Ridgefield High Graduates with Hope, Balloons and Good Cheer

Graduating seniors wished each other well with loud applause during Friday's graduation ceremony at Western Connecticut State University's O'Neill Center.

The students picked Teri Kovacs, their English teacher, as the faculty speaker. She spoke about enthusiasm, a gift she received from her father, reminding students before the ceremony, "You take your own weather to the picnic."

"This is the greatest class of young people I have ever met," Kovacs said.

She taught members of the class when they were freshmen, juniors and as seniors. She urged students to continue reading and learning. She urged them to eat vegetables and she told them if they walked with a person who limps, sooner or later they'll start limping.

"Show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are," Kovacs said.

Timothy Ranney, a graduating senior known as TJ, spoke about the importance of passion and some of the pain the class endured, including losing two classmates, two friends.

"We did not concede our hope or our spirit," said Ranney, who expects to major in business at the University of Richmond in September. He reminded classmates of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "It was during this tragedy that we evolved from just an ordinary class into a truly extraordinary class."

Class Valedictorian Stanley Cai urged his classmates to remember that success is a team effort and it is hard work. He said no one got to the moon on their own. They had a team behind them. He said it is the same with eliminating disease or with any worthwhile goal.

"Only by working together can we achieve success at all," said Cai, who will be attending Pennsylvania University in the fall.

Class President Jeanne Jacullo said the same thing when she reminded people that teamwork is a skill learned in kindergarden, where children are taught to clean up their mess, to share, and to hold hands when they're walking outside.

"Our class has been through a lot. We've been there for each other for 13 years," said Jacullo, who will be attending the University of Notre Dame in September.