“Before I came to Fox Meadow High School in sophomore year, I never showed up for classes, was always getting in fights,” said Joe Kelly, the student speaker at Fox Meadow Graduation Wednesday evening. “But three years here made me a better person. All schools are not the same.”
At Fox Meadow, Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES’ alternative high school, Kelly said “you could talk to teachers like human beings. Thanks to the teachers here I’m graduating.”
Seventeen students from 12 school districts graduated from Fox Meadow High School, having put in the effort and perseverance needed to complete their educations. The bond between Fox Meadow teachers and students could be seen both before and after the ceremony, as teachers cheered for their students when they entered the gym and hugged them in the aftermath.
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Philip Hester, whose daughter Quanisha graduated, thanked the teachers and staff of Fox Meadow for helping her to reach this milestone. Dr. Thomas Higgins, former assistant superintendent at BOCES, also spoke to the graduates, telling them to take time to reflect on the many themes so common to graduation speeches in order to find the one that resonates with them.
The following students graduated: Christian Cochancela (Putnam Valley; Amelia DiFilippo (North Salem); Johnny Garcia (Elmsford); George Grace (Lakeland); Quanisha Hester (Peekskill); Alexis Holliday (Lakeland); Tam Huynh (Mahopac); Joseph Kelly (Lakeland); James McCormick (Cornwall); Leah Melnick (Washingtonville); Candace Moran (Somers); Musheed Muhammad (Peekskill); Colby Peragine (Brewster); Frank Ricca (Carmel); Marek Slusarczyk (Mahopac); Andrew Sommer (Lakeland); Cheyenne Vickers (Haldane).
