New Hyde Park Memorial Holds 56th Commencement

For all her life, New Hyde Park Memorial High School Class of 2013 Valedictorian Linda Ying Zhang had a plan of “work hard, study hard, get into a prestigious college and make great money,” however, she did not get into her first-choice school and “for the first time I’m (facing) something entirely new and foreign from that plan. I’m finding it both exhilarating and absolutely terrifying,” she said in her speech during the school’s 56th annual commencement ceremony at the David S. Mack Sports Complex on Hofstra University on June 23. “Now as we prepare to venture out into the world, whether or not we have a plan we are still blindly taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Seek opportunities and remain honest and humble and you will be rewarded; don’t wait around for big things to come to you because you are the one that has to take the initiative.”

Technology was also a theme of this year’s ceremonies, as the ceremony’s guest speaker U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D), put it in his remarks, comparing the technological progress that had been achieved since the graduates’ births in 1994 when the internet had 12 websites to over 14 billion today.

“That shows you how quickly technology is changing our world,” he said. “Technology is to your generation like water is to a fish; you’ve been swimming in it your whole life. So the fact that you’ve gotten this great education and the fact that you’re the first generation to grow up with this new technology gives you tremendous opportunity.”

Schumer also touted a $2,500 tax credit off the cost of tuition earning less than $200,000 as one of his “gifts” to students and parents.

“To moms and dads, I know how you feel,” said Schumer, whose youngest daughter graduate several years ago. “Moms and dads when you see your daughters and your sons come up on stage and get that diploma they become an adult before your very eyes and know that you worked hard to get to this day.”

Student council president Jonathan Chambers had recited the infamous Apple commercial speech “Here’s to the crazy ones...”, invoking the memory of the company’s founder and recently deceased Steve Jobs.

“Graduates of New Hyde Park, we always try to make a difference by striving to be the best; we are competitive on and off the field, both academically and athletically, that is what we do as students, as Gladiators, as a community and as a nation,” Chambers said. “Celebrate your day of success and always be prepared for challenges that you meet as you go through life.”

Graduates, parents, faculty, and administrators did watch as several members of the graduating class rose and took their places on the risers next to other members of the choir directed by Mr. Robert McKinnon, where they joined in treating the audience to the traditional rendition of Sting’s “Fields of Gold.”

Sewanhaka District Superintendent Dr. Ralph Ferrie quoted Theodore Roosevelt in that “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.”

To this, Ferrie added that the class “has demonstrated its willingness both as individuals, as groups and as teams, entering the arena and take on the challenges academically, athletically and in the arts. You have certainly made a positive impact on your school... and have set the bar extremely high for those that follow you.”

Senior class president Gabriella Tomasini, who describes herself as “driven,” which is also the theme of the 2013 yearbook, urged the class to “take advantage of every single opportunity you get, do things you never thought possible, dream big, set your goals high and never settle for anything less than you deserve.”

After Robert McKinnon next directed the choir to sing the traditional “The Lord Bless You & Keep You,” Dr. Faccio presented the Class of 2013 for graduation, calling the seniors up one by one in class order to receive their diplomas on stage.

“We truly have some of the most driven students in New Hyde Park,” said salutatorian Clara Wilson the last member of the student body to speak, “but also in your celebration of the present and enthusiasm for the future, don’t forget where you came from. Wherever you may go in life, don’t forget your roots. In our rush to grow up, to settle down and to find a career, don’t forget to still be young and enjoy your youth.”

Get New Hyde Park news on Facebook