June 8, 2008 — Charged with the usual admonitions to strive for success and represent the school in a positive way, the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Class of 2008 also heard a different theme — sticking together.
Valedictorian Blanche Letang summed up the feeling best when she told fellow grads to depend on each other in the same way that ants work together when there is something too heavy for just one of them to carry.
Noting a number of 2008's events, Principal Sharon McCollum applauded the school's recent return to full accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. See "Hard Work Pays Off as High Schools Regain Accreditation.")
Other big events included grads Sharee Miller and Ariel Millen finishing first and third place in the territory's Congressional Art Contest, and a recent visit by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who shot hoops in the very gym where the graduation took place.
To big cheers, McCollum mused that it may have been some of the Kean "Devil Ray spirit [that] got him where he is today."
Another first that brought big cheers from the class is a Kean vanity plate, the first of which, IVK 001, was displayed for the audience by Peter Seipel, chairman of Kean's physical education department.
Delivering the commencement address, Edecia Richards, Class of 1978, told students to expand their borders and be willing to change current paradigms. Richards is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Richards said that in life, it is attitude, not just aptitude, that carries one forward.
Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry, attending her first round of Virgin Islands graduations, charged the class of 2008 with giving back.
"Please become a contributor. Contribute your time and your energies to your community," Terry said.
Soon many of the graduates will start giving back as members of the Armed Forces. Almost one-quarter of the Class of 2008 is enrolled in the JROTC program, led by retired Army Maj. Rick Coles.
The corps recently scored a 98.2 percent on the U.S Army's formal inspection, highest of any JROTC program score in the territory.
Coles gave a lot of credit to Ella Elizee, the Corps Battalion Executive Officer for the high score.
"She led our effort to maintain the honor unit with distinction," Coles said.
Coles noted that Elizee is the recipient of a three year Air Force ROTC scholarship valued at $120,000 as well as a JROTC scholarship which provides a computer and software.
Many of the JROTC students are represented among the class' top scholars, including salutatorian Sandy Bellot. Andy Smith, number four in the class, plans to study chemistry at the University of Georgia.
Smith and number three, Dujuana Grell, said that their placement in the class just worked out that way.
"We weren't really competing for top slots, it just happened," Grell said.
"I'm excited that I am actually going to start work on my education," Smith said. Smith plans to use his degree either to go into oncology or to try to solve environmental problems.
Grell, vice president of the World Religions Club, also delivered the evening's invocation. She will be attending Seton Hall University this fall and plans on a career in international law.
Bellot, who intends to study psychology at University of the Virgin Islands on a full scholarship, said the excitement of the evening hadn't yet sunk in.
"It will hit me after I leave campus. I think I might cry then," Bellot said.
Bellot said that her inspiration came from her mother and her friends, Chantel Christopher, Juanita Paul and Hadiyah Muhammad.
For someone so young, Bellot had a remarkably mature take on what makes a positive friend.
"They are friends who will tell you to better yourself. They have your best interests in mind," Bellot said.
Her advice to next year's graduates: "Stay focused. Keep your eye on the goal."
Gov. John deJongh Jr. told the graduates that people were depending on them to take leadership positions in the future.
"Doors will open up," deJongh said. "Many of us are holding a place for you because you are the leaders of the next generation. Make sure that your moral compass guides you."
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