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] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome back to e BHS class of 2020 it is great to see you in person I'd also like to welcome all of our family and friends that are here with us in the stands as well as those that are watching via the live stream it's been a very very long journey but we've got here we got here because we are EB schools strong and we got here because we have a extremely dedicated staff that worked hard over the last couple of months and made this happen so I'd also like to thank the entire staff
002as well I'll be brief but class of 2020 let it be known that myself the administration and the staff is so proud of you and want to send you off with the best wishes possible we wish you much health success and happiness go out and make Phoebe proud now let's get started we have a couple we have a couple friends with us here today that want to help kick this off before we turn it over to our annunciators miss Kenny Stine and Miss Rocha so mr. Hannah's let's go and bears let's go let's get going [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome to JD oilfield 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 a lots more hi pledge allegiance to
003the 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 my 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
004our 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. Hanna's for pushing to make today happen shout-out to miss Rocha and miss Kenny sine and also miss rice and wildy it has been chaotic for all of us to get to this moment but now we are finally here 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 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
005into the bear den were the last to take a yearbook photo groups hightly 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 sure and while it's true that we have lost so much spring sports our spring drama production decision day senior variety show senior send-off senior assassin our prom yearbook signings goodbyes in the halls of E BHS and the expected graduation together at the arena closure as it should be we do not have to let the final few months at EB HS define
006our 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 that 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 learn 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
007Internet can keep us connected yet at the same time we also learn 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 staying home was also a freedom it was a freedom to think a freedom to create a freedom to hope and a freedom to plan and most recently became a freedom to recognize inequality around us and for each of us to decide we want to make change and as we
008enter this new phase of our lives we are free to be anything we want to be our high school graduation is not a finish line but a starting line graduating marks the start 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 2020 and for that we should be proud I wish success and happiness for all of us as we begin this 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
009times 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 in 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 a disarmingly humorous rendition of act 2 of Hamlet thank you East Brunswick
010High 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 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 both 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
0111492 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 F 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
012classes 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 outside 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
013into 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 the 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 impacts will be unique with whatever talents you have so them and water them so that they
014may 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 [Applause] the chorus will now present their rendition of see you again recorded by Charlie puth and arranged by Roger Emerson [Music] why'd you have to leave me I don't know how to tell you without giving much worse [Music] Oh all you ate right [Music] we all carry our [Music] I'll tell you all about it when I see you [Music] we will now hear from the faculty speaker as voted by the members of
015the graduating class of 2020 dr. Alan Rodman [Applause] thank you and welcome to the members of the Board of Education dr. Valesky and central administration dr. Vennela and the high school administration my 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've chosen 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 was that provided our faculty speech I will take that as a sign that I should try to
016keep 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 with our whole school community that we are here today acknowledging this most important and transitional event is a testament to your resilience and strength you persevered and adapted to a new way of learning and interacting with people I request that 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
017from the comfort 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 moment 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 mr. Rogers neighborhood once noted that often when you were at the end of something you
018are 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 not go exactly as 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 a picture frozen in time it is more akin to a movie 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 your life with friends family a significant other your own society
019as 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 and 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 simmering issues be agents of real 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 the opportunities 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 your voyage the destination
020whatever 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 please make sure you bring up your seating card as you approach the stage Alex Lee Gabriela Ledesma Marisa Lieber ELISA Lorenz IANA [Applause] Samantha Wow Rohith little Polly Joanne Pauline Larissa Zachary lardy re Andrew lamb Naomi Bronfman Kyle Lynn jessica leigh Gus Nathaniel Leavitt Stephanie the young Nico Lee LaVon Lee John Lee [Applause] Alice Lee Nicolas Lopez [Applause] Nayeli Lopez Maria Lombardo Garrett Lou [Applause] Malcolm Linehan herring miles Lindsay [Applause] Andrei Linde Oh Sarah Lindemann Tyler Lynn Ryan Lynn Matthew my Sarah McGrane Oh Sneha Mukesh [Applause] Madison Ilana makiura Adrianna bucket Ella Z hang ma
021[Applause] Steven Lydell Tian Wu Kylie Luke [Applause] Zoe lublin Kaitlin marques apostolos ruthless Meghan Marcos Alfred Joseph mark chef Nicole mark Hayes Thomas Mann sewer [Applause] Victoria gee mango Sahil Mahara Mandy Mayor Denis McGinnis [Applause] Magdalene McGlinn Maddie McDermott Dylan McCann Emily nacio Valerie noun Elena Matar Brian marks Armando Martinez Peralta in MRSA Cano Bishoy Michael [Applause] Shane Bonanza Menezes regime in Dorada [Applause] Kalin Melendez [Applause] ravit meta Ilias Makery Kavya Mita Alexandra medley Ryan McSweeney [Applause] Ariana McLean HIPAA to Allah Muhammad [Applause] Stephen Macchio some a Malad Phillip MS wretzky Sylvia Mina Amanda Miller [Applause] Sebastian Milewski mark M Malad golly Joseph Middleton jr. John Michael [Applause] William Maurice Danilo Enrique Montez [Applause] raissa Santha dato Montano Sophia Sampson LeeAnn Nicole Murphy [Applause] Caitlyn Murphy Brenna Murphy Nicholas Morabito Simran Mookie saya Mookie Isabelle
022mukhiya Ethan Moss [Applause] Stephanie Nelson Alina Negron Ilana Negron for NAS NER David nicob Matthew Myron melissa meyer Ryan Murray [Applause] Matthew Murphy [Applause] Matan Oman ski Aaron okhane Jason Oh [Applause] Griffin O'Connor LIBOR nor a daisy on joke ooh Kevin Moran Jen Gabriel Nesser cush Patel Jeet Patel Lee Wan Park Kevin why park Kevin Pangos [Applause] yay Jen pack [Applause] Olivia Valentine Owens Madison Auton [Applause] Jacqueline Sabina Osorio zorco Cassidy ort Kaylie keyless Christopher pusong [Applause] Christopher L Priya Olivia M Perez Jalen Perez Isabella Pereira Marissa Percoco [Applause] Priya Patti Suresh Patel Joshua Road ona [Applause] sanchita ray OB Rashid [Applause] Siddhartha Rao [Applause] Justin Ram smooch Joseph Ram Narine [Applause] Avinash romka lawan lorina Ramirez vida Elvira Ramirez Vida Katherine Quinn Emma Ruffner [Applause] lexy rush Kovan brandon rit wigger [Applause] isabella Riera
023Brian Richards Jessica I Riccio Cassandra Ren Alice Ren [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] congratulations graduates class of 2020 [Applause] this concludes our ceremony at this time graduates much health happiness and success in order to have an ordinate and orderly dismissal and safe removal from the stadium we're going to ask all parents first to come down exit to that side of the stadium and then you'll be directed out to the parking lot graduates you'll be at one row at a time you go directly back through the arch there's a gift for you on your way out be well go do great things congratulations [Music]