Holy Cross graduation

(Pub June 14)
DELRAN – Before tassels turned, caps launched and foghorns blew from all areas of the football field, salutatory speaker Valerie Brencher stood before her 184 classmates and reflected upon their time at Holy Cross.

So many memories created in these hallways, she said. A testament to how far both the school and the students have come, Brencher, who is headed to the University of Notre Dame, spoke of her freshman year when she learned poetry inside a leaky building that relied on strategically placed trash cans.

While the building has been renovated, the ceiling of her and her classmates has been raised to new heights.

"If you look closely at us individuals there's something special in all of us," Brencher said, and not just because they "pulled off the most successful 'Senior cut day in years."

Principal Dennis Guida confirmed this much in his farewell address, noting the $11.5 million in scholarships given to this class.

"This class has set the bar high for the class of 2009," Guida said.

While the money is nice, Matt Cusack, who is bound for Montclair University on a partial track scholarship, said that the faith-based education he received has been priceless.

"The teachers try so hard to help you succeed," Cusack said. "They'll do whatever it takes for you to get to that next level. That's what helped me out, the teachers who just kept pushing me and pushing me.

"When some teachers don't care, they are some who really love what they do and I think that's what makes this place so great."

The students, separated according to gender, marched in two single-file lines from the school's auditorium with the men in maroon gowns, the women in white.

Valedictorian Renee Rappisi, who was given the Award of Excellence, talked about how youthful lessons will help in the future.

"We don't play with Legos anymore, but hopefully we still know how to clean up the mess we make," the Cornell University-bound student said.

Delivering the final remarks, Secretary for Catholic Education Dr. Judith Caviston left the antsy students with a story of a successful man, who, in all his travels, knew he wouldn't be where he was today without a competent parachute packer.

"Many have helped pack your parachutes," Caviston said. "May your parachutes be [secure] in the knowledge that God love you, that you be proud of yourself and that you walk tall. For none of us can say they have gotten by without the support of other people."

The ceremony ended with four jets, organized in a cross pattern, seemingly blessing the day by whizzing across midfield and then from end zone to end zone.

You can never be too lucky on Friday the 13th, but student Mike Sheehan said he thinks his class has what it takes to succeed.

"People say a lot of unlucky things," said the student bound for the Annapolis naval academy. "You just got to have faith and that's what this school is all about."