Courage, Academic, Athletic, Artistic Excellence
and Compassion Exhibited by HHS Class of 2010
By Stephen E. Lipken
Besides academic, athletic and artistic excellence, members of the Harrison High School (HHS) Class of 2010 exhibited above and beyond courage, compassion and cultural acceptance according to Harrison Central School District (HCSD) Superintendent Louis N. Wool.
Speaking at Commencement Exercises held at Purchase College Performing Arts Center on Friday, July 25 before 222 graduates, Wool mentioned the time when the HHS Band marched onto the field at half-time and an autistic student fell down “but still kept on playing. We did not pick him up but his fellow students shouted encouragement, ‘Anthony get up.’
“Anthony was a member of that band. That class proved to be far more caring and compassionate than what was normally found. We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.
“And what about the courage of our pupil Carmen Linaro Lopez? She was struck by a truck while visiting Colorado College and doctors doubted whether she would ever recover or live a normal life. Carmen refused to believe that and today, she is walking across this stage.
“In spite of difficult economic times, we have the highest percentage of students going to select colleges and the highest percentage of Advanced Placement (AP) scholars. Seek inspiration from outside the classroom. What will you do with the rest of your life? What mountains will you climb?”
At the beginning of the program HHS Principal James A. Ruck, Ed.D, asked for a moment of silence “in memory of those who passed on before us, especially Marissa Ann Pagli, a freshman at Manhattanville College brutally strangled, who just celebrated her graduation last year.”
Dr. Ruck went on to say that his past experience has been basketball and cited the lessons that University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) coach John Wooden taught. “Wooden, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at 91 before passing away at 99 on June 4, stressed that young people need models, not critics. He emphasized courtesy foremost, saying try to have fun without being funny, seek to complement somebody sincerely and laugh with others, never at them,” Ruck stated.
Class President Nicole Nannariello noted that her class “is one but not the same. We are pieces of one gigantic puzzle. I will carry each piece of you in my heart as we work on our next puzzle.”
Photos courtesy of www.garymorgen photography.com and Stephen E. Lipken.
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