Graduation was wonderful. It always is.

There are so many moments that happen at each graduation, but for this year’s class there are still once-in-a-lifetime moments. The long procession into the arena – the class this year had 701 students. Our student speakers confidently stepping up to the microphone and addressing such a large audience. Tassels being moved over, hats going into the air, kids hugging each other – it never gets old. Every year it is still fresh and heartfelt and very special.

This year’s graduating class had some impressive academic achievements. Let me share a few of them with you:

Fifty-two seniors graduated with highest honors, summa cum laude, with a grade point average of 4.0 or higher.

Seventy-six seniors graduated magna cum laude, with a grade point average of 3.6 to 3.9.

Another 111 seniors graduated cum laude, with a grade point average of 3.2 to 3.5. And 148 students earned an Ohio Honors Diploma.

Spencer Carran was the class valedictorian, achieving an impressive 4.585 grade point average. Spencer will be attending the University of Miami, where he’s planning to study microbiology and immunology.

There was a six-way tie for salutatorian, among Russell Ault, Ranjit Ganguly, Jonathan Gordon, Benjamin Ko, Cathalee Soergel and Sara Vinson. There’s something I find especially interesting among this group of outstanding students. Look at their intended majors as they head off to college: Russell – molecular biology, Ranjit – biology, Jonathan – chemical engineering, Ben – biomedical engineering, Cathalee – physics and math, Sara – chemical engineering. Every one is going into the sciences.

There is much concern about declining scientific and math literacy in our country, but clearly we are still able to offer an education that provides a solid grounding in math and science. All of these students are headed to selective colleges, and all have earned impressive scholarships.

Even with upwards of 600 students, each year’s class tends to have a distinctive personality. Some are boisterous, others serious, or mischievous. Some classes are especially service-oriented, while others find different outlets for their collective energy. No one knows this senior class better than Chad Lewis, because the assistant principal assigned to the class as they enter senior high school stays with them for all three years. Chad took this class under his wing three years ago and has been with them since. (And now will take on a new assignment, moving to our central office as the district’s business director.) So I asked Chad to tell me about this year’s class.

“The personality of this class was they were just a ball of enthusiasm,” he said. “They were spirited, they loved Fairfield, they were red and white and they loved doing the homecoming and the prom and everything else. And they were the leaders in the building, the way seniors should be. They were calm, collected, and mature. I went to baccalaureate and I looked out at them and I’ll tell you, it was very difficult for me to sit there and realize it was ending.”

But of course, it is also a beginning. For all our graduates, my hope is that they will be happy, will be life-long learners, and will always remember the special time they had at Fairfield High School.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, June 12, 2008.