Haverford High Graduates over 450 students

HAVERTOWN – The School District of Haverford Township is proud to announce the graduation of 450 seniors.  Family and friends gathered at Villanova University’s Pavilion to witness the commencement ceremonies on June 10, 2013. The High School’s orchestra and chorus started the ceremony with performances. High School Principal Dr. Jeff Nesbitt welcomed the audience.

Class Officer Samantha Murphy introduced Senior Soo Jung Rhee who delivered the keynote speech after winning a contest for the honor. Ms. Rhee is a National Merit Finalist and editor-in-chief of Haverford’s yearbook, Greystones. She emigrated from South Korea to the United States with her family three years ago. Ms. Rhee will attend Boston College as a student in the Honors Program of the College of Arts and Sciences. She will major in economics and international studies.

In her speech, Ms. Rhee compared graduation to opening a fortune cookie, but with a surprise: the fortune is blank. “We crack that cookie in half and get a blank strip of paper,” she said to her 450 classmates.  “Our fortune cookies have nothing written in them yet. It is our job to write those words with our own futures.”

Senior Class Officer Melissa Brigandi introduced Senior Class President Matthew Yen.  He presented highlights of the class in the form of a top ten list. His list included highlights like the first day of school, an earthquake, the Phillies World Series Championship, the Senior Class prank and the top highlight was Dr. McGrifin’s roller coaster ride.

Class Officer Brad Ahern introduced the Senior Class Advisors Ms. Andrea Warren and Mr. Mike Jones.  Mr. Jones commented on the surprising nature of the class and Ms. Warren spoke of the way that the seniors were committed to helping others and showing their H Pride.

Class Officer Gavin Vanstone introduced Principal Jeff Nesbitt.  Dr. Nesbitt admonished students, “If there is one message that I want to leave you with, it’s this -- the accomplishment for I will be most proud of you in your lives -- is the attainment of happiness, of balance in your life.”

The President of the Board of School Directors, Denis Gray, then encouraged the students to support their community and to support public education as they continue into adulthood.  Mr. Gray also thanked those who will serve our country in the military including graduate Edwin Thorne who is already in the Marine Corp.

Superintendent William Keilbaugh spoke to the students of GRIT, the personality trait defined as sticking with things over a very long-term until you master them.  Dr. Keilbaugh cited the research of Dr. Angela Duckworth a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.  He challenged the seniors to develop GRIT explaining, “It matters more than intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness. GRIT can be learned. It’s dependent on goal setting and practice. Individuals, who find themselves in over their head, thrive on the challenge of the task and the goal that they set out for themselves.  GRIT sounds a lot like Haverford Pride!”

The senior class of 2013 received over 700 academic and activity awards, and over 400 athletic awards, from the local to national level. The class included 6 national merit finalists.  There were state qualifiers in multiple sports, and two teams were central league champions. Students placed nationally on World Language exams. Students placed at the State and regional levels in Science Olympiad and Robotics and in Future Business Leaders of America.  The class includes District, Regional and State competitors in band, chorus and orchestra.  And finally, over 1.4 million dollars in scholarships have been awarded to this class as both a testament to their accomplishments and as an investment in their future.