LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — It was all “Pomp and Circumstance” on Saturday, June 23 at Sullivan West Central School, as 90 members of the Class of 2018 bid farewell to their high school years and stepped proudly into the future.

It was a morning filled with bittersweet moments as the crowd of several hundred folks watched the graduating seniors and the retiring superintendent gather for one last time in the gym, perhaps reflecting on the triumphs and tragedies of young lives on the edge of adulthood.

Another rite of passage completed with more challenges to come as the years march on.

Those precious things called “life” and “growing up.”

Dr. Nancy M. Hackett, superintendent of schools for the last six years, is retiring from a career as a well respected educator and administrative leader.

In her address to the graduates, she encouraged them to look backward in time to their Kindergarten days, and use those early lessons as guides for a productive life, likening those early school years to a sandbox, where everyone learned to get along.

High school principal Nark Plescia said, “Once again the Bulldogs led. They led in the classroom, on the fields of athletic competition, on the stage and in serving our community.

“The graduates helped put Sullivan West into the elite academic rankings… I am proud and confident to say this class is ready for the world. I hope the world is ready for them… This group strives to be the problem solvers…paving the way for the new world.”

Valedictorian Heather Roeder graduated summa cum laude, and plans to study biology pre-vet at Hamilton College.

In her speech to the assemblage, Roeder talked to her fellow graduates about what she called the “Game of Life,” the choices they face in choosing what career paths to take such as going to college, “entering the military, defending our country and protecting those we love” or entering the workforce.

“No matter what path is chosen, we will all go through life, and we will all reach those exciting milestones just as in the board game. This grand quest of who we want to be, and who we will become is waiting for us…,” she said.

Alex Schwalb, spoke as the ceremonies honored student, and is graduating magna cum laude.

He plans on attending the State University of New York at Albany, the capital region’s premier research university, to study for a degree as a physics instructor.

The focus of Schwalb’s address revolved around the philosophy of intellectual discipline and the logical fallacy known as “post hoc ergo propter hoc,” which most likely sent a lot of folks looking up long forgotten Latin on their smartphones.

Continuing this logical train of thought, he posited that the post hoc fallacy “has become quite prevalent and adversely affects our society,” adding, “It is evident that a lack of intellectual discipline results in people coming to flawed conclusions... few people go out of their way to evaluate the content of news stories that don’t align with their opinions….”

As Superintendent Hackett prepared to exit the stage at Sullivan West, A.J. Lumalcuri, a summa cum laude graduate and class president who plans on studying liberal arts at Binghamton University, presented her with a gift from the Class of 2018, a selection of bulbs that will bring forth flowers in the future.

“These bulbs are symbolic of the vibrant positivity that you have left on the school… our spirits will be heightened with the sight of beautiful tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and bluebells… we hope these flowers bring joy to whomever looks upon them, and that carry your legacy with them until the end of time,” said Lumalcuri.

And with that, a few members of the Class of 2018 tossed their caps skyward, and filed out of the gym to the tunes of the recessional as performed by the Sullivan West High School Band.

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