Central Regional Graduates Urged to Soar into Future

"This is simply the beginning of some of the greatest moments of our lives," valedictorian Briana DeGraaf was telling her Central Regional senior classmates as gray clouds moved in overhead.

As every optimist will tell you, every storm gives way to sunshine. And on a night where the 2012 graduating class was brimming with excitement and high hopes for the futures that lie ahead, it seemed fitting that the storm clouds just passed them by.

With dark clouds overhead on Friday evening, Central Regional Assistant Principal Michele Ramsay announced the program would move directly to awarding of diplomas.

Administrators watched the clouds closely -- heavy storms Thursday night spawned a tornado lookalike cloud that disrupted the Absegami High School graduation -- but as senior after senior accepted diplomas, the clouds moved past. As the final names were called, the field was bathed in sunlight once more.

Salutatorian Danielle Maxson, who spoke before DeGraaf, reminded her classmates to embrace every second of what lies ahead.

"The future has so much to bring," she said.

DeGraaf quoted both Winston Churchill and Rocky Balboa in her speech, reminding her classmates that while they will face challenges in life, the key is in never letting them knock you down permanently.

"It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward," she said.

Principal Douglas Corbett reminded the graduates that each of them has a talent to nurture, and urged them to do something they love. But he reminded them that hard work was the biggest part of all: "Even the most talented can be surpassed by the most persistent."

The ceremony was lacking one key member of the community: Dr. , the superintendent, who was in California to serve as best man at his brother's wedding. But he sent a message to the students and those gathered:

"Always remember you're an Eagle, and Eagles soar," he said in a note read by Ramsay.

When all was complete and caps were tossed, and parents and family flooded Joseph J. Boyd Memorial Field to congratulate sons and daughters on their achievements, there were some planning one last high school hurrah.

"What time tomorrow?" Stephanie Jensen asked her daughter, , as Samantha accepted hugs from friends.

The morning after graduation is not a time most kids want to think about getting up early, but this isn't just any day: Samantha has a bit of unfinished business -- business that nearly forced her to make a choice no kid wants to make.

You see, Jensen is running the 100 hurdles at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. The meet was postponed Thursday due to the stormy weather, at first to Friday -- and had it been held, there was a chance Jensen would have been getting set at the starting line at the same time her classmates were walking onto the football field.

However, that changed Friday morning when the NJSIAA moved the meet to Monday to accommodate Jensen and about a dozen other seniors who were facing the same dilemma.

"I went from tears of devastation to tears of joy," she said of hearing the news that the meet had been pushed to Monday. "It was the best news."

And after Monday, she will soar on to new adventures, just like the rest of her classmates.