Sewanhaka Celebrates Class Of 2019

FLORAL PARK, NY—Sewanhaka High School's Class of 2019 bid farewell to their alma mater and looked forward to new beginnings at the school's annual commencement ceremony on June 29, the Sewanhaka Central High School District announced via press release.

The graduating seniors heard from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ralph Ferrie, New York State Senator Anna Kaplan, senior class president Joel-Anthoney Bossous and salutatorian Sameer Khan, who spoke about the Class of 2019's diversity and the friendships he's made along the way.

"I'm sure that we've all heard the expression, 'the real treasure is the friends we made along the way,'" Khan said. "I'm blessed to have made a diverse group of friends during my time at Sewanhaka. My friends have aided my growth as a person and helped me take pride in who I am
despite my imperfections."

Valedictorian Amrita Shah told her fellow graduates that life doesn't end when school ends.

"Right now, that sounds kind of obvious, but it's very important. Today, and even in a few years,
your life will still be just beginning. You have a lifetime of success, failure, sorrow, happiness,
anger and love ahead of you. Life might not get easier for us, but we must work hard and have faith that everything will work out," she said.

Principal Dr. Christopher Salinas reflected on the graduates' accomplishments. He also presented the Harold W. Wright Memorial Award to Amrita Shah, the Anthony T. Dwyer Memorial Award to Brandon Valerio and Hall of Fame Awards to Nevin Balgobin, Joel-Anthoney Bossous, Danielle Guiffre, Bobby (Gurnav) Kang, Rachel Rodriguez and Justin Saccone.

The ceremony was highlighted by musical performances from the senior high chorus and band. It continued with the conferral of diplomas.