By:Angela Marshall
Baldwin High School graduation a success
Armed with cameras, camcorders and plenty of tissues, the parents and friends of the Class of 2001 gathered on Sunday to watch the first class of the new millennium graduate from Baldwin Senior High School.
Having outlasted a weekend of iffy weather, the graduates marched in under blue skies and gentle breezes.
Outgoing Principal Jeffery Hollman praised the Class of 2001 as one of the best groups in years, giving a statistical snapshot of their academic and athletic achievements. Sixty-eight percent of the class earned Regents diplomas, surpassing all other years. Of those, 46 percent graduated with honors, which means they received a 90 or better on all Regents exams.
The theme of transition was uppermost in the day's speeches. And to both the valedictorian and salutatorian, the future looks bright.
"Today, we are forced, for the first time in our lives, to wear the cloak of adulthood," Salutatorian Stella Safo said. "This is an especially frightening thought for so many of us who have depended on our family and friends for unconditional support. Yet our pangs of insecurity should not be mistaken for incompetence; although I am apprehensive about the future, I have no doubt we will survive life's obstacles; indeed, I believe we will excel at overcoming them."
Safo said her confidence stems from the support system the Baldwin community provides to its children. "Our generous community has sponsored myriad events, and by availing ourselves of these opportunities, we have sampled a potpourri of life. If it is true that high school is a type of rehearsal for the real world, I have no doubt that our grade, with its talented and driven young men and women, will make an extraordinary contribution to society and the world."
Valedictorian Paul Mezzina focused on the transition that the graduates underwent during their four years at the high school. Providing the first big laugh of the day, Mezzina said, "This ceremony is a chance for all of us to ask ourselves whether we are better people now than we were when we got here. I really hope the answer is yes, because from what I remember about junior high, some of you were jerks four years ago. Which is okay, because I was pretty clueless back then, too."
Mezzina went on to share the two most important things he learned in the past four years. He first focused on the academic side. "We use the word academic to describe the subjects we study in school, and we also use it to describe things that have no practical significance," he said. "Sometimes it appears that our classes fall into that category. But I believe that there was a point to studying all those subjects that don't have anything to do with real life. ... What school has given us is a chance to interact, not just with our teachers, but with some of the remarkable ideas and discoveries that we inherited from everyone who lived on this planet before we came along."
Mezzina also learned the significance of the need to respect other people's basic human dignity. He challenged his fellow graduates to move beyond the cynicism so prevalent in today's society.
"Pointing out the meanness isn't difficult. Finding the meaning is harder," he said. "It requires us to do two things: first, to see our lives in the context of something greater, and, second, to recognize the beauty in smaller things, in the people and events that can bring joy into our lives every day."
