Class of 2012

High achieving class finishes North career

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See more photos from the ceremony here.

When Ariel Desir’s name was called at the 55th annual Valley Stream North High School commencement, an explosion of noise erupted to the right of the stage. Her brother Darrel, one of 15 friends and family members scattered throughout the school gym, said the group had to use noisemakers, horns and loud voices when his youngest sister got her diploma.

“We’ve got to show our support,” he said. “I’m proud of her. She’s taking the first steps to make her own path.”

Desir was one of 194 students to graduate from Valley Stream North at an indoor ceremony on June 22.

Principal Clifford Odell said graduation day took an unprecedented turn when the district decided to host commencements across Valley Stream inside for the second year in a row. He said the move indoors caused school officials to adjust the program for the ceremony, eliminating one choral selection and shortening speeches.

Although his speech was cut in half, Odell said the achievements and strong work ethic of the class of 2012 showed that they understood one key point he wanted to talk about.

“The big piece that I did not get to say was that they should understand that, to be successful in life, one has to make sacrifices,” he said. “I am confident that they understand this.”

The sacrifices this year’s graduating class made to perform at a high academic level set them apart, Odell said. The group’s results on test scores, enrollment rates in Advanced Placement courses, and they number of scholarships and acceptances to top tier colleges they received were “some of the best I’ve ever seen,” Odell said.

One of those high-achieving graduates was Silvia Arora, the class of 2012 valedictorian. Arora said that it was up to the North High graduates to put together the pieces of the puzzle that make up “the picture of [their] lives” how they saw fit.

“Our future has not yet been determined,” she said. “It depends on our own actions.”

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