Schools
Tears And Joy: West Orange High Graduates Class of 2017 (PHOTOS)
The 2017 WOHS graduation ceremony included a touching tribute to deceased students Nikhil Badlani and Mackenzie Fitschen.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The 2017 West Orange High School graduation ceremony last week was memorable in more ways than one, bringing both tears and joy to the community.
According to school administrators, during a “picture-perfect evening” on June 22, a class of 491 seniors graduated from West Orange High School in an outdoor ceremony at Suriano Stadium.
During the ceremony, the class and attendees gave a standing ovation to the family of Nikhil Badlani and Mackenzie Fitschen, who both received posthumous diplomas.
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Sangeeta Badlani and Dawn Fitschen, mothers of Nikhil and Mackenzie, then released two doves into the evening sky in remembrance of their children.
Badlani passed away six years ago in a car crash and Fitschen passed away last year after a valiant battle with cancer. Both would have graduated with their peers on June 22, school administrators said.
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- See related article: West Orange Student Who Died In Crash Remembered With Music
- See related article: Cancer-Battling Cheerleader Gets Pep Rally From Peers
After the tearful remembrances, the ceremony proceeded with other graduation day events, such as a performance of "Pomp and Circumstance by the Junior Honor Guard and a speech from Salutatorian Mariel Go, who extolled her classmates to “speak out against injustice and remember your roots.”
Valedictorian Derek Lim, a track team captain, began his speech by running a few meters on the track he said “gave him so many good memories.”
“It may be hard to see it at times, but these are some of the best years of our lives,” Lim said. “We will all look back at something from West Orange High School in the future, the freedom, beautiful racial and ideological diversity, opportunity, learning in every sense.”
Other performances included “I Believe,” sung by graduating seniors in the choir and “Beyond the Horizon,” performed by the band.
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Photos: West Orange Public School District
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