Alum Shares Story as Final Graduation Ceremony Takes Place at Camden's Current Eastside High

CAMDEN – Even if the Class of 2024 was not the last to graduate from the current Eastside High School building, math teacher Bill Furman would say its students are different from others he has seen.

“This is, generally speaking, a great group of kids, and I do not always say that,” he said between taking selfies with some of his former students prior to the school’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday, June 25, at Mike Rozier Stadium. “The responsibility they have shown, the shared experiences that they have had” is remarkable, he said.

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This past September, the district said it was scrapping a plan to perform $49 million in renovations at the school built in 1930 and said it would build a $105 million school in its place, thus making the Class of 2024 the last to graduate from the current building. On Saturday, June 22, the district held a block party at Eastside High and offered the school's alumni a chance to tour the building one last time to reminisce and share stories.

Some of Furman’s colleagues displayed a different type of sentimentality as about 100 members of Tiger Nation – the collective nickname that is sometimes used to describe Woodrow Wilson/Eastside High students – prepared to march to “Pomp and Circumstance.”

“The finality of it all is very emotional,” said Cynthia Elder, another math teacher. Added Kandace Butler, a senior manager for the alternative high school within Eastside High School who also graduated from the school in 1996: “It is very bittersweet.”

Students who spoke to TAPinto Camden had mixed emotions about their part in the school’s history.

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Valedictorian Adalyn Duran said she was “happy to be graduating and looking forward to making the decisions that come with being an adult,” while Roberto Severino said he could not decide if he was happy or sad. Another student, Marbellin Espinal, said “it is nice to be part of history, and it is something to be proud of.”

Those attending the ceremony watched as the students took a lap around the stadium’s track, then walked to their seats in groups of two via a path that took them under the football field’s goal posts. Some in the audience wore the school colors of orange and black or held balloons in those colors, while many more clutched a variety of flower bouquets. A few graduates decorated their caps, and some carried photos of loved ones or clutched flags representing their heritage, while another held an infant as they accepted the billfold that will hold their diploma. Everyone heard several speeches, with some seemingly meant to encourage personal reflection or resilience.

Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer, another school alumni, shared during his speech how he overcame obstacles such as being kicked out of the house as a teenager because he would not “go get his mom some matches so she could smoke crack.” He also talked about how he went from sleeping in the school’s bleachers to earning a college degree and working in a school before assuming his current position. “I am here to tell you that you can do it as well.”

Added Gloria Martinez-Vega, the school’s principal: “Let us continue to strive for excellence in all that we do. Let us continue to nurture our dreams, cultivate our talents and achieve success… you will continue to achieve great things in the future. As you prepare to enter the next phase of your life, remember the lessons you have learned here, the friendships you have made and the values you hold dear.”

Attendees also heard from Attorney Carmen Rivera, a former East Camden resident and Rutgers-Camden graduate. She shared what she called her three keys to success: move through life slowly and enjoy yourself, remember that reputations and relationships are everything and to be your authentic self.

“At the end of the day, we are not here to make other people comfortable,” Rivera said of her last piece of advice to the last graduating class. “Accepting myself means knowing I often look and sound different than other people and that sometimes makes them uncomfortable. But that is OK."

According to the district, the first round of design discussions regarding the new Eastside High will take place during the summer, with district and community feedback on those designs to be sought in winter 2024 and spring 2025. Eastside High students and faculty will relocate less than a half-mile away to Cramer School at 2800 Mickle St. and use that space until the new Eastside High opens in the fall of 2029.

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