Walter Panas High Students Graduate Prepared

Kaitlin Hamilton reminisced about the highs and lows of high school at the Walter Panas High School commencement ceremony.

 

“Little did we know what high school had in store for us, but I think it is safe to say that it was quite a blast,” Hamilton said. “Who could have ever thought that these last four years could contain so many beautiful memories, many sweet successes and so many comical occurrences?”

 

Hamilton, the valedictorian of Walter Panas, was one of 200 students who received her high school diploma Saturday morning at the ceremony held at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

 

Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Stone spoke at the 39th annual ceremony, noting that it was his first Walter Panas graduation since becoming superintendent.

 

“I want you to know that I am here today to tell you honestly that you are leaving this educational community well ahead of the game academically and competitively and you need to use that to your advantage,” Stone said. “You, the class of 2011, here at Walter Panas High School communicate, present yourselves, demonstrate maturity and courtesy, and learn at higher levels than anywhere else that I have ever been.”

 

Frank DiRenno, the Walter Panas High School salutatorian, told the students to both appreciate and realize what they had accomplished.

 

“I can’t believe its been four years since we first woke up that September morning, getting ready for that first day of school. But you know what? We made it,” he said.

 

DiRenno noted that the future may seem uncertain, but the next steps were things the students should look forward to.

 

“I’m sure we all know where we’re going after we leave here today, and everyone knows where we’ll be in September. But there’s something I don’t know, you don’t know, and our teachers don’t know, and our parents don’t know. And that’s where each of us will be when we all wake up one Saturday morning, much like today 20 years from now," he said. "I know we’ll all wake up with a smile on our face and that look I see on all of you today, that look that says I’m here and I couldn’t be more proud of it.”

 

Hamilton echoed DiRenno’s note of looking back at what they each had accomplished, but being excited for the next chapter of their lives.

 

“Our high school years have come to an end and we now stand at a unique crossroads in our lives. A crossroad that will let us glimpse at what has happened, but also gives us a glimpse of what will happen,” Hamilton said.

 

Commencement speaker Cassandra Nicholas, a math teacher at Walter Panas, spoke to the students about the importance of making their successes their priorities, and that those who look for instant gratification will not succeed.

 

"You may have heard that people of my generation have labeled you as the generation of instant gratification. I want you to know, that the greatest rewards come not from instant gratification, but from sustained efforts and from hard work," she said. "After all, it is the person who comes before and after school for extra help, the person who person never gives up trying, and the person who figures out the derivatives, the quotient rule, the product rule, and the limits, who will ace the final exam over the person who thinks he'll guess at the answers and hope for the best just because it's easier to do it that way."

 

The preparation that the Walter Panas grads have for their future was noted in Dr. Stone’s speech as well.

 

“Remember that it is not that you are better than anyone else, for we are all created equally, but you are better prepared and that is a great advantage,” he said.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Cortlandt and receive free news updates.