Gateway’s Commencement ceremony on Friday, June 3 was excellent. The major concern throughout the day was whether the rain would hold off and a decision was made in late afternoon to move forward with an outdoor event. Thankfully not only did the rain hold off, but we even managed some brief intervals of sunshine during the ceremony. With some cloud cover and a slight breeze, event participants enjoyed comfortable temperatures with only minor problems with insects and only a few minutes of squinting due to the sun.
As usual, the students gave the best speeches and I applaud Brennan Foley, Davis Britland, and Jenna Margarites for bringing such positive and reflective comments to their class. Their ability to tie the activities of the Class of 2016 to the future, the nod to how much difference their teachers made to them, and the recognition of the special place Gateway is to our students was outstanding. Anyone able to listen to the speeches given by these graduating seniors would know that they’re prepared to move on in their lives and that they’re looking forward to building upon their successes here at Gateway.
Although our guest speaker spoke for over a half-hour, he was able to get some laughs out of the audience and—more importantly as a Gateway graduate himself—provided some important life lessons on how to succeed given the unique background of coming from our small hilltowns. In addition to telling students the importance of remaining true to themselves, the role of humor in defusing situations, and the need to take time out of our busy schedules to recharge by doing nothing every so often, perhaps his most important comments were to move on with what they want to do, travel where they wish to go, and not let the threat of terrorism deter them from living their lives in the manner they wish. Being a regional specialist with Homeland Security and a past member of the Secret Service, I’d like to think that his guidance in this area is tempered with knowledge and experience and his advice to move forward with life, while being observant of your surroundings, is something we all need to hear from time to time.
As with the staff retiring this year, the graduation of the Class of 2016 is bittersweet. The experiences that these students had at Gateway, the positive impact they’ve had on other students and our staff, and the relationships they had with all of us in the district will be sorely missed, but have also shown that these individuals are ready for the next step in their lives. On behalf of the Gateway staff and school committee, I wish our graduates the very best as they move forward with making a positive mark upon our world.
