Forest City grads challenged to take charge
Published: June 17, 2009
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Following the school board's conferring of degrees, Forest City Regional High School seniors move their tassels to the left to designate themselves as graduates. STAFF PHOTO/ROBERT BAKER
Valedictorian Jacklyn Smith
Forest City Regional High School saw 69 graduates make it across the stage Friday night during the school’s 111th commencement.
Martin O’Neill, a motivational speaker who crossed the stage with the Class of 1977 gave the commencement address.
He shared that his parents; generation was aptly known as the “greatest generation,” but he felt that the boomers had not done as well.
“While it’s true that the more things change, the more they stay the same,” he also noted that it was mind boggling “as to the speed at which we can get into trouble.”
He admonished the class of 2009 to challenge conventional wisdom, because his generation hadn’t done enough of it despite also being involved in two wars and not quite sure what to do with global warming.
But he also shared with the soon-to-be new grads that he discovered soon after his graduation from Forest City 32 years earlier, “If I just showed up, I was well ahead of my peers.”
And he soon also discovered that the harder you work, the smarter you get, and the better your performance is.
So, his bottom line to the grads: “Make your corner of the world a better place.”
Almost as if on cue, when O’Neill sat down the grads got ready to stand up to make a presentation to someone who had been influential in their lives. They searched the crowded auditorium for that special someone, then returned to their seats where they heard from acting principal, Joseph Castrogiovanni.
He challenged the seniors to take care of their own future.
“How many times have you wished your parents, teachers and administrators would let you make all the decisions?” Castrogiovanni asked.
“Congratulations,” he said. “You are now in charge.”
