Batavia's Class of 2024: 'you are now the driver'

Van Detta Stadium was filled once again with cheering fans Friday evening, only this time they were parents, family members and friends of the 169 graduates of Batavia High School’s Class of 2024 during commencement ceremonies.

Dressed in school colors of blue and white, graduates were sent off with words of encouragement to persevere, celebrate one another, challenge the norms, uplift those around them, and use Batava’s educational lessons to press and move onward through life.

“We may not be ready; nevertheless, we face onwards and take the first step forward,” Class Co-Mayor Lilyana Burke said. “Graduating high school, we’re apparently adults now, and yet I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next, but that’s the best part. So far, we have experienced everything from friendships and football games to breakups and bus rides. Now it is time for us to experience something new.”

Co-Mayors Parris Price and Burke offered words of reflection for what they and their class members just endured and the people who supported them through it — some 60 teachers, aides, lunch ladies, office staff, faculty, security guards and school resource officers — as they remain “wide-eyed and excited for what comes next,” Burke said.

When working on a college essay, she discovered a quote from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that she will use to guide her into this next chapter of life: “Is it really just the issue of physical safety that makes our loved ones so anxious at the idea of us getting out there? Or is it the threat that if we look past our frames, the frames of our own lives, of our own communities’ structured values and belief systems, to truly  engage with people who believe fundamentally different things, we could perhaps be transformed into someone new and unfamiliar to those who know and love us?”

During her high school career, she learned that people are afraid of change: old friends can become strangers, and old habits can become lost. Yet, people are also attracted to change, as old strangers can become family while bad habits are lost, she said. To boil that down, she said that “without change, growth cannot occur. Without growth, there is no life, only routine.”

Price added that navigating life is like playing a game where “we encounter challenges, make choices and strive for achievements.”

High school was rife with events such as homecoming that captured the school spirit perfectly, he said.

“From creating vibrant murals that painted our school with creativity to the exhilarating relay races between classes, we embraced teamwork, creativity, and friendly competition — all essential skills in the game of life,” Parris said. “Just as in any game, each moment taught us valuable lessons about collaboration, perseverance, and the joy of shared experiences, preparing us for the challenges and victories beyond the halls of high school.”

Commencement Speaker Joseph Hussar, a 19-year city school district veteran and high school counselor, began his talk by offering the group an opportunity to breathe. 

This ceremony is a culmination of 13 years in the making, he said, and it was now okay to really absorb this once-in-a-lifetime moment after enduring the trials of academics, COVID and random school threats.

“I want to say that there's never been a group of students that I've been more excited to see than the class of 2024, having walked into the school as freshmen. I remember so many of the high points and low points of your high school journey, both collectively and individually. And I feel honored to be a part of it. I remember the one-way stairs, the cones in the halls, classes every other day, and tables in the cafeteria. And even though it wasn't ideal, we were all excited just to have another opportunity to be back in school, and opportunity to make memories and to try to have our normal life back. Because that was all we wanted, was a chance to be normal again,” he said, recalling those early days of the pandemic. “But then I remember in November and December of 2021, without question in my career, that's the lowest point I've ever seen in a collective group of students. We canceled school because of violent threats. We mourned the loss of one of your classmates. And student and staff engagement was at an all-time low. 

“The counselors ran circles in your classes to address concerns about the school climate, to see what we could do to improve the school climate. We wanted to give you a chance to speak up and make positive changes in the school. And you did. You were honest and open and respectful. And you made the school better, not perfect, but better than it was before. You showed them when given the opportunity, you can use your voice to encourage each other and to inspire change,” he said.  Today, you'll be given a diploma. And with that, an opportunity to open more doors. However, opportunity without action is useless. The only thing opportunity promises you is a chance; what you do with that chance is up to you. Up to this point in your life, you've been in the passenger seat; you've always had someone else to blame, whether it was parents or teachers or any other rules. No matter what, you follow those rules, whether you like them or not. After today, you are now the driver.”

Being the driver means access and ability to choices: don’t like your job, find a new one or work to make it better; if you don’t like where you live, then move; if you’re unhappy in your relationship, work it out or leave, he said.

“No matter what, you have opportunities to make your life what you want it to be. The harsh reality is that the older you get, the less patient people become with your excuses,” he said. “If you don’t like something in your life, make a change; you will finally be given that opportunity. As you go out into the next chapter of your life, I really hope that you never forget that you matter and that you have a purpose. You are everything to someone, and you have an impact on people that you may never know. You are the hero in someone’s story, and you are the role model to others in need.”

He ramped up the crowd by suggesting that while the diploma was for the student who walked up front to accept, it was for those onlookers in the stands politely holding their applause during each speech. “Let them take pictures and scream your name and embarrass you a little bit today,” he said.

His final piece of advice to these impending graduates — 46 going on to four-year colleges and 61 to two-year schools, four entering military service, and 29 already have found jobs — is to be grateful and humble.  Be responsible. Be a voice for the voiceless and hope for the hopeless, he said. 

“Stop comparing yourself to everyone else,” he said. “There will never be a better version of you than you no matter what. Don’t ever let anybody ever tell you that you are a yellow Starburst because you, my friends, are pink Starbursts., and don’t ever forget that.”

It wouldn’t be a traditional BHS graduation without Superintendent Jason Smith’s story about someone’s perseverance and a related token to be given to each graduate. 

He shared about Ferdinand Cheval, a 19th-century Frenchman who built a palace from pebbles. Regarded as an amazing example of architecture, Smith noted its even more astonishing trait of having been built over the course of 33 years by Cheval. It took him eight more years to build his own future mausoleum.

“Each of you will receive a small bag of blue pebbles inspired by this story and to remind you of the power of perseverance and persistence when setting goals as you begin life post-high school,” Smith said. “Use your Batavia roots and the lesson of perseverance and persistence to make a positive and lasting impact in our world. When you persist, you keep going. You keep moving. Failures will always happen, but always keep moving forward and build your own castle and dreams, whatever it may be, but persist and move on.”

And finally the moment arrived for High School Principal Jennifer Wesp to hand out the diplomas. She cautioned the group about a human tendency to go to the “dark side” sometimes and predict doom and gloom rather than opt for positive outcomes. Choose the latter, she said.

“I have no doubt that the future holds incredible opportunities. Go out and seize them with courage, grace, and the boundless talent that defines you all. And, when you are feeling nervous about a new beginning, perhaps your dark side thoughts come thundering in, just pause. Get centered. Reflect back on your time at Batavia and all the news that you triumphed through,” West said. “Choose excitement instead. Trust that you, my dear Seniors, have all you need inside to do anything you so choose.”

Special awards were given to the following: The E.G. Richmond Award, for a student with outstanding academic achievement in all courses of study, went to Emma Bigsby. The Board of Education Award Ex-Officio Member Award went to Peyton Woeller, and the Batavia City School District Foundation Award went to Kaelee Kelso and Peyton Woeller for having been successful in their education programs and for exemplifying a school culture of being respectful, responsible, safe, connected and ambitious. 

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