By James Lomuscio
Saying he felt ” like a proud parent today” since he and most of the students started in the school system 13 years ago, Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon offered some fatherly advice to Staples High School’s Class of 2011.
Valedictorian Matthew Scott Silver: “Even the small actions you make can make a difference.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“Like a parent I will leave you with this advice: follow your passion, do what you love and make a difference,” Landon told the 451 graduating seniors at the school’s 125th commencement.
Making a difference in the world beyond Staples was a prevailing theme underscoring the ceremony in the Staples Field House where the number of attendees swelled to about 3,000, according to Fire Marshall Ed Zygmant.
Despite the large crowd, the event was unseasonably cooler than in past years, cool enough to prompt Principal John Dodig to quip that it said something about the students.
Dodig stressed that no matter what path a student chooses, be it a lawyer, a hedge fund manager or an mechanic, it should always be guided by “personal integrity.”
“It’s what defines you in the eyes of others, and, most importantly, when you see your eyes in the mirror,” he said.
Dodig added that integrity is forged by adult examples, and he said that if there were a website 50 years from now listing the most ethical people in the country, many would be Staples graduates. The reason: the good examples set by the faculty, he said.
There was an overflow crowd for today’s graduation ceremony. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“I say this because many of you will be change agents in our society,” Dodig said, adding that living in Westport is a privilege “and with privilege comes responsibility.”
Valedictorian Matthew Scott Silver, who will be majoring in engineering at Princeton University in the fall, also challenged his fellow graduates to embrace the world beyond the school.
“Even the small actions you make can make a difference,” Silver said.
“Staples is a prologue to an amazing story,” he added.
Silver described going off to college and leaving the school’s comfort zone as “an opportunity to reinvent yourselves or to pursue what you really love more intensely.”
“What we’ve experienced in education so far is only a drop in the bucket of learning,” he said.
