By Khalida Sarwari
In his first commencement speech at Saratoga High School, principal Paul Robinson sent off his 346 graduates with a quote by famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
It’s the same quote, Robinson noted, as the one he signs off with in his emails and monthly updates on the school’s website. But he wanted to emphasize the value of the words during the school’s 52nd commencement program.
“It’s your chance now to go out and make it count,” he said to the members of the class of 2013.
Acknowledging that it was a year of ups and downs for the school community with the untimely deaths of sophomore student Audrie Pott and art educator Stephen John McCue, Robinson commended his graduates for their perseverance and hard work.
“I have a feeling that your generation is going to be the one to cure cancer, your generation is going to be the one to go beyond the moon and your generation is going to be the one to reach for world peace,” he said. “The only thing I ask of you is this: In all the things you do from now on, be happy. Connect yourself to people that you know are going to make a difference.”
If the four student speakers that followed Robinson’s address are representative of the Saratoga High School class of 2013, then Robinson’s predictions could very well come true.
Standing atop a stage flanked by her fellow Falcons at Benny Pierce Field at Saratoga High, Elyse Berlinberg echoed Robinson’s words in her address, calling her peers a “generation of survivors.”
“We cannot control the unforeseen twists and turns,” she said. “What we can control is our attitude.”
On the field below, the mood was light and festive as the students waved to proud family members and friends and posed for photos. Leis adorned the necks of the girls, dressed in white gowns and hats, and the boys, decked in navy.
In his lighthearted speech, Feargus Mac Fhionnlaoich touched upon the horrors of honors chemistry (“that class was shock therapy”), but announced he’d talk mostly about himself.
“I have to reinforce how cool I am so that when the 10-year reunion rolls around everyone will want to sit at my table,” he said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
Graduate Laura Hannibal remarked in her address that while Saratoga wasn’t always the most exciting place to hang out for her and her peers, the city was instrumental in her growth.
“Maybe I’ll walk off the stage and never look back,” she said. “But, I can never say that Saratoga didn’t teach me anything.”
The final address was given by Sasan Saadat, who reminded his fellow graduates that Saratoga High was “a place that has guided you for your two-wheeled departure” and advised them to kick off their training wheels and go off and scrape their knees.
The June 6 ceremony culminated with the graduates being called forward to receive their diplomas.
