s supposed to do.”

She added that it has been a very exciting time for her whole family because earlier that day the family had attended her younger brother’s graduation from middle school.

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Pinelands Regional Grads Lauded for Triumphs in Face of Adversity

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

LITTLE EGG HARBOR—While Pinelands Regional High School’s June 22 commencement ceremony didn’t go quite according to plan, at least it was consistent with the rest of the lesson that this year’s 242 graduates inadvertently received— that life itself doesn’t always jibe with expectations, either.

What was to have been an event held on the soccer field of the beleaguered school, which was closed from October until January after being deemed unsafe due to construction problems, was once again forced indoors by inclement weather—for the fourth year in a row, as Class President Samia Tariq pointed out in her welcome address.

As a result, students, faculty and families, who had been looking forward to an expansive outdoor ceremony, had to gather instead inside a somewhat sultry school auditorium as well as in a school gymnasium, where the ceremony was viewed on a screen.

“This past school year has been interesting to say the least,” Tariq said.

“From our school getting shut down, to being displaced, and at one point not even having enough ‘minutes’ to graduate, I can finally say, ‘We made it guys!’”

Tariq also observed it is extremely rare for a Pinelands Regional High School senior class to be able to say they spent their last year of high school in Pinelands Regional Junior High School.

“Let us rejoice in the fact that we are

leaving in the nick of time!” she said.

The class’s ability to overcome the effects of the resulting disruption by distinguishing itself in some extraordinary ways was also the focus of speeches delivered by Valedictorian Liam McGettigan and Salutatorian Tristan Culp.

Noting how “the best indicator of future success is past performance,” McGettigan said he thought “the message becomes even clearer when those past successes were at all times challenged and endangered by unexpected hardship and other adversities.”

“The Class of 2018 has achieved a great deal, despite meeting difficulties along the way that would’ve discouraged or totally thwarted the efforts of a group unlike ours,” McGettigan said.

The valedictorian then expounded on some of those achievements, including the Drama Department’s production of “White Christmas,” which despite being “totally uprooted and relocated 12 miles down the road,” was restaged in only two days and went on to produce “one of the program’s highest grossing productions to date.”

He also mentioned the Speech and Theater Association of New Jersey (STANJ) team having taken home three Governors Awards and fifteen other finals placements after having to prepare for a competition date three weeks earlier than usual.

In athletics, McGettigan noted the school also excelled, with its volleyball team winning the school’s second Shore Conference Title ever and its first in over 20 years, the field hockey team continuing its domination of B-south and taking home yet another title,

and the boys soccer team winning B-south for the first time in over a decade and going “farther in the state tournament than the team has ever gone before.”

All of this, McGettigan said, was achieved within the context of a split-schedule that had teams practicing in firehouses, at odd times of day, and in awkward and hardly optimal circumstances.

He also encouraged his fellow graduates “to continue to be the people, who live and thrive on high stakes and steep odds.”

In a similar vein, Culp observed that life won’t always be by a person’s side, holding a person’s hand, no matter how much a person wishes that were the case.”

“More than likely, you’ll have to struggle and persevere for what you hope to achieve,” he said. “As a class, we’ve experienced this, with the construction of the school early in the year. As a class, we’ve adapted, persevered, and made our own way, speaking and working with our faculty to learn what was necessary.”

Culp told his fellow graduates that all of them can do the same thing again in the future.

He concluded by quoting the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”

Also alluding to the character-building aspects of the unexpected impediments encountered by the student body were Pinelands Regional High School Principal Shaun Banin, Pinelands Regional Curriculum and Instruction Director (and former Interim and Acting District Superintendent) Dr.

Cheryl Stevenson, and Pinelands Regional Board of Education Vice President Patricia Chambers.

Noting that the past year has presented numerous challenges for the students of Pinelands, Banin pointed out how each time they were confronted with obstacles, they shrugged these challenges off, which he called “the truest indicator of their future success.”

“They have proven themselves to have grit,” the principal said.

Banin then defined grit, quoting from author and researcher Angela Duckworth: as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” as well as “having stamina, sticking with your future day-in, day-out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years” and “living life like it is a marathon and not a sprint.”

He also urged the graduates to attack each hurdle with the same grittiness and determination that they displayed during their time at Pinelands.

“When obstacles present themselves, continue to ask, ‘What can I learn from them?’ and ‘How can I become stronger because of these events?’” Banin said. “If you let the answers to these questions guide you, there is no telling what greatness you will be able to achieve.”

Stevenson told the gathering that the class of 2018 is a class of unique, original and independent thinkers “who question life, challenge the status quo, and endured and overcame a challenging senior year See PINELANDS/ Page S16

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PINELANDS REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 2018

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LENAPE: Student Experiences Now Part of a Shared Story (Continued from Page S6) “On a personal note, while I am an historian, I’m frankly amazed to be a salutatorian. There’s students right here who are probably smarter and undoubtedly some who worked a lot harder.

“Well, however I got here, it’s kind of unnerving. When there are so many others who are also deserving.

“Now before I go off to my graduation hibachi, I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate Sakshi, our valedictorian, no surprise there I’m afraid. She probably finished her speech in fifth grade.

“But, whether you ended up with an A-plus or C-minus, GPA is just a number—it doesn’t define us. We each have our thing at which we excel. A skill or a talent we do pretty well. It might be singing or acting or tennis or spelling. Photography, woodworking or storytelling. It can be boating, karate, or cooking or roasting. Public speaking or dancing or Instagram posting.

“Whatever your talent, the thing that’s essential, is that you use your gift to your full potential. If each of us does that, life would be much less stressful. We would make this world better and we’d all be successful.

“So, to conclude fellow students, whatever your course is, be it college or tech school or the Armed Forces, you have to admit, it’s been a great ride. May it always stick with you, your Lenape pride.”

That pride was reflected in conversations with graduates and parents attending the ceremony.

For graduating seniors Jaelyn Alexander and Adrianna Pilla, their stories at Lenape focused on performing.

Alexander, who will be attending Elon University in North Carolina for music and theater, performed in the school choir and musicals and also was a member of Lenape’s football cheerleading squad for four years.

Like Cattani, she also mentioned the football team in recalling her favorite school memories.

“I’ll miss Lenape’s school spirit and pride,” she said. “Cheering at the state

football championship this year brought out a lot of emotion.”

Although Alexander said that she would miss Lenape’s dedicated staff, she would regret leaving choir instructor Brendon Moore the most.

Moore conducted the Lenape combined choir in its performances of the National Anthem and Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” at the graduation ceremony.

“He works hard to see that everyone feels safe and welcome,” Alexander said.

“He has always been very optimistic, always pushing us (in the choir) on difficult pieces and saying that he believes in us.”

Pilla, who will be attending Loyola University of Maryland for business administration with a minor in Italian, performed in school musicals all four years, while also dancing outside of school. She singled out science teacher Mary Pallis as the Lenape teacher who had the most effect on her in high school.

“I had her for Environmental Science and Biology during my freshman and sophomore years,” she said. “She set me up on how to motivate myself and not procrastinate.”

Melinda Ota, Mother of graduating twins Kira and Jared Ota, who will be attending the University of Pittsburgh and Rowan University respectively, was grateful to Lenape for providing opportunities for her children. The pair each participated in the German Club for four years.

“I’m excited because I see them becoming adults and I’m ready for them to take the next step,” she said. “For such a huge school, the staff was very caring and the guidance counselors were phenomenal.”

Before the students were called up to receive their diplomas, Dr. Justin Smith, Lenape Regional High School District’s Assessment, Accountability and Planning Coordinator, left the Class of 2018 with some final words to live by.

“To be, rather than to seem,” he said.

“Do great work. No reward without effort. Truth and service. And finally, why not? Graduates, as you embark on your future, what is your motto? I have a suggestion. Perhaps one word—‘do.’”

SHAWNEE: A Standing Ovation

(Continued from Page S10)

facing society.

“Fifty years ago, in 1968, the year that changed everything was filled with turbulence and division,” she said. “In 50 years from now, will we have solved problems such as equality? Will we have reversed the damage to our planet?”

Pantano ended her speech by urging the Class of 2018 “Let’s get to work.”

Salutatorian Paige Elizabeth Neher’s speech included sentiment that while high school years are a time to “grow into ourselves,” it will now be crucial for the graduates to not be held back by fear.

“It is time to believe in yourself and take risks; time to shatter self-limits,” Neher said. “Honor yourself. The world needs someone just like you.”

Assistant Principal Barbara Fuoco stepped in to welcome the graduates’

Saturday, June 30, 2018

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families and friends and give opening remarks to the students, while Principal Matthew Campbell was attending his son’s graduation at another school.

Fuoco counseled the graduating class to think and make good decisions every time they get into a car or go to a party.

Students who achieved straight A’s, and students who had perfect attendance for four years, were individually recognized

by Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Richard Dodd.

Senior Student Council members Claire B. Flannery and Scott John Hoover read each graduate’s name as the graduates walked up the aisle to receive their hardearned diplomas.

On this celebratory day, Danny Hill summed up his experience to the Pine Barrens Tribune.

“Always do something,” he said.

“Don’t try to do something—just do it!”

PINELANDS: Grads Praised for Overcoming Adversity (Continued from Page S14) full of disruptions.”

She also emphasized that adults should learn from the high school students, especially the members of the class of 2018.

“They knew right away that our school is not defined by a physical building, but rather by the people who represent and make up the school community and who handled adversity seamlessly and continued to forge ahead and adapt to the situations presented to them,” Stevenson said.

Chambers praised the graduates for having “learned to overcome tremendous adversity due to the continuous obstacles they faced over the past year and a half.”

“Your class never let any of the unforeseen events of this school year stop you from making your mark,” she said directly to the graduates.

There was, however, one senior who never made it to graduation. That was Mikeylah Shabazz, who died unexpectedly at her New Gretna home in January, and in whose memory the graduates wore red

ribbons on their gowns.

Shabazz’s passing was acknowledged

by Tariq at the beginning of her speech, in which she repeated sentiments offered by some close friends of hers among the graduates.

“Abbygail Clifford says, ‘When Mikeylah walked through the door all you could see was her smile,’” Tariq said.

“Mikeylah is the one friend that no one will ever forget, everyone shall remember her as the young beautiful girl we all knew. She will forever be in our hearts.”

Tariq also repeated the lament of two other close friends of Shabazz, Gabriella and Concetta Esposito, that “sometimes we take our friends for granted and in one blink of any eye that can be gone. We wish we could have another moment with ‘Keylah’ to hear her contagious laugh one more time. We love you.”

“Mikeylah will always be in our memories and the Class of 2018 is incomplete without her,” said Tariq, who called for the graduates and their familys to observe a moment of silence.

SENECA: Bonds of Friendship an Enduring Legacy (Continued from Page S8) them to express how much they love you.

They only want to arm you with the skills enabling you to progress, as they protect you.”

Preceded by an acapella rendition of “Viva La Vida” by Seneca Singers, Lenape Regional High School District Superintendent Dr. Carol Birnbohm talked about “love, love of learning, hard work, service to others and of each other.”

Birnbohm’s farewell to the graduates reflected on a comment a student made to her recently about how “being a student at Seneca feels like being in a warm hug.”

“Hugs come when we greet one another, celebrate our victories, and accomplish something grand,” Birnbohm said. “Hugs come when we share a moment together.

Hugs come when we need support and we are sad. Simply put, it’s a way to show our love for one another.”

The superintendent reminded the students that they were the ones accomplishing feats and supporting each other in times of sadness.

“Tonight, the entire Seneca community— the teachers, coaches, mentors, parents and classmates, give you one final hug before you leave,” Birnbohm said. “It is a hug for goodbye. Picture it and feel it. It feels safe, yet it is tight. It’s strong, because in a way it’s letting you know that you will be missed. It’s letting you know that you

shaped Seneca.

“You built upon Seneca’s character through your dedication to one another, your teachers, and your community. You shaped it through your accomplishments, tragedies and triumphs, and most importantly through your love. You will forever feel the impressions of it—arms wrapped around you tightly and caringly— and you will forever feel the love you gave Seneca and Seneca gave you.”

Junior Class Officers Jonah Mikulski and Alyssa Fox recognized the top ten percent of the graduating class, among them Jenna Rose Birnbohm-Kaminski and Kaitlyn Ann Birnbohm-Kaminski, daughters of the superintendent.

Assistant Principal David Knecht also recognized Kathryn Chromeck, Gabriella DiMenna, Michael James McMullen and Zachary Zoltowski for their perfect attendance record.

“Perfect attendance is a very rare and singular accomplishment, and deserves the highest plaudits,” Knecht said.

Knecht also honored students and veterans who have committed to military service. They included Alexa A. Adams, Army National Guard of the United States; Shane Patrick Brennan, United State Air Force Reserve; Timothy Daniel Lyon, United States Marine Corps; and John Walker Mimlitsch, United States Marine Corps.

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