Sayville Class of 2020 Commencements

Sayville High School, like many schools on Long Island, changed the format of its traditional commencement exercises to comply with New York State social-distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Adapting to this break with tradition, Sayville first delayed its Class of 2020 Commencement that originally had been scheduled for Friday, June 26th with the hope that, by July, Pandemic restrictions would allow for larger assemblies. Still, to make up for some of the class’ lost traditions, Sayville High School Administrators and faculty celebrated their graduates in myriad ways. They delivered lawn signs to the homes of every member of the Class of 2020, honored the graduates with their portraits affixed to the fences surrounding the Sayville High School campus, created virtual awards ceremonies that were posted to the website, had the names of all the graduates displayed on the electronic sign in front of the high school, and Principal Ron Hoffer along Assistant Principals Mike Baio and Sabine Loristan accommodated the concerns of various families when considering how to hold commencement exercises.

To resolve some of these concerns, Principal Hoffer and staff hosted a small, diploma-awarding ceremony outside on the original day (Friday, June 26th) for some students for whom time and obligations would prevent them from participating in the late, July exercises.

Nearly a month later, five, independent and small graduation ceremonies were held: one drive-up and four field events—all abiding by social-restriction limitations and face-mask requirements—spanned Friday and Saturday, July 24th and July 25th, respectively. For these ceremonies—students attended in alphabetical order—the graduates and two guests were seated together in triad groupings, six feet apart on the football field. For all family and friends who could not attend, all four field events were live-streamed for the first time in Sayville history via the Sayville School District’s YouTube channel.

At 2 p.m. on Friday, July 24th, another small, diploma-awarding ceremony was held outside under the front awning entrance due to threats of rain for several students and their families who were not comfortable joining the field events.

After a short rain delay, the first of four ceremonies began on at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24th. High School Principal Ron Hoffer welcomed those in attendance; each field ceremony began with the Star Spangled Banner sung by the phenomenal Patricia Ann Kubelle Memorial Award-Winning Vocalist Shawn Gibbons.

In his two-fold message, Sayville Superintendent Dr. John Stimmel began by acknowledging the challenges that the Class of 2020 have faced: “our world is going through a dark time,” and associated this with the somewhat universally shared fear of the dark. “Even grownups can be spooked by darkness. There is something primeval about it. Darkness kindles fear and gives root to the nightmares of youth.” Dr. Stimmel reminded the graduates how their parents helped them overcome their fears with, “Hello Kitty, Thomas the Tank Engine or some such night light that got you through those dark times. Those simple lamps didn’t just scatter the darkness of night, they, in a way, reminded you of how much your parents loved you.” The Superintendent encouraged the Class, “to bring your talents to the world. Each one of you has something unique and profound to offer our community…No matter how dark the world may seem at times, always, always let your light shine!”

“My second message to you,” Dr. Stimmel concluded, “is simply this: Our pandemic experience is teaching us something that we have always known: your health and the love of your family are truly your most valuable possessions. Yes these are very difficult and uncertain times that we are going through, but take good care of yourself, keep your loved ones close and never doubt that your best days lay ahead.”

Salutatorian for the Class of 2020 Lauren Flaumenhaft attended every ceremony in person. In her speech, entitled An Opportunity, she shared the lesson she learned from her elementary school classmate “Cameron Riccomini… a very funny kid and an astute observer of the human condition. We also all know that throughout our time at Cherry Avenue, Cameron battled a rare form of brain cancer. He handled his terrible condition courageously and with a sharp, and sometimes wicked, sense of humor, made up of an endless supply of hysterical jokes. While Cameron lost his battle in fifth grade, I think that we can all take a lesson from him to deal with the times we are living through right now. The lesson is that we should all laugh and joke whenever we can and we should not allow our current circumstances to get us down, but we should also pay close attention and handle our challenges with humanity.” Lauren closed her address by urging her fellow graduates “to try to keep your focus on the good in your life.”

All four ceremonies were treated to the live performances of a musical selection by the exceptional Shawn Gibbons. Each time, he prefaced his recital of Santa Fe from the musical Newsies with this dedication to his classmates: “I chose to sing it because I hope one day we can all find our Utopia. Whether it be right here in Sayville or halfway across the globe, I hope we can all find our happy place.” Shawn’s flawless, passionate, and powerful rendition was both moving and brilliant, leaving no doubt why he was chosen as the Class of 2020 Patricia Ann Kubelle Memorial Award-Winning Vocalist.

Brendan Dillon, Class of 2020 Valedictorian, who attended first two of the four events (for the Saturday ceremonies, he provided an audio recording of his speech), had Basic Advice for a Happy Life in which he stated “Undoubtedly, we all have goals. Many of which will require determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice to be achieved. I hope that no one here will give up their well-being and happiness in pursuit of these goals.

“In Confucius’ famous quote,” Brendan concluded, “he reminds us that if you choose a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. While what he says is certainly true I believe it’s not as simple as that. To choose an occupation that you are truly passionate about requires courage. The courage to persist when things don’t go as expected, the courage to disappoint those who care about you, and the courage to find happiness and therefore success on our own terms. I wish you all the best, thank you.”

Next on the program Board of Education President Keith Kolar addressed the graduates. “It is safe to say as far as a senior year goes, there has not been a Sayville High School class that has collectively faced more adversity than the class of 2020…. Although significant changes like this can create uncertainty, however it may also offer an opportunity to reset and make improvements within yourself. Take these changes as an opportunity to make the world a better place.”
Only during the awarding of diplomas were the graduates allowed to remove their face masks for their photos.

Once the diplomas were distributed, the Response for the Class of 2020, It is All About Hope by Class President Mary Vermilyea had been pre recorded as an audio file to be played in her absence. Due to high-risk susceptibility in the family, Mary had been uncertain about her attendance at all the ceremonies. Despite the obstacles that prevented her from attending the ceremonies, Mary’s recording brimmed with her sense of humor and wit, as well as heartfelt appreciation for her classmates and her hopes for the silver lining: “We have learned the importance of inspiring others, and empowering one another to be the best versions of ourselves. And our class in particular needs it now more than ever to have someone to lean on as we step out into this new, unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable stage of life where we’ll meet unfamiliar people, and have unfamiliar experiences. During this crisis, I bet you’ve all seen it; there were a few similar popular hashtags that were utilized across social media platforms. You saw them everywhere. We were #togetheralone or #togetherapart. Now, I think it’s appropriate for me to say that we are all becoming #togethertogether. I love you all, and will miss you dearly. While this has been a time of unconventional happenings, we’ve still got Joe’s cookies.”

At the final Commencement exercise during which she was also given her diploma, Mary was able to appear and deliver her speech in person. Embellishing on her audio speech, she added at the end, “Hi, Dad. Happy Birthday!” It was a bittersweet moment for her and her entire family as her father had just passed away the day before.

Also during the fourth ceremony, Richard and Colleen Riccomini, parents of Cameron, were in attendance to represent their son who would have graduated with this class at this ceremony had he not succumbed to brain cancer when he was in elementary school. Standing in for BOE President Keith Kolar to deliver the prepared speech, BOE Trustee Dr. James Bertsch prefaced Mr. Kolar's remarks by acknowledging the Riccomini family. “I wanted to say… I was very struck by the way the students are remembering Cameron. I went to Sunrise; I raised my kids at Lincoln, so I wasn’t as aware of what this class went through, particularly the kids at Cherry. I think it illustrates something special. I look at you today. You’re sitting together as families and I think… to lose a child…I can’t image…but I think I’m inspired by Cameron’s parents. Each year they’ve done a fund raiser to fight their son’s disease. I believe it shows that when you open yourself to the love and support of other people, that’s how you heal. So I wanted to ask if we can all publicly acknowledge their courage in the face of losing their child, but also to use that as a symbol to acknowledge how special this class really is. If we can have a round of applause for Mr. and Mrs. Riccomini…”

The crowd stood and gave the Riccomini’s a standing ovation.

Each ceremony concluded with Principal Hoffer’s summation (See right sidebar) of the academic year and his final words to the Class of 2020:

"As a representative of our faculty, staff, and administration, it has been my pleasure to have worked with you for the past four years. Ladies and gentleman... Thank you for joining us…. Please have a safe and an enjoyable night. I congratulate the Class of 2020, and wish you success, health, and happiness in all your future endeavors.”

At the end of every event, cheers arose along with the Class of 2020's mortarboards, tossed by the newly minted Sayville High School Graduates.

Visit the sayville School District website for hundreds of photos and videos at https://www.sayvilleschools.org/Page/18815