Sunday, June 28, was an overcast day in Oyster Bay. It was a comfortable 74 degrees under cloudy skies. It had rained heavily all night and a fine mist was lingering in the air during the ceremony. Although the gym was an alternative, the promise of clearing skies and a preference for the front lawn of the high school set the scene to celebrate the commencement of the Class of 2015. At the stroke of noon, Matthew Sisia raised his baton and the Oyster Bay High School combined Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble struck the familiar chords of Edward Elgar’s venerable classic, “Pomp and Circumstance.”
The crowd was soon surrounded by a sea of purple and white robes as the graduates marched out the doors of the high school led by the Honorary Marshals from the Class of 2016, Justine Colvin, Alexis Gursky, Robin Yeh and Vanessa Yu.
Oyster Bay High School Senior Class President Gregory Noel led the hundreds of family, friends and onlookers assembled on the front lawn of the high school in the Pledge of Allegiance. The OBHS Chamber Singers sang a beautiful version of “The Star Spangled Banner” under the direction of Meagan Finnerty.
Oyster Bay High School Principal Dr. Dennis O’Hara, in his opening remarks, said, “I want to be sure that everyone understands that this group of graduates, like those before them, have achieved above state and national averages academically. In fact, due to their efforts, specifically, on the backs of the Class of 2015, Oyster Bay High School was recently ranked among the top 1.7 percent of all high schools in the nation by The Washington Post.
“To the students of the Class of 2015, I want you to know that I have been truly blessed to have been your principal. You have made me feel welcomed, respected and valued. You have shown me understanding, warmth, compassion and kindness. I love you, and because of my association with you, I am among the richest men I know.”
O’Hara turned the podium over to Cassidy Archdeacon to deliver the address of welcome as salutatorian of the Class of 2015.
Archdeacon will be attending the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University (NYU) this fall where she plans to study media, marketing, advertising and design.
While at OBHS, Archdeacon was a member of the National Honor Society, the National Science Honor Society and the Foreign Language Honor Society. Archdeacon has shown herself to be a true leader, serving as captain of the varsity cheerleading team. During her high school years, Archdeacon was also the historian, secretary and vice president of the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club. In middle school, she was treasurer of the National Junior Honor Society.
For the past four years, Archdeacon has volunteered at the Life Enrichment Center of Oyster Bay. She has served as a tutor for children in kindergarten through six grade and volunteers at the Oyster Bay School District Children’s Library.
In her address, Archdeacon said, “There is so much more out there than what we have come to know. Looking at the brain and the talent of our grade, it would be a shame if anyone forgot that. So, to all of my classmates, go out and be bigger than high school. Be more than Oyster Bay, because in the grand scheme of things, this is just our preamble. I know this is a bit of a cliché, but today really is the beginning of the rest of our lives.
“So as you are all out in the world, seizing each and every day, don’t ever forget about your second family sitting beside you.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laura Seinfeld offered advice to the Class of 2015. In a cogent speech she said, “Work very hard toward your passions and goals, be courageous and curious, and always, always choose kind.
“Be sure to foster relationships with others so that you can truly enjoy these successes with the people you care about and who care about you.”
O’Hara welcomed the valedictorian, Jared Hirsch, to the podium to deliver the farewell speech. Hirsch plans on attending Columbia University in September, where he will study political science and economics, with an eye to one day going to law school.
While at Oyster Bay High School, Hirsch was the president of class three years in a row. He is a member of the Oyster Bay High School chapter of the National Honor Society, was a member of the mock trial team and even started his own club called “Pizza and Politics.”
Hirsch said, “Moving forward, it’s important to acknowledge the inevitable: we will continue our journey of education—whether that education come from a professor or life itself. We will continue our friendships, we will make new ones, we will love, we will lose, we will win, we will become whole, and in the end, we will change. We will change a million times—our minds, our persona and our ambitions. The only constant amongst all of this is our ability to encourage change rather than shy away from it. We have failed as a group if we do not face that which is uncomfortable, unknown and uncharted. The only thing I’ll ask of this class is that we embrace change.”
Board of Education President Ann Marie Longo took to the podium to offer her remarks, in which she said, “Please embrace life’s challenges, grow with every new experience, live, learn, laugh, love and most of all enjoy.
“To quote Mark Twain: ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.’ So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.’ ”
OBHS Chapter of the National Honor Society members Nicole and Ryan Hauser introduced this year’s choice for the National Honor Society Honorary Inductee, OBHS science teacher Colleen Annicelli.
Diplomas were handed out, caps were thrown in the air, then off to parties and the rest of their lives as Oyster Bay High School alumni.
