About 117 Palmyra High School graduates in the class of 2025 headed to the field behind the Matt Curtis Stadium on June 17.
It was bittersweet when Interim Assistant Superintendent Mark Pease presided over his last Palmyra High School graduation on June 17.
“Class of 2025, you officially leveled up,” he said. “You fought through pop quizzes, survived group projects … and conquered the mysterious meat in the cafeteria. Now you’re here waiting to take on the world.
“Life is not always organized …” Pease added. “Sometimes it will throw you curve balls, unexpected Wi-Fi outages and the occasional spill of juice on your white shirt right before an important meeting or interview. You’ll fall sometimes spectacularly, you’ll get knocked down by rejection, failure and challenges that feel bigger than math finals you barely passed.
“Here’s the secret: Falling isn’t failure, it’s just another step towards figuring things out.”
With “Pomp and Circumstance” playing, some 117 graduates filed into the field behind the Matt Curtis Stadium, now under construction.
“You have left your mark on Palmyra High School,” noted Principal Daniel Licata, adding that he hopes the graduates, as they move on to the next chapters in their lives, think of their time at Palmyra High School with a smile. Stay confident, stay proud, leave your mark, and when someone asks you, ‘Where did you go to high school? …”
The graduates then chimed in unison with a sure answer, “Palmyra High School.”
Maeve O’Connell, student council president, welcomed the crowd of family and friends. Class president Jada Lynn McCloskey introduced fellow graduates. But before moving on, she took a moment to honor the memory of Matt Dickinson, who died last August after he was struck by a River Line train.
Dickinson was to enter his sophomore year.
“I would like to acknowledge the strength of his family, courage of those who are present and the immense support of this community,” McCloskey said.
Salutatorian Owen Louis Jacobs delivered his speech, “The Past Fulfilled,” and valedictorian Anna Paszkiewicz’s speech focused on “The Promise of Tomorrow.”
Jacobs – speaking in Spanich and Portugese as well as English – confessed that before entering Palmyra High, he wished for a private education.
“… Standing before you all now, I can truly say how proud I am to be graduating from Palmyra High School,” he offered. “I realized our school is a microcosm of the American melting pot that brings students from other places, religions and nationalities, which offers unique opportunities.
“Private school would have never afforded me the worldliness of Palmyra High School.”
High school, Jacobs said, allowed him to embrace change.
“We, especially the younger generation, must do our part to ensure the world changes for the better,” he observed.
Paszkiewicz told her fellow graduates to take a moment and think of someone who makes them a better version of themselves and has shaped who they are.
“The promise of tomorrow lies in spending time with the people who challenge us to be better people,” she remarked. “Those who leave us feeling inspired, those who will help and make us successful, happy, kind human beings.
“We have the opportunity to be the people (we) see make the world a better place,” Paszkiewicz added. “At the end of the day, we have the control of what we consume and what we put back into the world.”
Assistant Principal William Devlin conducted a roll call of the graduates, while board of education President Sean Toner and Riverton board of education president Walter Croft presented diplomas to the class of 2025.
Pease, who retires on July 1, left the class with a quote from Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Blessed.”
“Take advantage, do your best, don’t stress, you are granted everything inside this planet, anything you imagine you possess,” he said, “so keep believing, be grateful and work with what you have.”
