The atmosphere at Polytech High School was nothing short of celebratory last week as the Class of 2010 said its final farewells.
The graduation ceremony that sent the 263 members of the senior class on its way, whether it is to college, the work force or to a service academy, was held May 20 at the school’s football stadium.
The boys wore black caps and gowns while the girls were dressed in red in the ceremony that lasted approximately an hour and a half.
Valedictorian Dorronda Bordley said, in her nearly five-minute address to her classmates, that the potential she sees in her peers is remarkable.
In the Class of 2010, Bordley said Polytech could produce a professional athlete, someone that could find the cure for AIDS or a person who will create a solar powered car.
To do so, she added, everyone would need to persevere through the toughest of times.
“Don’t be consumed by adversity. Thrive on it,” Bordley said. “Out of the pain, the hardship and the struggles, you will reach success. And success is not based on he said, she said. True success is based on achieving a goal that you want to achieve. And once you do that, the praise and glory will follow.”
Dr. Bruce Curry, principal, said he hopes the graduating students pulled every lesson they could out of their four years at Polytech.
He warned, however, that even though high school was over, there was much more for the young adults to learn.
“There are some lessons that can’t be taught in school, but must be experienced to learn,” Curry said. “Your lives are about to undergo dramatic changes. How you manage these changes will determine, for the most part, the level of success you have as adults.”
One of the recurring themes in each of the evening’s speeches, which also included addresses from Fourth Honor Award winner Julie Aebersold, Third Honor Award winner Lori Berryhill and Salutatorian Ashley Brizendine, is that Polytech is unlike other high schools in the state.
Since it’s a vocational school, Berryhill said the mix of students is more diverse than other public schools.
“We are the melting pot of schools in which the guy from Caesar Rodney is friends with the guy from Dover who dates the chick from Milford,” Berryhill said.
Those different backgrounds, she said, is what brought them together and will bind them always.
“We’ve grown a lot since [freshman year] and we’ve met people that we’ll stay in contact with the rest of our lives,” Berryhill said. “This may be the last time that we’re together as a whole, but we will always be connected.”
Email Brian Citino at brian.citino@doverpost.com.
