East Rockaway students graduate at home school

Music Teacher Dan Ezell, left, welcomed the class of 2013’s guest speaker Tommy Barone. Tommy’s mother, Karenlyn Barone, and his girlfriend, Stephanie Scott.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Jessica Lindsley, Katherine Dunning, Megan Caulfield and Angela Diluca waited outside their school for the graduation ceremony to begin.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Valedictorian Lindsay Dower, followed by salutatorian Vincent Arena, walked to the stage as commencement exercises began.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Dorianna Gross received a bouquet of roses after the ceremony.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

The graduates

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Just-graduated students threw their caps into the air in the Harry Bunting auditorium.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

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“They said it couldn’t be done … we said it must be done.”

So said Dr. Roseanne Melucci at last Friday’s graduation, in her last speech as superintendent of the East Rockaway Schools, having announced her retirement earlier this year.

“In November 2012, they said East Rockaway High School was too damaged to be occupied for this school year,” Melucci recalled of the weeks following Hurricane Sandy. “The chancellor of the State of New York shook her head when I walked her through the building. Representatives from local and state governments visited our school and looked at me with pity in their eyes when I talked about returning the students to the high school this year.”

Melucci said that even some community members asked her when she was going to concede, and delay the school’s reopening until next semester — but she wouldn’t listen to the naysayers. “Our students must return to East Rockaway High School and graduate on this stage!” she said. “And here you are.”

She asked the class of 2013 to think of the months since the storm as a learning experience: “Don’t let anyone tell you that something that you believe in, and that you want and are willing to work for, can’t be done,” she told the graduates. “Surround yourself with positive people who give you positive energy to make your wish, your hope and your dream come true. As I look at you, I am confident that you have what it takes to overcome any adversity and make your dreams come true.”

Valedictorian Lindsay Dower spoke of the lessons she has learned, especially in her senior year. “I can wholeheartedly say that I have learned something from each and every one of you graduates sitting before me,” Dower said. “Whether we’ve been friends for years or have only spoken several times over the 13 [years], I want to thank each of you for impacting my life in such a positive way.”

Salutatorian Vincent Arena recounted the class’s time at Shubert Elementary School in Baldwin, where the high school student body moved while East Rockaway High underwent repairs, and joked that he expected an elementary school diploma as well as a high school certificate.