JUNE 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 57
GRADUATING CLASS OF 2021 GRATEFUL GRADUATES
Graduates across Long Island in June are
sure to share sentiments of overcoming
adversity, celebrating accomplishments,
and simply being grateful to be together.
West Babylon Senior High School’s June
25 graduation on the football field will be
split into two days, and the 307 students
will have a limited number of guests they
can invite.
“I think these students who are 17 and
18 now going into college are going to
have tremendous resilience and problem
solving skills when they come to
difficult times ahead,” says Stephen
O’Leary, principal of the senior high
school, of the graduating class.
Julie Cook, a West Babylon senior, says
graduating feels bittersweet after the
unusual yet enjoyable year. The school
is also holding a drive-through parade,
yearbook signing, awards ceremony,
and prom to celebrate the seniors.
“There was a big difference between
the first half and the second half of
senior year,” Cook says. “It was mostly
virtual in the first half, which was
definitely very strange. The second
half really turned around — I started
coming back full time, we had extracurriculars,
and it was like the school
years prior.”
Kiersten Sweeney, a senior at St. Mary’s
College Preparatory High School in
Manhasset, will be among 90 students
graduating on June 3. With fewer students,
the ceremony will be held in one
day with students and their families.
“All I wanted for my senior year was to be
with my friends all in person,” Sweeney
says, expressing gratitude for the teachers
and faculty who made it happen. “We
found new ways to have fun.”
Now, as her high school days come to a
close, she says she’s learned a lot as a high
schooler in the pandemic. She was part
of multiple clubs and sports, and enjoyed
movie days with her senior class this year.
“In some aspects it's definitely sad,” she
says. “It's the people who have helped me
grow these past few years. I'll miss them
a lot, I’ve seen them every day, sometimes
even more than my family, but now I’ll get
to try new things and meet new people.”
-BB
PARENTING TIPS
June is graduation season on LI. (Getty Images)
“We found new ways to have fun,”
says Kiersten Sweeney
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
