High school goes at a snail’s pace and at a gallop, said Saratoga High School graduate Joshua Harris, “and out of nowhere the end snuck up on us.”
Joshua, along with others who spoke to the 330 graduates assembled together for the last time at the Benny Pierce Field at Saratoga High School on June 7, reflected back and pondered the possibilities of the future.
“These robed dudes and babes on my left and right encapsulate much of the last four years of my life,” said Josh. “We are for the moment connected, but this intensity is ephemeral. The closeness fades as we head off to different corners of the globe.”
Decked in gowns and hats of traditional colors–boys in navy and girls in white–the members of Saratoga’s class of 2012 filed onto the field to the cheers and applause of proud parents, teachers, counselors, family and friends for the high school’s 51st commencement program.
Amit Nagpal, an environmental engineer and the husband of the late former Saratoga councilwoman Susie Nagpal, greeted relatives as they arrived with bobbing balloons and flowers wrapped in cellophane. He came to witness the graduation of his 18-year-old daughter Shriya, who will attend Trinity College in the fall.
“It’s a great day for our family to be here,” Nagpal said.
The ceremony got under way with a speech by graduate Penelope Burgess. She shared with the audience a long list of things she had learned throughout her four years at Saratoga High, which included everything from learning how to drive, to the Saratoga grading scale–“F does not exist”–and finally, “how to be yourself, as cliché as that sounds.”
Students presented assistant principal Karen Hyde with a bedazzled graduation cap. Hyde, who is retiring after 36 years at the school, is known for her love of kids and community.
“We’ve had four irreplaceable years here at Saratoga High and it’s important to recall how much change we’ve endured,” said graduate Megan Benzing. “We encountered new assistant principals, new buildings, new policies, and thankfully, not a new Ms. Hyde.”
As the audience broke into cheers and applause, Megan added, “Sorry, Class of 2013, we’re taking her with us!”
The ceremony culminated with the students being called forward to receive their diplomas.
