Student speakers delivered a series of eloquent, emotional speeches and received heartfelt congratulations from their faculty as The Wheatley School celebrated its seniors this past Sunday with its 68th commencement ceremony.
“It is with great confidence that we issue these diplomas today,” Principal Wayne Jensen told the crowd gathered in the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the LIU Post campus. “I know that wherever you go next, you will be prepared to meet success in whatever endeavors you take on.”
Other administrators, including Superintendent Danielle Gately and School Board Trustee David Keefe, also gave words of advice to the 136 graduates, encouraging them to push through the challenging, unprecedented times they face to disrupt the world by bringing it closer to the way they want to see it.
But the real stars of the show were the student speakers, who delivered poignant accounts of their time in the district. They spoke about the difficulty of studying through the COVID-19 pandemic, the accomplishments of their peers, the growth they’ve experienced during their time at high school and the community they feel they’ve built.
Maeve Brady, the class of 2025 co-president, gave a heartfelt speech about how she has grown to love her time at school, despite being a reluctant student as an elementary schooler.
“My mom still tells the stories of me clinging on to the chain link fence, screaming at the top of my lungs that I didn’t want to go to school every morning,” said Brady, referencing a fence outside her elementary school, adding that she cried every morning until second grade. “I had to come to terms with the fact that going to school was, unfortunately, the law.”
She spoke about the trials, tribulations and joys of moving through the district, like the anticipation of finding out who her elementary school teachers were, navigating lockers and recess, learning class dances and running the gym pacer test, that eventually tied her emotionally to the district.
“Now, after all this time, you still have to peel me off that chain link fence, not because I don’t want to go to school, but because I don’t want to leave it,” said Brady, ending her speech. “Class of 2025, thank you for being the reason I latched on, and the reason it is now so hard to let go.”
Jensen, the principal, who delivered speeches filled with personal anecdotes and inside jokes with the class of 2025 throughout the ceremony, encouraged the students to savor the accomplishments of their high school career.
“High school graduation is one of those major life milestones, a moment in life that marks an important point of concluding one stage and beginning another,” Jensen said. “It’s one of life’s special events. Take the moment to reflect and to enjoy being in the company of friends and to celebrate all that you have accomplished.”
