The class of 2004 at Secaucus High School is one of the smallest classes in years, but their presence will fill cafeteria on June 23 as the town gathers for their graduation.
“This is a great group of kids,” said class advisor Michael Gehm. “They give me an ulcer sometimes, but they’re just kids. I’m going to miss them.”
One hundred and nine seniors will walk down the aisle on Wednesday, which is also the last day of school. This group of students entered first grade in 1991. “(Everything I Do) I Do for You” by Bryan Adams topped the charts, and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” topped the box office. (“Terminator 3” made the top 10 in 2003). The students can look forward to one last summer before entering college.
“Historically, 94 percent of students go on to further education,” said Impreveduto. Many students are staying local for college, attending schools like Jersey City University, Stevens Institute, and Montclair State, while others are moving away to Brigham Young in Utah, and Hillsboro College in Tampa, Fla.
“This year we had students who got accepted to Ivies but decided not to go.” Students accepted to Columbia and Princeton went to New York University and Boston College, he said.
School Superintendent Gus Scerbo will is the keynote speaker for the ceremony. Other speakers include Board of Education President William Millevoi, Gehm, salutatorian Dolly Tulani, and valedictorian Jason Corcoran.
Corcoran graduated with a 4.32 GPA. The school runs on a five point system where an A+ in an Advance Placement class counts for five points. He will attend Rutgers University School of Pharmacy in New Brunswick in the fall.
“I looked at a lot of colleges and originally I wanted to do business, but I wasn’t sure what area of business was right for me,” said Corcoran. “So last December, I decided on pharmacy because I’m good with sciences.” Corcoran decided on pharmacy as a course of study because his favorite subjects were math and chemistry. “I like numbers, so it comes naturally to me,” said Corcoran. He also likes the periodic table of elements and chemical reactions.
Corcoran was a member of the Challenge Club quiz team, Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, National Honor Society, American Technology Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, Federal Reserve Challenge, and the Science Club.
The biggest challenge of his senior year, said Corcoran, was budgeting his time.
“I figured the easy classes were too easy for me, and I wanted to try something challenging,” he said. “I took the hardest classes you can take, and that requires pretty good budgeting of your time. You can’t fool around that much. You need to know when to do this and when to do that. You can’t lose focus or you’ll be completely off and get behind in classes.”
In his free time, Corcoran likes health and fitness, running and lifting weights. He also watches movies to relax. He has worked for the last three summers and will work again this year.
Salutatorian Dolly Tilani, who has a 4.24 GPA, will attend New York University to study business and advertising.
“Basically, right now, I’ll be exploring any internship and then I’ll make up my mind what to do with the degree,” she said.
Tilani was a member of the National Honors Society, the Foreign Language Honors Society, the Literary Explorers Club, literary magazine Metamorphosis, the Challenge Club, American Technological Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Science Club, and the Engineering Club. Her favorite subject is English.
Future classes will be able to experience graduation in the new auditorium which is currently under construction. The school population is expected to grow significantly with incoming classes. The Junior Class has 135 students, the incoming eight graders have 150, and the current seventh grade has 165.
“This is the smallest class that has graduated in recent years,” said Principal Pat Impreveduto, “and it will probably be the smallest in the future.”
The school added nine new classrooms in anticipation of the influx of students.
“Over the years we’ve seen growth in the district, and we’ve anticipated it with all the construction,” said Assistant Principal Frank Costello.
Gehm said that this is the first class to have the same class officers for all four years.
“They’re a bunch of wacky kids, my class officers,” he said. “They’re a hard-working group.”
Last Monday, the school held a senior scholarships and awards ceremony, where $53,000 in scholarships were given to 43 students.
The future is ahead for the class of 2004.
“I’m not nervous about college. I look forward to meeting new people with different lifestyles and having more freedom,” said Corcoran. “I’m looking forward to getting away from town. I’ve been here my whole life.”