Joy, Pride As Southold High School Graduates Class Of 2019

SOUTHOLD, NY — Years of hard work and dedication culminated in a graduation ceremony for Southold High School's Class of 2019 Saturday.

The Southold High School auditorium was filled as proud parents cheered the graduates at the 113th Commencement Ceremony. After a welcome by High School Principal Terence Rusch, Class President Marie Mullen led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Salutatorian Dante Tramontara gave his address."The world presents all the answers to our problems, should we choose to look," he said.

Valedictorian Marie Mullen spoke about gratitude, thanking her family and all who have shaped her journey. She spoke fondly of treasured memories, including the high school trip to Europe and prom, and of friends with whom she's created forever bonds.

"This day marks the close of a chapter," she said.

Superintendent of School David Gamberg spoke of the ways success and achievements are measured, adding that while it is important to set goals, there are other dimensions of success. "Michael Jordan said, 'I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed,'" Gamberg noted. He said it takes wisdom to see beyond material gain and urged students to open their minds and hearts to other definitions of success.

He then quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson: "To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived — that is to have succeeded."

The graduates also received more than $1 million in scholarships and awards.

Rusch said 71 percent of graduates would go on to various colleges. "One hundred percent have the promise of a bright future," he said.