Now that their exams are finished and the graduation speeches have been given, the almost 330 seniors that graduated from West New York’s Memorial High School on June 22 in the town’s Recreation Center are ready to enjoy there last summer vacation before venturing off to different colleges in different cities.
“They’ve come a long way through the years,” said Principal Matthew Sinisi about the senior class.
“We worked really hard to get where we are and graduating,” agreed class salutatorian Diana Perez on a break from graduation practice two weeks ago.
This hard work is evident throughout the senior class. However, while valedictorian Paula Arboleda feels ready to move on to Bryn Mawr University in the fall, she knows that there is more hard work ahead of her.
“Personally, I don’t think that [college] is going to be easy,” said Arboleda, who graduated with a 4.56 grade point average. “I am going to have to work harder.”
However, Arboleda does credit her teachers with the preparation she has gotten so far.
“The teachers often went beyond what a teacher was supposed to do,” said Arboleda. “I was not only their student, but some kind of companion.”
Culture shock
Getting to know people of all different cultures is one of the greatest advantages students in Hudson County have. However, as Arboleda found at a weeklong Congressional Workshop held in Washington D.C., this experience may not always be a positive one.
“Race and money became more evident to me there,” said Arboleda, who added that she was one of the very few Hispanic and black students attending the workshop. “I think it was a culture shock.”
“[You are used to something], then you leave it and you are like ‘Whoa,'” said Arboleda.
However, while at the workshop, Arboleda gained an interest in politics and will be studying Political Science and German Studies at Bryn Mawr with hopes of becoming a lawyer.
Perez, who will be studying business at The College of New Jersey, overcame more than just a culture shock when she entered the West New York School District in the sixth grade from Peru; she overcame a language barrier.
After being in bilingual classes for two years, Perez said that the transition into English speaking classes was a difficult one.
“Once they put me in regular classes [in the eighth grade],” said Perez. “It was hard.”
However, as a class, Memorial High School’s class of 2001 overcame another change. The class welcomed Sinisi, their vice principal, as their principal in their senior year.
“My face is well-known,” said Sinisi, who has been in Memorial High for more than 30 years. “But when you sit behind [the principal’s desk], things change. This class has been very supportive of me.”
Involving students and community
When the senior class was considering not having a Project Graduation celebration due to lack of funding, the community showed its full support of the class and made the event happen. Businesses and citizens banded together and collected thousands of dollars to donate to the school.
“These students care about how well the school is represented and the students,” said Sinisi Perhaps it was the community’s support that taught the class how important the community really was. Arboleda had actually worked before that with the Middle States Accreditation for Growth Management team, which focused on how the school could work together with the community.
This team was formed as part of a three-day visit by the Middle States evaluation team in March of last year. The team then met with students, teachers, parents, members of the town’s Board of Education and people in the community.
West New York has been accredited by the Middle States Association’s Commission on Secondary Schools for the five-year period ending Dec. 1, 2005.
“She was a very vital force on that team,” said her guidance counselor, Theresa Cerullo.
As members of the school’s National Honor Society, both Arboleda and Perez work as tutors for other students in the school.
“She is always there to help out the other students,” said Perez’s guidance counselor, Linda Monforte.
Both Arboleda and Perez are involved in other school activities. Arboleda is also a member of the student council, and Perez was a member of the Junior Varsity Volleyball Team and the Key Club.
“[Being involved allows you to] meet other people that you don’t have in your classes,” said Perez about being involved. “In some classes, you don’t know the people sitting on the other side of the room.”