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Schools

Governor Livingston Bids Farewell to 2011 Graduates

Student Council President Eric Whyte urges classmates to never forget where they came from.

At the 51st Commencement Ceremony at Governor Livingston High School held last night, June 21, 2011, some of the greatest minds of the ages were summoned by Student Council President Eric Whyte, Principal Scott McKinney and Judith Rattner, Superintendent of Schools as they addressed the graduating class and the hundreds that came to support them.

Each called upon the ideas and philosophies of some of the most influential thinkers in history including: Ralph Waldo Emerson,  Thomas Jefferson, Lao Tsu, Steve Jobs, and even Bob Dylan.  

On a pleasantly warm and breezy evening, the class of 2011 jubilantly bid goodbye to one chapter of their lives, and took their first step into their future as adults and high school graduates. 

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Whyte began his commencement address by acknowledging that it was almost impossible to sum up the significance of the last four years.

"Most of what I learned happened by interacting with all of you," he said.

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"Achieve greatness, be all that you can be, but never forget where you came from and everything that helped to create who you are today," said Whyte.

Quoting Steve Jobs, Whyte said, "Live each day as if it were your last. Ask yourself each day -- if today were the last day of my life, what would I want to do and what am I doing today?"

Quoting from Lao Tsu, Whyte said, "Remember, a thousand mile journey begins with one step."

Principal Scott McKinney focused on the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and his profound belief in the necessity of an educated society in order to have a thriving democracy. 

McKinney chose to speak about Jefferson after he was inspired by a presentation given by graduating senior Conor Quinn, earlier this year.

"As argued by Conor Quinn in his speech, President Jefferson’s greatest contribution to the United States may have been in realizing the importance of providing access to education for the common citizenry," said McKinney.

He said Jefferson would have been proud of what Governor Livingston was providing to its students, and he also would have loved social networking. 

McKinney said, " I also believe as a strong proponent of the Bill of Rights and individual liberties, that Jefferson would love Twitter."

Judith Rattner, Superintendent of Schools, reached back to the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, do not follow the well worn path, create your own path.  

Rattner also reminded the students and the friends, family and neighbors in attendance, that the 2011 graduates should be proud of their high school that has been recently recognized by Newsweek to be one of the top high schools in the country.

She concluded by saying that while she hopes the graduates will always remember their years at Governor Livingston, the best is yet to come. 

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