128 receive diplomas at RCS's 61st annual commencement

There were 128 graduates receiving their high school diplomas at the Empire State Convention Center in Albany, where students bid adieu to the old and embarked on a new phase in life.

After the students, teachers and staff marched in to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance,” graduate Tyler Rivers led the graduates and audience in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and then the senior chorus performed “The Star Spangled Banner.”

District Superintendent Robert Libby took to the stage for the final time; he is retiring with the conclusion of the academic year. Libby urged the students to look at the people around them, “all of whom have conspired to inspire, all of whom helped shape who you are.”

He spoke of the challenges the graduates will eventually face at some point in their lives.

“I have no doubt you will prevail,” Libby told the graduates. “I have seen you progress over your years at RCS, and I know you will continue to move forward.”

Libby’s replacement — Dr. Brian Bailey, who will become district superintendent effective July 1 – took to the stage next.

He said he had asked teachers to give their sage words of advice to this year’s graduates.

“They said to follow your dreams, make the world a better place, do what you love and love what you do. Keep trying things and make mistakes, because when you stop trying, you stop growing,” Bailey said.

Bailey also played a game that got the entire audience engaged — RCS’s own rendition of the old television show, “This is Your Life.” He played audio clips of people from the RCS school community recalling funny and poignant moments from the students’ high school careers, and then the audience had to guess who was telling the story.

It made for plenty of smiles and laughter, but also a life lesson.

“The journey isn’t as important as getting here together. You have all these stories at your back, and as you go forward, you will continue to write new ones. I can’t tell you how excited we are for you, the Class of 2017, and we wish you all the best in the world,” Bailey concluded.

High School Principal Tom DiAcetis, himself a one-time graduate of RCS, spoke of a new tradition the school launched with this year’s graduation, the inclusion of an empty chair with a graduation cap and gown on it. Like a similar tradition at military events known formally as the “Missing Man Table,” it is designed to honor RCS graduates who have died.

DiAcetis then spoke of the myriad of accomplishments of this year’s graduates, from academic achievements to students who have achieved in music, the arts, sports, and technological fields, as well as those who have gone a step beyond, earning college credit and taking AP classes while in high school.

One student was singled out in particular — Elissa Ortiz, who was honored for having a perfect attendance record all four years at RCS High School.

DiAcetis urged the students to continue working hard and overcoming.

“Life can be difficult at times, it can throw obstacles on you when you least expect it,” he said.

But the important thing is to find something you love and pursue it.

“Find something that you are passionate about and give it 110 percent of your effort,” DiAcetis said.

He spoke of the importance of perseverance, and told the stories of Steve Jobs, who was fired from his own company before he was asked back and eventually created the iPhone; of Michael Jordan who was cut from the varsity basketball team in high school; of Walt Disney, who was once fired from a job because of a “lack of imagination.”

“As you follow your path through life, you realize the difference between success and failure is not your aptitude, but your attitude,” DiAcetis said. “Be persistent as you chase your dreams.”

This year’s students with the top 10 academic records were: valedictorian Zachary Clouse, salutatorian Julie Webb, Elissa Ortiz, Rebecca Collins, Colleen Hazelton, Logan Pugsley, Frank Forte, Lucy Zhang, Sarah Limberger and Christian DiBiase.

Of the 128 graduates, 24 were members of the National Honor Society, 34 received an Advanced Regents Diploma, 12 received an Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors for having received a score of 90 percent or higher on the average of all Regents exams they took. Seven students received Mastery in Mathematics for scoring 85 percent or higher on three math Regents exams, and only two — Zachary Clouse and Logan Pugsley — earning a Mastery of Science designation.

In her address, salutatorian Julie Webb looked back at the many years and experiences the graduates had at RCS, and told them now is the time to look ahead.

“We learned a lot about ourselves, but now is our chance to become whatever we want, because we are capable of anything. The choice is ours to make.”

The final speaker before diplomas were handed out was class valedictorian Zachary Clouse, who joked about his tendency to procrastinate, but also pointed out that procrastination can teach you important lessons.

“Procrastination teaches us that the most difficult part of nearly every endeavor is the beginning,” Clouse told his classmates. “As we all go our separate ways, each of us will be faced with something new – a new environment, new people, even new ways of thinking. This can be a daunting prospect to enter into an unfamiliar atmosphere after spending 13 years in a relatively structured, sheltered routine.”

Taking that first step into the future is the hardest part, Clouse said, “but also the most rewarding.”

Anything is possible, he told the audience. “The only thing that stands in the way of your dreams is yourself.”