John Jay's Top Students Share Words of Wisdom at Graduation

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On June 18, friends, family, and faculty gathered at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts for the graduation of the John Jay High School Class of 2024.

Leading the class academically were valedictorian Alice Cai and salutatorian Shayna Kar, who along with student speaker Sofia Verone offered words of wisdom for their classmates and reflected on their time at John Jay High School.

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Valedictorian - Alice Cai

Good evening to the family, friends, faculty, and John Jay Class of 2024.

The world is full of unanswered questions. There are the big ones:

Where do we go when we die? Are we alone in the universe? There are personal ones: What makes me feel the most fulfilled? What would I do differently if I could go back in time? And then there are the urgent, pressing ones: Did I write a good graduation speech? What do I do if it’s bad? Is it too late to fake being sick so I don’t have to deliver this speech? What am I doing up here right now?

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In reality, these questions are pretty pointless. People in the audience are probably craning their necks to catch a glimpse of their graduate in the 11th row, half of my classmates are zoning out staring at my back, and the other half can’t even hear me because the speakers point away from the stage. And in a year, when the next class fills our seats and their parents are the ones craning their necks in the audience, this speech will long be forgotten. But to me, right now, “Did I write a good graduation speech” seems extremely important.

I think we need to give more credit to seemingly unimportant questions: the trivial ones, the bad ones, even the stupid ones, because they’re only unimportant if we make them unimportant.

On the first day of school senior year, my biggest unanswered question was probably “Where will I go to college next year?”

The first day of kindergarten, it was “What will I do without nap time?” I couldn’t imagine how someone was supposed to make it through an entire half-day without time to sleep. By the end of my first day of school, where I had remained fully awake, that question was quickly forgotten, only to be replaced by new ones.

Elementary school was filled with important unimportant questions: Who should I pick to bring my birthday snacks around the school? How do I spend my Scholastic Book Fair money on anything but books? Will we finally get extra recess today? How do you make a starburst rainbow loom bracelet? Is someone supposed to ask me to go to the luau?

By middle school, our questions evolved: How many more times can I get away with bringing napkins to the homebase party? How much deodorant is too much? Can I please go to my locker? I grabbed my PM binder instead of my AM binder by accident! What color bands should I get for my braces? And, why does Mr. Kastanis have his daughter’s umbilical cord in a jar in the supply closet, and can he maybe not show it to us?

High school has provided its own fair share of questions: What am I supposed to eat on Meatless Mondays? Why do we have a giant inflatable wolf head? Where is the quizlet for this AP Classroom? Why does Kiefer get to park illegally every day? Are student council elections supposed to get this heated?

As we prepare to graduate, we will undoubtedly face an overwhelming new set of questions. We will feel confused, anxious, curious, and excited. But before we feel crushed by these new unknowns, let’s remember to look back at how much we’ve already grown. Because our old questions are not just funny and nostalgic, they are time capsules. Each insignificant question we’ve asked has been a stepping stone, a glimpse into the minds of our younger selves, and the closest we can get to a physical marker of growth. So yes, many of our old questions were stupid. But the fact that we now recognize that they are stupid is proof of how much we’ve grown.

The world will always be full of unanswered questions: Do we have free will? How do we balance individual freedom with the common good? When will this speech be over?

These unanswered questions, whether they are doubts, curiosities, or dreams, are what make life so scary. But looking back on our old questions can empower us to face the future with more curiosity and excitement than fear. Because one day, today’s daunting questions may seem as trivial as those from our past.

So, let’s embrace uncertainty. Let’s never stop asking questions – whether stupid, funny, scary, or impossible, because the questions we ask today shape the people we become tomorrow.

Thank you, and congratulations again to the John Jay Class of 2024.

Salutatorian - Shayna Kar

Good evening, friends, families, administrators, faculty, guidance counselors, staff, and most importantly the John Jay High School Class of 2024! I welcome you all to this momentous occasion.

Firstly, a huge congratulations to our Class of 2024, we did it! It is a great honor to stand before you today and welcome everyone here speaking on behalf of our incredible, spirited, and hard-working class.

I would like to share my journey at Katonah-Lewisboro which began on a dreary November morning 2018 in the middle of seventh grade after moving here. It was an unnerving experience letting go of the old friends and community that I had known from a young age and moving to a completely new environment without any known connections. Six years ago, I walked into JJMS on my first day and was welcomed by some of you sitting here in this audience. On that day I could not have imagined that I would be standing at this podium today. The guiding light of my friends that day showing me around the school and demonstrating such warmth were shining examples of the community which defines our school and class. You all know who you are and thank you for making me feel included that very first day.

Furthermore, I want to give the biggest thanks to everyone that has been instrumental to our collective success as a class - our amazing school administrators who wake up much before us every morning to ensure that our learning experience for that day is safe and wonderful, awesome teachers who guided us and stayed back at times to ensure we understood what we learned, and all other staff that ensured things worked seamlessly behind the scenes while working tirelessly. You all have truly guided us through high school and trying times with your endless support and enthusiasm.

Most importantly I would like to thank all the parents, family members, and friends gathered here today that made one of the best decisions to choose Katonah-Lewisboro as their home, to give their kids the best possible education in a supportive and collaborative school district that has helped us mature into good citizens. A community certainly decides the character of the school district and the high school is the epitome of that vision. From tying our shoes on the very first day of school, putting us on that school bus for the first time 13 years ago, to becoming our personal chauffeurs and allowing us now to spread our wings to fly near and far away. You are and will always be our strongest rock, now please give all the parents a very big round of applause for all they do day in and day out!

And to my immigrant parents from India and Bangladesh to you America was a dream which you cherished and worked hard to achieve. You are living the dream and I know you will always fight for that dream in this beautiful land. Thank you for passing on your love for humanity to me as physicians and I hope to live up to your expectations.

Looking back at our high school years, here we are four years later through many tears, a pandemic year, and the high demands of senior year. We have made it to what may seem like the end, but it’s actually an exciting new beginning to the next chapter of our lives. We made it through hybrid classes, missed human interactions, and won against our biggest adversary in 100 years. This should be the testament to our resilience throughout our lives and our careers which we can proudly share for many years to come.

I would say that we will always cherish our friendships, unique experiences, camaraderie and spirit on our sports teams, facing all of our challenges with a smile and confidence. Our class included some of the very first members of LEAD John Jay working diligently to create events such as JayFest and bring back the spirit that was missing in our first couple years of high school. Following our gradual return to normalcy, our class truly showed up by coming decked out in spirit day wear, cheering the loudest at the stands during homecoming and Friday football games, hosting senior tailgates, celebrating decision day and many more events.

Now at the crossroads of one journey closing to an exciting adventure awaiting, I encourage you to bring our John Jay spirit and sense of community to wherever you find yourself in the future. As we step forward, let’s not shy away from new opportunities. Embrace them with the same courage and resilience that got us through these past years. Each challenge is a chance to grow, each new opportunity a path to discover. At the end of it all, be happy in whatever you pursue and enjoy each step along the way. As someone famous once said, “Be happy for this moment, this moment is your life.” I urge you all to dream big, shoot for the stars, set massive goals, and never stop learning.

I will leave you with this: remember that the connections and friendships we’ve built here are just the beginning. Carry that sense of unity and support with you. Be open to new experiences and people, and always strive to make a positive impact wherever you go.

Congratulations, Class of 2024. Let’s make our mark on the world! Thank you.

Student Speaker - Sofia Verone

Families, teachers, and of course, my fellow graduates today as we stand on the brink of our future, I hope to reflect not just on the journey of learning and growing that brought us here, but to explore the true essence of the John Jay High School class of 2024. Traditionally we say, “congratulations, you made it through high school!” but there’s nothing traditional about the Class of 2024. To my fellow graduates, I want to say congratulations on making high school our own.

We are the class that reignited the spirit, energy, and humanity of John Jay. We are the class that lugged 30-pound tarps to school during spirit week covering the lights, windows, and walls of the hallways. We are the class that may or may not have set off the fire alarm because of this! You say fire hazard. I say fiery spirit. I say, our blackout reawakened the passion and spirit the building had been lacking all these years.

In these past four years, we have rewritten the script, defying expectations to reflect our collective spirit, incredible achievements, and invincible passion. High schoolers are traditionally defined by their perseverance and ability to navigate stress. We’ve successfully juggled ACT prep, while navigating the college application process and struggling through seemingly endless AP gov assignments. We've gracefully managed the stress of solving AP calc problems, countless hours of varsity soccer, lacrosse, and softball, while raising money for Relay for Life and organizing coat drives for the Pine Ridge Reservation.

While having perseverance is a commendable quality and certainly present among us, we are not solely defined by this. We won’t remember the constant balancing act of high school, we will remember getting to school an hour early every time it was nice out on a Friday, setting up our grills and cooking breakfast for everyone to enjoy. We will remember dancing in the hallways during spirit week, singing Country Road at the top of our lungs, unafraid of what others would think. We will remember doing these things for no other reason than trying to start our day on a positive note and seek out connections. Rather than going through the motions and focusing solely on measuring our success, we've also prioritized community, creativity, and the joys and challenges of collaborating to make memories that will outshine our worries, stresses, and the routine of high school.

Not only are we left with these memories, but so are the junior, sophomore, and freshman classes, who now have a bold and unapologetic example set before them. They will remember us running up and down the stands during football games, encouraging everyone to cheer for John Jay. They will remember how we showcased our school spirit beyond athletic events. The musical "Legally Blonde" completely sold out of tickets, with many in the audience, including athletic teams, happily sitting on the floor to watch our performance. They better remember our three straight wins for the homecoming parades, witnessing a strong momentum of enthusiastic individuals marching around the track. In our sophomore year, we crafted a massive paper machete Death Star that took weeks of dedication. The following year, we all wore white hazmat suits, joyfully tossing beach balls painted to resemble Mike Wazowski. Finally, for our senior year, they will remember how we shined in vibrant Disney princess costumes, alongside an enormous Cinderella’s carriage. They will remember that instead of deciding that prom and homecoming were lame, we made it fun. We made our own fun. They'll remember that if you want life to be more exciting, it's up to us to make it happen. They will remember this example we set, constantly aiming far beyond the typical high school experience.

We took the raw material of our high school experience and molded it into something uniquely ours. We are not just a group of highly motivated students who excel academically. Although, yeah, of course we are. But we are innovators who understood the pivotal nature of our high school years and seized the opportunity to shape them according to our vision. Our actions and ambition to create memories speak to a class that's unafraid to break the mold and to seek out the extraordinary in an ordinary school day. No one will ever forget wearing suits and dresses to school to celebrate wuv, and maw-widge, officiated by our impressive clergyman. Our pop-up wedding brough us together, radiated joy throughout the high school, and went viral with millions of views on social media. We are not just another graduating class; we're a class that understands the balance between achievement and enjoyment, and that those priorities work together. We are a unified collective who've consistently chosen to be anything but boring.

Graduation speeches, by tradition, often dwell on the passage of time, our growth, and the challenges that lie ahead. While there’s undeniable value and sentiment in talking about “growing up” and “moving on,” the Class of 2024 defies simple definition. The future seems daunting. There is constant pressure to have everything all figured out, to define your identity and career. As we move forward, we must remember that we have consistently chosen to be untouched by definitions. We took ownership of our high school experience and showed everyone what it means to be a student at John Jay. We cannot prevent getting older and the challenges that accompany adulthood, but as we take on this new adventure, I urge you to refuse to allow life’s structure and routine to confine you. Remember what we made of our high school experience. Remember how we shared both joys and sorrows. Remember how we planned and lived in the moment. Continue to take ownership. Continue to break the mold and continue to rewrite the script.

Now, let’s celebrate the Class of 2024! Thank you!

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