Class of 2026 standing at starting line of next chapter
Matt Pascale addressed the Class of 2026 by saying they made it to the finish line of one chapter and are standing at the starting line of the next one. The high school principal was one of the speakers at the 72nd Commencement at Webutuck High School where themes included growing together, entering the unknown and measuring success.
“Success is defined by how you treat others,” said Pascale. “As you climb whatever ladders lie ahead of you, measure your success not by how many people look up to you, but by how many people you can lift up.
“Class of 2026, the world doesn’t just need your smarts or your talent, it needs your heart, your humility and your wisdom.”
Superintendent of Schools Raymond Castellani is retiring at the end of the school year after “33 years in education and 11 wonderful years serving this amazing district.”
“Serving this district has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,” he said. “While my name might have been on the superintendent’s office door or on district letterhead, every success we achieve has been the result of hundreds of people working together with a shared purpose.
“And to our graduates, thank you as well. You have taught me as much as I could ever hope to teach you. Your resilience, creativity, humor and determination have continually reminded me why education matters.”
Amanda Coppola, principal of Webutuck Elementary School, served as the guest speaker and taught the senior class as fifth graders in her first year with the district. She was a single teacher then and now is a wife and mother in an administrative role, saying the great thing about growth is there is no finish line.
“In many ways, we’ve grown together,” she said. “I remember your curiosity, your energy, your questions, your laughter, your challenges and the small moments that at the time may have seemed ordinary but now feel incredibly important.
“You’re stepping into a new chapter, where you’ll meet new people, face new challenges and discover new parts of yourself. There will be moments when you feel confident and ready, and there will be moments when you feel unsure. That’s normal. That’s part of growing.”
Zaina AbouEid, the class salutatorian, said it’s natural to feel fear and discomfort when stepping into the unknown, saying these moments “shape your resilience and prepare you for everything that lies ahead.”
“We will not always feel comfortable in what we do, but growth does not come from comfort, it comes from the courage to move forward even when the path is unclear because in the end it is not fear that defines you, it is how you rise above it,” she said.
Valedictorian Giana Kall told her classmates they will become the person they wish to be if they put in the work to get there. She inspired her peers to follow their heart and “that it’s OK to not be OK for a while.”
“It’s not about our hardships that define us, but what we do with the knowledge and experience we had learned from it that does,” she said.