001[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] congratulations graduating class 1 it is great to have you back here at BHS as we enter our fourth Kommandant ceremony I want to welcome all family and friends that are in the stands as well as those that are watching via the livestream it's been one heck of a journey but I've admired your grit your determination to get to this spot today and I have no doubt that you were all gonna go on to do great things but getting you here today there were also some people that did some great things as well first I'd like to start by thanking the E BHS staff and
002all that you've done for these graduates in the unique times pulling this off was not an easy feat and there are a couple few people that we also need to share our applause with people that worked diligently for weeks to get this in place first miss Shay please stand mister pazenko and of course the architect mr. Hanna's graduating class of 2020 all this is abbreviated ceremony do not think that it does not mean how else are great support for you we wish you much health much happiness and much success no matter what lies ahead of you we are truly proud of you so in order to get us kick-started air today we have a couple friends that want to come out and get this started how about it our bears come on out at this
003time it's my pleasure to turn it over to our annunciators miss Kenny Stine and Miss Rocha welcome to Jeju afield for the East Brunswick High School class of 2020 graduation celebration please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance led by the student council president joy alas Mar I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please remain standing as our award-winning chorus and band led by mr. Adam good and mr. Brian Toth present the national anthem and the alma mater [Music] thank you please be seated a farewell address will now be presented by the class of 2020 president Naomi Bronfman good morning fellow graduates faculty administration board members parents family and friends it is
004my honor to address the class of 2020 in person with a few thoughts and wishes as we graduate from East Brunswick High School first I would like to take a moment to acknowledge our teacher of the year dr. Alan Broadman would you please stand I would also like to acknowledge our support staff Person of the Year mr. Jason Shoultz we appreciate all of the dedicated work both of you have done for our school thank you to my parents and family for supporting me throughout this entire journey a special thanks to dr. vanilla and mr. harness for pushing to make today happen shoutout to miss Rocha and miss Kenny Stein and also MS Rice and we'll D it it has been chaotic for all of us to get to this moment but now we are finally
005here face to face and caps and gowns and masks during the past few months we have experienced life as never before although our senior year ended differently than we expected we still have so much more to be remembered by who knows maybe we'll be the last class that was all allowed to cram into the Bear Den or the last to take a yearbook photo group tightly together on the football stadium bleachers or the last to squish three to a seat on a school bus for a field trip we were the first class to have one virtual graduation and then for live and that teaches us to have hope we are also the first class in over 25 years to graduate on this field and while it's true that we have lost so much spring sports
006our spring drama production decision day senior variety show senior send-off senior assassin our prom yearbook signings goodbyes in the halls of EB HS and the expected graduation together in the arena closure as it should be we do not have to let the final few months at EB HS define our four years filled with lasting memories we can look back and laugh about rushing to get a seat on the Churchill activity bus the excitement over semi in the cafeteria and stressing about sophomore orientation we should not focus our energy on what we have lost but rather recognize what we have gained CS Lewis said hardships often prepare ordinary people for extraordinary destiny and I know that this is true for us we should view this time home from school as an opportunity that we had to
007learn in a non-traditional way we learned that getting up before the Sun and driving to school in the dark is something we could actually miss we learned that having to wear IDs above the waist at all times is not the worst thing we learned how social media and the Internet can keep us connected yet at the same time we also learned the value of physically being near one another we learned that we can make all the plans we want we can buy dresses and create promposals and we can plan graduation parties but life still sometimes gets in the way we also learned a lot about ourselves we learned how to manage our time we learned who and what is important to us and we learn not to take the little things for granted this time
008staying home was also a freedom it was a freedom to think of freedom to create a freedom to hope and freedom to plan and most recently became a freedom to recognize inequality around us and for each of us to decide how we want to make change and as we entered this new phase of our lives we are free to be anything we want to be all right school graduation our high school graduation is not a finish line but a starting line graduating mercis started to each of our futures we will be mothers and fathers business professionals first responders educators members of the Armed Forces engineers lawyers and artists we will be compassionate honest loving and resilient we will be whoever we want to be but today we are the East Brunswick high school class of
0092020 and for that we should be proud [Applause] I wish success and Happiness for all of us as we begin the next chapter of our lives congratulations everyone we will now hear from the valedictorian of the class of 2020 Lucy Zhao good morning everyone I hope you are all well during these challenging times I know none of us were expecting such a graduation but we are so thankful to the administration for putting something this special together for us so without further ado here's a little bit of my heart that I would like to share with you today in 42 minutes you can learn about the chemical equation describing the dissociation of carbonic acid why Genghis Khan was one of the most notorious leaders in history or the specific wording used in a midsummer night's dream
010in those same 42 minutes you can also make vanilla ice cream that tastes better than the ones from Costco right in your chemistry class argue why one of the most obscure historical figures should actually be the greatest American or stage' disarmingly humorous rendition of act 2 of Hamlet thank you East Brunswick High School for gifting us six thousand eight hundred and forty of those forty-two minutes to the faculty who have watched us grow from chicks to birds to the friends who have accompanied us through thick and thin to the families who have loved us unconditionally thank you for giving us an education that is alive and well speaking of Education I want to share with you a story about uncertainty in AP chemistry I was introduced to the concept that you could not precisely know
011both the position and momentum of a particle at the same time this concept is aptly named the Heisenberg uncertainty principle I was fascinated and perplexed that something in science could be uncertain why wasn't the beauty of so many things in there constancy their certainty one plus one equals two Columbus found America in 1492 confused I looked more into the actual equation for this principle until I realized it wasn't an equation it had an inequality sign in it which means that things were up for grabs there was a chance I could be extremely off in predicting anything about this obscure particle what was the point of this mathematical joke yet there was something beautiful about this whole thing and then I realized what exactly that was a made all the equal signs a made all the
012F equals MA 's and sine squared plus cosine squared equals ones here was an inequality here was flexibility room for change I think quite often in life we write too many equations for ourselves we are encouraged to solve a problem the correct way we are asked to declare a major we take specific classes to satisfy graduation requirements we are so certain of where we are headed and our dreams become a rigid thing shining at the end of the tunnel but do we remember that the Train takes a winding path to get to that light change is what makes life Sparkle a child who wants to be a princess businessperson ninja or a superhero veterinarian president thankfully adjusts his or her goal some of the greatest thinkers transform their field because they asked a single question
013outside of their original field of interest change matures our dreams and refreshes our outlook discovery is a path rarely traveled because change is fundamentally uncomfortable but think of a door when you push a door open you are not only exiting an old place but entering a new one it takes courage to step into your potential don't be afraid to embrace an uncommon idea or to dip your toes into a question you don't fully understand don't be scared to recognize where improvements are needed and take action both in yourself and in the world it takes boldness to eliminate an equal sign class of 2020 I'm speaking these words to you during an exceptional time in history there are many things the world is not sure of there are many questions that remain unanswered but beyond all
014the fear and confusion I have a strong faith that unprecedented times breed unprecedented people and that includes you each and every one of you is a miracle you have no replica on this earth and likewise your impact will be unique with whatever talents you have so them and water them so that they may be reaped for the betterment of those around you love those who feel unloved reach out your hand to someone who needs it and while you walk this path called life never forget to smile laugh and write some bolt inequalities to the East Brunswick high school class of 2020 congratulations and may God bless you in all of your endeavors thank you the chorus will now present their rendition of see you again recorded by Charlie puth and arranged by Roger Emerson [Music]
015we began when I see you again when I see you again [Music] why'd you not to leave me [Music] know how to tell you without giving much worse [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh [Music] all you ate right [Music] we on the strength I carry on [Music] Oh [Music] tell you all about it when I see you Oh [Music] we will now hear from the faculty speaker as voted by the members of the graduating class of 2020 dr. Alan Rodman [Applause] thank you and welcome to the members of the Board of Education dr. Valesky in the central administration dr. Mandela and the high school administration by teaching colleagues and other members of our school community parents and most importantly the members of the East Brunswick High School class of 2020 I am extremely honored that you have
016chosen me to be the faculty speaker particularly as I am joining you in moving on from the high school as well there is a certain symmetry here as 43 years ago I was a member of the East Brunswick high school class of 1977 sitting on this football field awaiting my graduation since I cannot remember who it was that provided our faculty speech I will take that as a sign I should try to keep this as short as possible normally this is where I would begin to talk about the importance of this day your future etc however we need to recognize that this graduation is unlike so many of its past iterations and clearly not what you or I we're expecting none of us anticipated that we would not be sharing it together as one school
017community that we are here today acknowledging this most important and transitional event it's a testament to your resilience and strength you persevered and adapted to a new way of learning and interacting with people I request you take the opportunity to think about this time of transition try to step out of who you are and think about who you want to be for all of you this is a time when you move from the comforts of your family and what you have known into a future which is far less settled I would encourage you to embrace this change as who have been forced to embrace change as a result of kovat 19 life is about change it is about seeing this as an opportunity perhaps unknowingly you've been spending your life to date preparing for this
018moment and similar moments to come you've been inculcating the values and principles which will guide you as you explore this journey called life your experiences with your family friends and even maybe your teachers have provided you with the means to embark on this journey what I am advocating to you is enjoy the ride Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers neighborhood once noted that often when you are at the end of something you are at the beginning of something else you are beginning your life where you begin to make decisions for yourself and plot your future embrace the possibility of change life may now may not go exactly the way you intended to go today that's okay nothing is set in stone and what seems important now may not be 20 years from now life is not
019a picture frozen in time it is more akin to a movie one which you are writing as you go along rather than fearing this unknown embrace it experience life take chances go down the unknown path and see where it leads be a part of something don't just observe life get your hands dirty and live it as you continue down this path find others to share this life with friends family a significant other your own society as it were unfortunately our society is in the midst of dealing with the soul-searching moment our nation is torn by issues of racism and inequality issues which my in previous generations have failed to address as you begin your voyage through life I would ask you to learn from our mistakes and work to find a solution to these long
020simmering issues be agents of change participate in society speak your mind act embrace the role of being a citizen in our society we live in a nation which allows us the opportunity to be the sovereigns in our society take this opportunity provided educate yourself about issues discuss volunteer vote you are our future having taken my opportunity to advocate for civic engagement I leave you with one last thought this life is you or voyage the destination whatever that might be is nowhere near as important as the voyage itself enjoy that voyage and make it your own bon voyage and congratulations East Brunswick high school class of 2020 now presenting the e BHS class of 2020 when you come up to the stage please remember to bring your seating card and you may remove your mask when
021your picture is taken at the end Anthony rapa Zack Radovan ik sauna karashi Gerald president Gauri Prabhakar Alexandria pods biro Joshua Pettit Michael Pepe Naomi Bronfman [Applause] Justina sod Thomas Rousseau [Applause] Samantha Roberto [Applause] Amanda Rossman [Applause] Daniel Robertson Rebecca Hannah rubberman Sean ring Christian Richards [Applause] Mitra Raveendran a Larry razz me know my Santa cop a mere Adam semi marina Samuel [Applause] Ashley Salzman Christina salver n' Hodja Salman [Applause] Stephen M Sabatino Karen sod Caroline Serpico Val Sims Daniel Cyril Anish sub a Shireen sassou ELISA say Pia Frank Santana Krupa sinneth e Selena Scheck [Applause] Harris chic Noreen shape [Applause] Syed a seam Chauncey Riza Shamshad [Applause] Armand Shamim Shruti Shah hatak Shah Akash Shah Nordine Shafiq Chris skarzinski shreya Singh car [Applause] Ashley Silverman William C n Samia Nasir Siddiki Sameer Sadiq Bernie
022Sharov s key [Applause] Dylan short [Applause] Anita sherry RG safe Shenouda Carter stilinski Perez Michael szpakowski Alicia Soriano Roya Aylan Solomon mason H smaller [Applause] Matthew James Smith [Applause] Charlotte Smalley Briana Slowinski [Applause] Michelle sigh Alexander super nut soup Anya Sri Hari Sudhir Phoebe sue Gwen stripe Minh Jake Stocki [Applause] Jacob Stern Alexandria Stephens prysock Jeffrey Steinberg Jacob cycle Minh zine Syed Ron Shaw Syed [Applause] no eyes Tarek Michael Turrentine E [Applause] Carlos Tapia Gabriel Lucero Eva tang vain Taha Sarah Taffet haveli Tadros puja TEDA Polly Matthew Charo Millie Tressler Daniela Trupiano Isabella toto [Applause] Timmer Titov odd c-max Tish Hauser Nikita tereshchenko Jared Teicher Akita Osama Tawadros Karen Tawadros Thomas Valenti jr. Angelina or CEO Lee emit Bhupathi Tanya Obadiah Ethan Unger Nicole you next pranaam Oh Joshy [Applause] Kristen and Uchida Ryan choose
023Annie [Applause] cynthia sue Brad Weiss [Applause] see hon Wong Kyle lang [Applause] Benjamin Wang Kayla Vicente [Applause] Cody Bella's Angelica Velazquez avianna Vasquez Arushi Vista Bella Valentine [Applause] Eric shoe [Applause] Kaitlin Wang Noah Winston Michelle Weisen Jonathan Winer Bryan white lock Kayla Amanda wheeler Joseph Weiss a nice afar AIIMS ATRA Vera the shot Yousef Catherine Yoon Mario Yusuf Claudia Youssef pavese Jana mandra Dylan Yee Jacob Yusuf Zane's O'Hare Lauren Zito Tina Zhang Kelvin Zheng crystal Zhang Dennis Zhang Claire bang Rachel side work Lauren Zakia Myers Akari [Applause] [Music] how about a gradual ations the class of 2020 we almost made it through without the rain but what would this year be without a little rain to tap it off class of 2020 much health happiness and success moving forward please as we exit the stadium
024might ask our parents to come down to the front exit off this way and then you'll go right to your cars down there graduates you'll stand up you'll walk through the arch you receive a gift that's there for you and go on and do great things congratulations we are proud of you [Applause] [Music]