Senior Week 2010: JCHS Grads Construct Own Path

Editor's note: Welcome to Day 5 of Senior Week 2010. The Caldwells Patch began an eight-day series on Monday, featuring graduating seniors from James Caldwell High School, West Essex Regional High School and Mount St. Dominic as they reflect on their high school careers and prepare for the next step in their lives. 

Here's a look at Thursday night's Caldwell High commencement ceremony. For more coverage, check out the associated video. There are also photos of Project Graduation's all-night celebration.

There were the traditional courses in math, science and history.

Then there was construction.

It wasn't officially offered and it didn't have an actual syllabus, but it taught the James Caldwell High School Class of 2010 valuable lessons over the past year.

As the graduating seniors prepared to receive their diplomas Thursday night at Bonnel Field, Principal Kevin Barnes referred to Home & Garden Television's "Holmes on Homes" series where general contractor Mike Holmes assists homeowners by correcting faulty renovations performed by previous contractors.

But unlike those residents, the JCHS Class of 2010 had a solid foundation to build upon when the high school's auditorium renovations altered the students' everyday lives this year.

The inconvenience tested the students' patience, understanding and cooperation.

Similar to inside the classroom, the students passed.

"Fortunately, we believe unlike the homeowners Mike Holmes rescues, these students have had a firm foundation upon which to build. They began laying a solid foundation 13 years ago with the unyielding vision toward their future and with parents and families who loved them, cared for them and provided direction," Barnes said.

"These students have built appropriate walls and they have also allowed other walls to be removed. Standing firmly, they have each become a more defined structure. They have done it the right way almost all the time. They have learned much from the few mistakes they may have made along the way. In the end, and tonight is indeed at least the end for this stage of the process, their parents and their families can be completely proud of their progress. These graduates have learned more about themselves than we could have ever had hoped."

According to Barnes, 177 of the 185 seniors participated in Thursday night's commencement ceremony. Five students have not yet met the necessary graduation requirements, while three others did not attend the ceremony.

While Barnes referenced HGTV, Valedictorian Tyler McKechnie preferred to sing a line from the Britney Spears song, "Circus" and concluded with Lady Gaga's quote, "Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger."

Caldwell High's commencement provided a small lesson in pop culture—a bit of a light mood that always seemed to best characterize the group, class advisor Pamela McMahon said.

"As advisor for the Class of 2010, I felt I should figure out some word or phrase, which best captures your class. The more I thought about it, the best I could come up with is 'fun.' While I probably could have come up with a more educated word, to be me, 'fun' so accurately describes your class," McMahon said.

"I can remember when all of you came in as freshmen. You had this energy to you. You were pretty entertaining to watch. You turn even the most monotonous lesson into a lively discussion with your personal stories, humorous anecdotes and colorful—and as you got older, a little too colorful—language. You always just seemed to have a good time.

"To me, the most exceptional thing about all of you is your ability to enjoy life."

It was a zest McKechnie exuded while presenting his six-minute speech to his peers, administrators, faculty, family and members of the community that filled the home side of Bonnel Field for the first time in three years after rain forced each of the past two commencement ceremonies indoors.

With a passion for the arts, McKechnie—no stranger to the stage—sang the opening line of "Circus."

"There's only two people in the world: the ones that entertain and the ones that observe," he recited.

The Muhlenberg-bound McKechnie reminded his classmates this was the final night to observe.

"Whether we're bound toward 'cultcha' and 'chowdah' in Boston, destined to be one of the California girls, off to the middle of east bumble Pennsylvania—yeah, that one's rough, I know—or staying here to be sleepless in suburbia, it's our turn to take all of the observing we've been doing in our four years here and convert it into action, something to which we can dedicate ourselves and of which we can be proud," McKechnie said.

"I won't pretend it's going to be easy, nor will it necessarily be a barrel of fun. But you know what? I think we can do it. Every single one of us here is capable of holding his own in the face of just about anything, and of doing far more than succeeding."

McKechnie told the class it's time to shed the days of Britney Spears and begin a more sophisticated journey.

"As we look to our future, we graduate from the vulgar realm of Britney to the classier, more enlightened sphere of Lady Gaga, who is known to have said, 'once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger,'" he said.

"So here we stand, with the ground beef of our education lying neatly at our side. Let's do it. Let's make a sandwich, because I don't know about you guys, but I, for one, am getting pretty hungry."

Superintendent Daniel Gerardi said the seniors have filled up on basic knowledge that will help them take the next step in their lives. But he warned that having a successful future will require more than just these skills.

"While we can clearly state your present qualifications, we can only hope that you use this knowledge and skill to be successful. Being successful in the 21st century will take more than proficiency on the HSPA or passing English 12 or Algebra 2," Gerardi said. "Over the next 50 years of your work life, you may have three or four different careers. You will need many of what author Tony Wagner calls '21st century survival skills.' These skills will include curiosity, imagination, initiation, adaptability, collaboration and thinking agility.

"So in many ways, today is the commencement—a beginning to take your JCHS experiences and your family values as a foundation to enhance them for future success."

Over the past four years, Salutatorian Hannah Landsberger has witnessed the maturity of her peers, and while the high school's hallways have provided a structured route to graduation, she said it's time for members of the Class of 2010 to begin paving their own unique paths.

"Somewhere along the way, something important did happen—we grew up. For four years, we have been united. We have traveled over the same speckled tile for the same four minutes every day for our school careers. Our destinations were pretty much the same and we all took the same path to get there. We didn't have a choice," the George Mason University-bound Landsberger said.

"But today is graduation and our hallway-walking days are behind us. We'll soon be expected to steer through open campuses, winding streets, multi-door workplaces and a world full of possible routes and destinations. My greatest dream for all of you—for all of us—is that we learn to revel in our newfound freedom. The world is ours to explore."

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