If the Saugerties High School Class of 2025 believes in fate, their graduation ceremony, dry and reasonably mild, could have happened under a downpour or heat wave if the forecast moved slightly in either direction. There was a bit of wind, but the 212 graduates celebrated the metaphorical closing of one door and the opening of another with good fortune, weather-wise.
“Today we’re here to celebrate something amazing,” said superintendent Daniel Erceg to open the Friday, June 27 ceremony. “You. Each and every one of you has reached an important milestone…Well done, graduates.”
Class president Harrison Maskell focused his speech on love, with a bit of added levity.
“To be in this spot standing here has to mean something, so I took it upon myself to not procrastinate this speech that badly,” Maskell said. “And mom, I actually did try a little bit …. Now, if you’ve known me even a little bit during high school, you might be like, wow, leave it to the kid who’s never had a real relationship to be the one to talk about love. And to that, I would say those words are very hurtful, but true.”
Maskell clarified that love can mean many different things, and one can love many different people. He asked the close to 1000 people overlooking the athletic field on the Saugerties school campus to think about the people they love.
“Your best friends, close family members, your parents, and yeah, maybe even some teachers: I’ve had some really good ones during my time at this school,” he said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you thought about yourselves just now. I know I did. Some people say you can’t love someone else until you love yourself. And sure, that sounds cute, but actually, you can. It’s called being selfless.”
Maskell closed with a challenge: Tell someone you love them.
“Maybe this isn’t a homework assignment, but a goal. And you never know when those people you really love might need it.”
Of the 212 graduates, 139 are moving on to college, eleven will attend trade schools or begin careers in trades, 20 will start new jobs, two have enlisted in the armed forces, one will make their decision next year after taking a crack at hockey, and one is auditioning for a creative opportunity. Another 38 are still mulling it over.
Finding your own path
Two academic standouts also spoke during the commencement ceremony: Valedictorian Becky Li, will attend Brown University; and salutatorian Sydney Poyer is off to SUNY Stony Brook.
Poyer’s speech covered gratitude for her own journey, and for those who helped her along the way.
“I must say, I believe I’ve carved my own path with my own pain, sweat, and tears,” Poyer said. “Lots of tears for those of you that know me. But each of you have stood with me. Each of you have carved your mark into my path with unforgettable love and support. And I will carry a piece of the lessons you taught, jokes we had, and all the memories we’ve made. I will always feel beyond internally grateful for all the kind words and support so many of you have offered me through my accomplishments.”
Li described a tumultuous high-school experience that began long before she was a high-school student.
“Perhaps my earliest memory of the high school came from when I visited during elementary school,” she said. “Someone peeked out their head and whispered, ‘Stay away.’ It wasn’t until much later that I understood what he meant by that. He was right. High school felt like a burning dumpster fire that burned higher than ever when you tried to turn your back.”
Li said she learned that her own frustration and being afraid of the unknown was adding fuel to that particular fire.
“Unable to predict what would happen, finally putting out that fire, I want to share with you the behind-the-scenes perspective of my high-school experience, and hopefully you’ll learn a thing or two,” she said. “In high school, I faced my own version of Robert Frost’s famous crossroads. But instead of choosing between two paths, I decided to create my own.”
Li’s successes were forged through loneliness, even when that loneliness was because of her success. “I am proud to represent ESL learners on the stage today, letting it be known that a language barrier is not insurmountable,” she said. “As an ESL learner, English-is-a-second-language learner, I am no stranger to forging new paths.”
Li closed with a message to her fellow graduates. “In your future, I wish you all good health, much wealth, and perhaps the most important aspect, happiness,” she said. “As we all pursue the different paths we’ve chosen to forge, whether it be the work force, the military, trade school, or higher education, remember that we’ve already proven we can create till the stars align and our paths cross again. Thank you and farewell.”
A small superintendent
The tall Erceg was accompanied by a smaller, besuited doppelgänger, Gavin Brady, who goes by the honorific “junior superintendent,” and is on track to hurl his mortarboard into the sky over Saugerties in several years.
“Gavin is a second grader I met three years ago,” Erceg said. “While visiting his school in my usual suit and tie, Gavin asked his teacher who was the tall guy in the suit? When he found out I was a school superintendent, Gavin asked, ‘What does the superintendent do all day?’
Since then, Gavin’s been his protege, eager to learn the ropes. He may be the only second grader willing to wear a suit to school.
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