120 at MVRHS to Go on to Post-Secondary Study
By BRIEN HEFLER
On Sunday, the class of 2004 at Martha's Vineyard Regional
High School will graduate. Said to be bright, hardworking and proactive,
the class of 189 will shed backpacks and combination locks for gowns and
mortarboards and enter the outside world, one that was hard to ignore
during their school years.
As these graduates entered their sophomore year, the class and
nation were rocked by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. In their junior
year, students reacted to the war in Iraq, some marching out of class
and lining the street in protest. Sharing the same experiences and
education seems to have formed a deep sense of unity, a rarity in the
high school world of cliques, groups and niches.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2004/06/04/content/grads_practice_2004_sm.jpg" "The class of 2004 is funny, very diverse with all kinds of
people. They all are a big community, a big family," said
graduating senior Henrique Aguiar, 18, of Oak Bluffs. Mr. Aguiar plans
to attend Northeastern University in Boston, majoring in arts and
sciences.
"They're a strong, cohesive, tight-knit group of
kids," director of guidance Michael McCarthy said.
"I would say we might look like a tightly knit class, but
we're a little more independent. There is a bunch of talent and
individual pursuits in the class," class essayist Jesse Wiener
said.
Class advisors Todd Sawyer and Christine Ferrone have been watching
the class bond, learn and grow and are particularly impressed with the
students' dedication, academic achievement and intelligence.
"[The class] is a very talented, diverse, interesting, intense
group of kids," Mrs. Ferrone said. "A lot of teachers see
them as real gems. They're some of the brightest kids I've
ever taught."
Mrs. Ferrone went on to cite the leadership skills evident in the
class, such as student body president Stuart Bangs and Michelle
Holmberg's involvement with the SafeRides program. She described
the graduates as an everyman class with diverse interests, typified by
the class valedictorian, Hans Buder, who quarterbacked the varsity
football team and is also an artist and poet.
More than 120 of the 189 graduating students are pursuing such post
secondary education avenues as four-year, two-year and vocational
schools, including Duke University, George Washington University,
Harvard, Emerson, Skidmore and four or five Ivy League schools. Many are
choosing schools outside the New England region. Zachary Gerson-Nieder
plans to attend St. Andrew's University in Scotland; one student
is looking at colleges in England and another in Arizona.
"They really have a big view and have widened their
choices," Mr. McCarthy said.
Echoing Mrs. Ferrone's thoughts, Mr. Sawyer was impressed with
the class's thirst for learning and enjoyed the opportunity to
watch it develop and pursue differing avenues of education and
employment beyond high school.
"As an advisor it's been a thrill for me to watch them
grow through the four years of high school," Mr. Sawyer said.
And so the class of 2004, unified by proximity and a desire to
learn, will soon scatter into the outside world, some to colleges around
the nation and world, others entering the workforce and some staying on
the Island, continuing at jobs discovered through the school's
work study programs.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2004/06/04/content/grads_marshalls_2004_sm.jpg" "Sometimes you get a group of kids who don't know what
they want to do. The kids I spoke to all had some sort of a plan. Even
those who aren't going to college have a plan, they're not
just going to sit around," Mr. Wiener said.
"In 10 years it's going to be interesting to see the
success this class has in such a wide and diverse field of achievement.
We might have senators to rock stars, you never know with this
class," Mr. Sawyer said.
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