VERO BEACH — Thirteen hours late, 585 Vero Beach High School Indians took to the wet and soggy Citrus Bowl field, waiting for their name to be called and their diploma to be handed over – the culmination of four years of study.
Their friends and family filed into the stands under cloudy skies that threatened to dump rain much as the clouds did Friday night, which resulted in the rain delay to early Saturday morning. Many brought towels, sheets of plastic and their own cushioned seats to keep dry on the wet stands, and were further loaded down with balloons, flowers and even bagged gifts for their grads.
“This is the day where a new chapter begins,” said Senior Class Vice President Jacob Mingear, addressing his fellow Indians. “This is the day when we begin changing the world.”
He joined Salutatorian Sami Hashmi and Valedictorian Emily Lunn in speaking to the assembled crowd.
Lunn, who graduates with a 4.84 GPA, plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, studying biomedical engineering. The National Merit Finalist and National Honor Society inductee spent four years at Vero Beach High participating in student government and sports.
Lunn said she wanted to congratulate all the parents who tirelessly encouraged their students.
“It’s been 12 long years,” she said. “It must have been challenging.”
Lunn told her classmates they should be thankful for all those in their lives who helped them along the way and who will continue helping them as they move on to the next stage of their lives. She encouraged them to take a moment and think back on favored memories, noting those will be the moments they take with them as they leave the high school.
“Do what you love, no matter what,” Lunn said, telling the students to find their passion and pursue it.
Salutatorian Sami Hashmi graduates with a 4.82 GPA and will attend Northwestern University. He told his classmates that what they see today is the result of hard work, dedication, and perseverance – the result of 5 a.m. practices and long hours spent on afternoons and weekends – the result of not giving into the temptation to take it easy, but instead to “earn what others only dream of.”
“Talent without working hard is like a sports car without an engine,” Hashmi said, later adding, “Work hard, play hard and don’t call it quits.”
Vero Beach High School graduated five students with Associate of Arts degrees and 20 certified in the school’s Air Force Junior ROTC program.
