As Paul D. Schreiber High School’s Class of 2014 marched in unison toward the campus’s track on Thursday, the students were greeted by a crowd of family and friends on hand to witness their commencement.
A short while later, they had graduated from the Port Washington school, ready to take on the next chapter in their lives.
“What your success will mean to you will be entirely up to you,” said Karen Sloan, the president of the Port Washington Board of Education, in addressing the 410 graduates for the last time. “For me it’s simple. The secret to success is happiness.”
Julie Torres, Schreiber’s assistant principal, said the Class of 2014 would forever be special to her, as it was the second graduating class to have entered the school as freshmen while she was on the job and coincided with the birth of her second child.
“Just when you think that you love someone with all your heart and that you can’t possibly love anymore, your heart grows and you have more love to give,” Torres said. “Because my heart grew and I love my second graduating class.”
In his address to classmates, Murphy Siegel drew laughs from the crowd when he “answer[ed] the question of ‘what is wrong with kids these days.’”
“You see,” he said, “we may not read the New York Times with our burnt toast and black cup of coffee on the table, but we love to know about what’s happening in the world. As long as the information is given to us in a list or quiz form.”
Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Mooney spoke of the importance of staying true to one’s convictions in a world in need of strong leaders.
“There is no doubt that we live in a world that needs saving,” Mooney said. “There is no question in my mind that all of you possess the intellectual curiosity, skills, and heart to perform acts of kindness.”
