Anna Williams leads students into D.A.R. Constitution Hall for Edison High's graduation last Friday. Photo by Steve Hibbard.
After an array of silver and light blue caps and gowns filled Constitution Hall at Thomas Edison High School’s graduation ceremony on Friday, June 14, the commencement began with Principal Pamela Brumfield at the podium.
Through references to terms familiar to students such as “lessons” and “schedules,” she said, “For the last 10 years or so, everything has been put in front of you, but in life there’s no one making a schedule for you … what’s most important is that you learn from the lessons around you.” Her speech was very much in favor of leaving the past and learning from the future, and concluded by advising student, “Be a doer and not a watcher … you can manage and control your destiny.”
Following the principal’s address was Kira Omans, an honor graduate, giving her reflections on her high school career.
Kira asked the students to remember their first day walking into high school as freshmen with big expectations. “What were your values?” she asked. She ended her address of looking back on high school by looking ahead into the future and seeing all the different futures the graduates will have. “We each have something different to contribute to the fields we’re interested in.”
Before the students received their diplomas, there was one more speaker to be heard. This year’s senior voted faculty address was by Scott Racek, a history professor and the social studies department chair at Edison High School. He began by asserting that, “Everyone in this room has been through a journey that got them to where they are today.” He then asks the seniors, “What are the moments you’ll remember and reflect on?” The memory he has of the seniors that he wants to reflect on is how much they have grown. He uses the school building as a metaphor for the students informing the audience that, four years ago, the school was in disarray from renovations. Now, after a few years, the school is polished and grown. Urging them to be “polished individuals,” Dr. Racek left the students with advice to remember the rest of their lives: “Life is largely about being there. Dive into life and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.”