Riverhead celebrates the Class of 2025

Riverhead High School held commencement exercises Friday evening for the Class of 2025 at Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field. 

The stands were packed with the cheering families and friends of this year’s crop of excited and nervous graduates.

See photo gallery below.

Riverhead High School Principal Sean O’Hara presided over the ceremonies, which included an NJROTC color guard, the Pledge of Allegiance led by NJROTC Battalion Commander and Class of 2025 Vice President Zuleika Herrera, the performance of the national anthem by Class of 2025 Treasurer Cheyanne Metzger, a moment of silence for deceased class members Preston Gamble and Kaitlyn Maher, and musical tracts performed by senior class members of the high school show choir and the concert and symphonic bands. 

“In a sense, I’m graduating with you and feel a special connection as we continue into the next chapter of our journey and the beginning of your next great adventure,” Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich told the class. 

Pedisich’s tenure as the district’s interim superintendent has come to an end, with the new superintendent, Robert Hagan taking the helm July 1. Hagan was present at the graduation ceremony and assisted in handing out the students’ diplomas.

“In my relatively short tenure, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of witnessing firsthand the remarkable resilience, creativity and compassion that define this class,” Pedisich said during brief remarks at the start of the ceremony. “Whether through academic excellence, artistic expression, athletic achievement or service to the community, you have embodied the very best of what it means to be a Blue Wave,” she said.

Pedisich said she has heard “myriad fervent and beautiful speeches” at graduation ceremonies during her long career as an educator. “I know that each of you will receive important words of wisdom and guidance from those you respect, trust and love, and so I leave that to those in your life who have made a special and everlasting impact,” Pedisich said. “What I will share with you is what I have learned in my many years as a counselor, administrator, mother, friend and colleague, and that is to always care,” she said. “It seems so simple in concept, and yet giving and showing care is deeply complex. It is about listening when you are exhausted, providing unconditional support when offering judgment would be so much easier, having empathy and understanding for those most in need, and demonstrating courage when it would be easier to take the popular stance.” 

She urged them to remain true to themselves “and always take the time to care about others and yourself as you go through life…always be mindful that relationships are important and caring and kindness always matter.”

Student body president and student representative on the Board of Education Annabelle Dunn, also a graduating senior, told her class, “Today is a celebration of all our hard work over the past four years. Remember, graduation isn’t an ending, it’s the beginning of a new chapter of our story. We may be headed in different directions, but we’ll always carry a piece of this place with us, the lessons, the memories and the people who helped us get here.”

The class vice president and treasurer presented the class gift to the school, a mural made by the class for display in the high school cafeteria.

Class President Lorena Correa presented the class history, highlighting the many experiences and memories of the graduates’ time in school, from elementary school years through high school, which began with the incoming freshmen wearing masks to school September 2021, as New York began to “slowly emerge from the pandemic.”

“As we stand here now, caps on our heads and futures in our hands, I hope you take a moment to truly recognize how far we’ve come, not just as individuals, but as a class, as a family and as a community,”  Correa said. “We were the class that brought energy back into these halls, the class that reminded Riverhead what it means to lead with heart, to fight for what matters and to celebrate one another.”

Class Advisor Riley McHugh, who started teaching physics at Riverhead High School one year before the Class of 2025 entered the school and has been the class advisor since their freshman year, called the class “remarkable and unique.”  

“You’ve meant so much to this school, to this community, and to me personally, every time I sat down to try and write this speech, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion thinking back on the last four years,“ McHugh said. “When I think of Riverhead, I’ll always think of you.”

Watch the video of 2025 graduation ceremony

Salutatorian Selhvin Galdamez Marquez gave an emotional and inspirational address to his class. Addressing his classmates as salutatorian is an honor, he said.

“But this moment isn’t about grades, GPAs or awards, it’s about something deeper, something that I want you to think about as you leave here today, something we all need to carry with us as we step into the next chapter of our lives: the courage to live life on our own terms. For years, we’ve been told who to be. Wear this. Act like that. Don’t say too much. Don’t stand out. Don’t speak too loudly. We’ve been trained to follow instructions, meet expectations, and avoid mistakes, but in doing so, we forget how to be ourselves,” Galdamez said.

“I wasn’t supposed to be here today, standing before you. From the time I got hit by a car when I was 5, to the time I had appendicitis when I was 9, or just earlier this year when a driver made an illegal U-turn and I totaled my first car. But it wasn’t only me. From my older sister having cancer to my Dad having his truck pin him down while he was working on it, I thought we were a curse —but at the same time, invincible. That was until earlier this year, while on vacation,” Galdamez said.

“I remember the day so vividly. It replays in my head every morning when I wake up,” he said. “My two sisters and I left to visit our grandparents. I said goodbye to my Dad and his Dad, not knowing that it was the last time I would ever see them again.” Hours later he learned of a car accident that would claim the lives of his father and grandfather. “My grandpa died on impact. My father remained in critical condition for weeks, until unfortunately, he passed two weeks before my 18th birthday.”

Then the young man paid a loving tribute to his father, whom he called “my biggest inspiration.”

“Due to poverty and the civil war in his home country of El Salvador, he wasn’t able, he was never able, to finish schooling past the fourth grade,” Galdamez said.  “Someone once asked me how I got to be so smart. I think I get it from my father. That man was so intelligent. Although he never had proper schooling, he never let that stop him. He had a wide knowledge of plants, animals and various life skills,” he said, growing emotional. 

“He worked countless hours and made huge sacrifices for me to be able to do what I have done. I have always appreciated him for that. That was why I worked so hard in school,” Galdamez said, and momentarily broke down. “I wanted to get an amazing job so we would never have to work another day in his life and not be in so much pain and truly enjoy what life had to offer.

“Remember how I said that day replays in my head every morning? It doesn’t because I’m sad, but because I use it as motivation to work even harder,” he said. “I know my father wouldn’t want me to give up on everything I have worked for just because he’s now gone, and I’m not going to let his sacrifices be in vain either,” he said.

“So here’s what I want you to hear tonight, what I hope you’ll remember long after this ceremony ends:

“Stop worrying about what other people think, because no matter what you do, someone will always have something to say. You could follow every rule, check every box, and someone will find a reason to judge you…Do what you truly love. Want to travel instead of jumping straight into college? Go. Want to be an artist instead of a doctor? Go.  Want to speak up for what you believe in, even when your voice shakes? Speak. This is your life, not someone else’s. Live boldly. Be cringe, be weird, be hilarious. Be too loud, be too much. Wear whatever you want. Say what you mean. Fall down, get up, fail and try again. 

“Life is too short to spend it trying to be someone else’s version of acceptable,” he said. “…If you’re feeling disheartened, remind yourself that this world wasn’t built by people who played it safe. It was shaped by those who dare to live honestly, fiercely and unapologetically… 

“Failure is not the opposite of success. It’s the path to it. Being a winner isn’t about one big moment. It’s about getting up again and again when the world expects you to stay down. But never lose yourself in chasing perfection. You’re not here to be flawless. You’re here to be real.”

Valedictorian Gianna Viola spoke of irony and seriousness. “Time is rapid and there’s no room to be serious all the time,” Viola said, saying she offered those words with irony because she herself is very serious — a lot. 

She recalled spending time “minding my own business” at her grandmother’s house. But within two years, her grandmother would die from stage four lung cancer. 

“Looking back, I would do anything to watch the Game Show Network and eat Eggo waffles with my grandma just one more time,” she said. Don’t be so “worked up with the seriousness of life” that “you forgot to take advantage of the moments of joy, excitement and appreciation of the little things,” she told her classmates.”Please take a moment to enjoy what is around you and how beautiful human nature can be. Enjoy every single second of every breath you take.”

She spoke of feeling inadequate, even in academics, even despite her graduating at the top of her class.

“The moment you realize you are good enough, intelligent enough, strong enough and capable of doing anything you put your mind to, you won’t be so dependent on what the person next to you says looks like or accomplishes. You are responsible for you,” Viola said. 

She told her class that the world is suffering from a “comparison epidemic” and the cause is social media. 

“We have constant access to everyone’s life in a split second. Social media’s ability to have our faces glued to our phones drains the beauty of life. It’s difficult to carefully examine the nuances of our experiences when we rely solely on social media to tell us how to feel,” Viola said. 

Viola quoted from “Dead Poets Society”: “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion.”

“My hope for you is that whatever plan you have after graduation…you do it with love,” she said. “Our emotional intelligence and love are what allow for the beauties in life to be seen. Don’t let seriousness, comparison or the ill realities of social media hinder the power that love holds over compassion, forgiveness and appreciating the nuances in life,” she said.

“Congratulations to the Class of 2025 I wish everyone the best in their journey through life, in future endeavors, and I hope you attempt to live a life a little more blissfully and most importantly, with love.”

The principal acknowledged students who graduated from BOCES earlier this month and the Career and Technical Education students who participated in the SkillsUSA competition. He also acknowledged students with perfect attendance for one or more years, including a student who had perfect attendance for all of his 13 years in the district, Sean Rowland.

Addressing the graduating class, O’Hara said: “Class of ‘25, the road ahead won’t always be marked, but you’ve learned how to lead with your values. You’ve developed the skills to navigate what comes next and the confidence to create your own map…

“I hope you are proud — proud of your accomplishments, of the relationships you’ve built and the community of which you are a very important part,”O’Hara said. “Be proud of the education you received. Be proud of Riverhead High School. Proud of our award-winning theater productions. Our NJROTC program has grown to a full battalion. Be proud of our nationally recognized music ensembles, our championship athletic teams and our outstanding scholar athletes. Be proud of the CTE programs made possible through our partnership with SkillsUSA and of the college credits you earned from institutions like Stony Brook, Syracuse, Adelphi and Albany right here at Riverhead High School. Be proud of the Early College Program where some of you enrolled in college courses on a college campus taught by college professors sitting next to college students. Be proud of our smart physics program, which prepared you to explore scientific frontiers far beyond the average high school student.

“Remember the innovative electives the student-led, clubs and fundraisers that happened because your voices mattered, and above all, be proud of your teachers, your friends and your community — a caring, committed community that shows up and supports one another like no other,” he said.

“Class of ’25,  you are motivated, you are kind, you are resilient, you are proud. You honor tradition while boldly shaping the future. You embody the best of what it means to be a Blue Wave,” O’Hara said.

“Congratulations, Class of ‘25. Thank you for the privilege of serving as your principal. Wherever life takes you, you will always be a Blue Wave.” 

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.