Central Mountain graduates 263 Tuesday evening
By Christopher Miller
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – Central Mountain High School graduated 263 seniors Tuesday night in the commencement exercises held at Malinak Stadium in Mill Hall.
“I want you to do what Mr. Madenford said at Baccalaureate – to travel as much as you can,” Principal Nick Verelli said in his address to the graduating class. “You may be scared to do it, happy, excited, terrified, but whatever you do, don’t ever not get on that plane…don’t just be, be somebody…be somebody who listens, makes a difference, someone who puts down their phone to have a real conversation, when you leave here I want you to be somebody.”
Class President Colby Bakaj recalled going to school for seven hours of hanging with friends, doing “dumb stuff” all day, going on wilderness adventures, and figuring out how to play Fortnite on the school computers.
“I was challenged by Mr. Nardi to teach a class, and he played the role of Charlie, a disruptive student, it was then that I realized that I do not want to be a teacher,” Bakaj said. “I always loved the last day of school, but we are seniors now and all of the events we wanted to experience are now a memory.”
“Today is the last day, we are not coming back tomorrow, or next school year, so we have to explore the road we take, dream big dreams, and here I leave you with two words: peace, love,” he ended.
Class Valedictorian Halle Lodek recalled all of the “lasts” that her class has experienced.
“Our last dance, the last time we will have cafeteria General Tso’s (chicken), our last sunrise and sunset as high school seniors, we should not slow down for time as it does not slow down for us,” Halle said.
“We have done this together, united by our shared experiences and bonds of friendship over the years,” she said. Then she went on to read the poem by Robert Frost The Road Not Taken.
“The poem is about making a choice between two paths, one well worn and the other less traveled, it requires bravery to make our own path with the choices and risks we take, we all have unique paths in our leaves, and we need to have the courage to take the path and change paths if we need to throughout our lives,” Halle claimed.
“Our own unique definition of success can be achieved through hard work and effort but remember: life will be difficult at times, and we will face challenges that seem impossible, remember what Pastor Tom Jones said at Baccalaureate: we must choose wisely and be kind, it is the footsteps we leave behind that truly matter.”
Class Salutatorian Sofia Dressler expressed how “this is our time.”
“All of the hard work we put into school, the information we learned will soon be put to the test and we will meet the moment head on,” she said. “I have a deep sense of gratitude to all of our teachers, administrators, and staff.”
“The next five years of our lives will be the most uncertain experience ever, our routine has been forever interrupted and no longer exists – we used to wake up, go to school, come home, but we are now the authors of our own lives but in reality we always had this choice, our lives are ours to do with as we wish…you all have the potential to be great, but it is up to you to reach for it,” Sofia said.
“Create what will be, have joy in adversity, and revel in the opportunity of hardship,” she said.
“Be what you admire the most.”
Superintendent Dr. Francis Redmon celebrated his first official Central Mountain High School graduation Tuesday evening, having come aboard to the school district in February.
“Your future is remarkably variable,” he stated. “Each person here is embarking on their own journey with many twists and turns: some anticipated, and many not.”
“Most choices allow for on and off ramps, what you decide after today will be a great learning experience but may not be the only path you walk,” he warned. “Your report card and GPA is only a small portion of what you have learned over the past decade,” and that the most important skill set developed is “building connections and relationships, problem solving, and that persisting through challenges shows more success than citing your sources in MLA format.”
“The mission of Central Mountain High School is complete, you have the keys now – parents: thank you for sharing your most precious resource with us, your children, and please continue on your paths and continue to make us all KCSD proud,” Redmon proclaimed.
