Standing atop the stage at the Tilles Center at LIU Post on Saturday, as she addressed her fellow St. Mary’s High School graduates, salutatorian Jaanki Shah urged her classmates to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of being the change they want to see in the world.
“This is our time to show the world what we can do,” she told the Manhasset Catholic school’s 128 graduates, their parents and parish administration.
The school’s valedictorian, Taylor Wilson, took a more contemporary approach in inspiring the crowd.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” he said, repeating the seminal warning Ben Parker gives his nephew Peter in the pages of Marvel Comics, shortly before the boy goes on to become Spider-Man.
And with that, the Class of 2015 were handed their diplomas and serenaded by “Pomp and Circumstance,” tossing their caps into the air as their high school careers officially came to a close.
Wilson, who with a 104.72 grade point average through the first three quarters of his senior year will attend Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania to study physics and engineering, said he would not have accomplished all that he had in high school without his support system — his parents, his friends and a group of teachers dubbed “the Big Three” with whom he grew close in his four years.
“A day in the life here at St. Mary’s proves that boundaries can be crossed and friendships can be made regardless of the circumstances,” said Wilson, of Roosevelt.
Wilson and Shah were both members of National Honor Society and the Scholar Science Institute and have volunteered with Project Rebuild.
Wilson was also a member of the school’s science olympiad team, volunteers with St. Mary’s campus ministry and at the Neumann Residences for adults with disabilities. He also plays piano, recently began learning the violin, and rides horses.
Additionally, Shah was a member of the Spanish Club, Italian Club and Red Cross Club, and played on both the school’s badminton and tennis teams.
She also volunteers with the school’s mentoring programs, Long Island Cares and in the cardiac unit at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola.
Once elementary school classmates at Trinity Lutheran School in Hicksville, Wilson and Shah reunited as high school students at St. Mary’s, starring in the classroom as the Class of 2015’s academic leaders.
In her address, Shah, who had a 103.77 grade point average through the year’s first three quarters, encouraged her classmates appreciate the friends they made and teachers they relied upon throughout their time at St. Mary’s.
“I implore you to maintain these connections, because without the group, you would not be able to stand as tall and proud as you are today,” said Shah, of Hicksville, who plans to attend New York Institute of Technology’s Bachelor of Science-Doctor of Osteopathic Physician program in hopes of becoming a pediatrician.
Grace Cavallo, president of the St. Mary’s parish schools, reminded the graduates to carry on the values afforded by their Catholic high school education and to someday return to campus as proud alumni.
“Take this moment, bask in the glow of all your achievement and take a moment or two to thank your parents and guardians…for the gift of the St. mary’s High School education,” she said.
CORRECTION: The print version of this story said St. Mary’s had 168 graduates. This is incorrect. The school graduated 128 students.
