The class of 2022 at Floral Park Memorial High School celebrated their achievements and perseverance Saturday at a graduation ceremony at Hofstra University.
Family and friends gathered at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex at Hofstra with musical performances of “Man in the Mirror” and selections from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Principal Maria Hecht said the 228 graduates “are truly a special group of students who have clearly set the standard for years to come.”
Valedictorian, Gagandeep Kaur, using an analogy in her speech, compared high school to the creation of a painting.
“We persevered and made it to the long-awaited yet bittersweet senior year. Here we dug deep in the shadows of our paintings and added the brightest highlights—today we add the finishing touches to our paintings and begin a new one, one that will be marked with its own unique and wonderful experiences.”
Salutatorian Meaghan Kilcarr said, “I think I speak for every senior when I say that we could have not made it here today without the help of our families and the outstanding teachers and faculty at FPM.”
She went on to describe the challenges COVID-19 posed for her class.
“Our unprecedented high school experience, which was somewhat derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has taught us the true meaning of perseverance. We were only in 10th grade and had barely begun high school when the world essentially shut down and school closed for months. However, the entire FPM community came together to make sure we still got the high school experience and fine education we needed and deserved.”
Kaur ended her speech by saying: “One last piece of advice from me to you. I strongly advise you to stay true to yourself. I wish all my fellow graduates the best of luck in their future endeavors—thousands and thousands of congratulations to everyone.”
