Irvington High School held its 146th commencement ceremony on June 18 with 464 graduates receiving diplomas on Matthews Field.
The ceremony began with the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps presenting the flag and senior Zaid Smith singing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Senior Questa Joseph followed, singing “Life Every Voice and Sing.”
Assistant Principal Leon Miller introduced some of the people on the dais, including Mayor Tony Vauss and members of the Board of Education. He also spoke to the students about the bonds they had formed with each other and what they had learned.
“Through it all you discovered something powerful – that you were capable, ready and more than enough,” Miller said, adding “No matter where you go, never forget the village that raised you. Once a Blue Knight, always a Blue Knight.”
Principal Darnel R. Mangan followed, telling the students that they set standards that future classes must strive to meet.
“Academic excellence lives and breathes in this community,” Mangan said.
Mangan also had special words for “the ones who kept showing up when quitting would have been much easier.”
And he thanked the parents in the audience for all they did for the children.
“We present them back to you as graduates, citizens, scholars,” he said.
Then he told the students the world doesn’t need more followers, it needs more trailblazers and they should never forget where they came from.
“Be proud, be fierce, be fearless, be forever Blue Knights,” Mangan said.
Superintendent of Schools April Vauss addressed the students telling them they leave behind a legacy of promise.
“You rose to the challenge and your presence here is evidence of that,” she said.
Board of Education President Syesha Benbow had kind words for the families in the audience.
“If it weren’t for our parents, grandparents, none of this would be possible,” she said.
Awards were presented to three essay winners before a speech was given by Salutatorian Favour Onwuzurike, who was born in Nigeria, graduated with a 4.197 GPA and will be attending Kean University on a full scholarship.
Onwuzurike thanked God before asking her classmates to consider each other for a moment.
“Take a moment to look around and think about the friendships, the relationships, and even the break ups,” Onwuzurike said.
The world is imperfect, life is difficult, mistakes are guaranteed, she said, before adding they must “move forward with purpose and determination.”
She thanked Miller, her friends, her AJROTC instructors and her mother before offering a parting thought.
“I hope to see us all at the top some day chasing our dreams,” Onwuzurike said.
Ansilo Alezy, who was born in Haiti and went from “getting in trouble to getting As,” according to Mangan, gave the valedictory address.
Alezy gave an energetic talk, beginning by talking about LeBron James, who once said “I’m just a kid from Akron, Ohio” but went on to become the greatest of
all time.
“No matter where we come from, we have the ability to change the narrative,” he said. “Today is not just about celebrating a diploma, it’s about changing the narrative.”
Alezy talked about how many of the students faced difficulties including language barriers, learning barriers, familial responsibilities.
“We are living testament to where we start doesn’t decide where we go,” he said. “Today feels like the end of something but it is the start.”
He encouraged his classmates to make Irvington proud.
“Let’s showcase to the world that a school like ours, and a town like ours, can produce leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes and changemakers,” Alezy said.
A special speech was given by Newark Councilman Chigozie U. Onyema, who recently won the Democratic primary to run for the state Assembly District 28 seat, which represents Irvington among other municipalities.
He mentioned the turmoil in the world but said he wanted to talk about love.
“The kind of love that changes how we live,” he said. “When we serve those at the margins, we don’t just lift them up, we uplift ourselves.”
He cited the “curb cut effect,” which describes how features designed to help people with disabilities can unexpectedly benefit a wider audience. A curb cut being the cuts into curbs on sidewalks designed to help people with disabilities but that also help people pushing strollers or a hand truck.
“Love grounds us, love binds us, love made this possible,” he said of graduation.
The IHS Class of 2025 graduates! added by Joe Ungaro on
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