PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—Congratulations to the graduates of the Pascack Valley area’s high schools, who tossed their mortarboards sky-high in celebrations this past week. All their hard work—and that of their families, coaches, and teachers—paid off.
We wish them luck and great joy, the confidence to ask for help when needed, and the generosity to give of themselves when they can. They’re on their way to a future they’ll very likely be helping to invent as they go.
These young men and women, part of a remarkable generation that came of age in the heyday of social media, arguably are more politically aware than their parents were at this age, and we’ve seen them make excellent use of new storytelling technologies.
In their four years of high school they’ve seen a handoff in national leadership from the country’s first African American president, a Democrat, to an iconoclastic billionaire, a Republican.
They’ve seen a car—Elon Musk’s $100,000 Tesla Roadster—launched on a lark into orbit around the Sun.
This is a graduating class that has a lot to process.
They’ve grieved—and been awakened—as friends and other peers have been gunned down on American school grounds.
Several from this generation, including from the Pascack Valley, have said enough is enough on that front. We’ll be hearing more from them, no doubt.
They’ve seen several powerful celebrities and many others in high places made to pay for sexual harassment, #MeToo-style.
Sexual predators in the Church and in scouting also are starting to see what “fed up” looks like.
It happens that the graduates’ high school years constitute the four warmest years on record, with the National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for April 2019 saying that the 20 warmest years on record have been logged in the past 22 years.
And we remain a nation at war, the ripples of Sept. 11, 2001 still radiating: still defining a young 21st century.
Congrats to the grads, and godspeed. Graduation at Pascack Hills and Pascack Valley high schools was June 18. Westwood Regional High School and Emerson High School graduated June 20. Park Ridge High School commencement was June 25.
Here are a few facts about our area’s standout graduates:
Park Ridge High School
At Park Ridge High School, valedictorian Samantha Green said at commencement, “Throughout high school we dreamed big, worked hard, experienced defeat, but also experienced great victory. We definitely left our mark and our names in the history books of Park Ridge.”
She is bound for the University of Pennsylvania.
Salutatorian was Jane Lim.
Joseph Bruno, president of the Board of Education, said, “Parents, take a deep breath and relish this moment. It’s been a very long time in the making but it’s also been in a blink of an eye.”
Emerson Junior-Senior High School
EHS valedictorian and salutatorian were Gerard Piserchia and Ryan Shaw, respectively.
Piserchia was tapped as a highly involved student, athlete, and leader with an outstanding record. An AP Scholar with Distinction, he took 10 Advanced Placement courses and is interning at a local engineering firm.
He also was class historian and competed in the Academic Decathlon, Varsity Debate Team, and NJ Math League. He was a leading member of the robotics team and a member of the National Honor Society and an active service member in Key Club.
He was selected with high distinction to represent Emerson High School at the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Conference.
He will attend Stevens Institute of Technology in the fall.
Shaw is a acclaimed student-athlete with talent and work ethic on the field and in the classroom. He took some of the most rigorous courses offered at Emerson, including eight AP classes.
He is the recipient of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award.
On the football field, Shaw was a star running back for the Cavos, was recognized as North Jersey Player of the Week, NJIC 1st-Team All-League.
He graduates as the all-time leading rusher for the Emerson football program.
Shaw was an active member of DECA and a four-year member of the Key Club. He was credited as a positive role model for the student body as a two-year member of Heroes and Cool Kids and Relay for Life.
He also was a successful athlete to our baseball and wrestling teams over the years at Emerson Junior-Senior High School.
He will attend Carnegie Mellon University in the fall, where he will also play football.
Westwood Regional Junior-Senior High School
WWRHS valedictorian was Emily Wu. Salutatorian was Isabella Marini.
Wu, bound for Cornell, is a superior student who is highly organized and responsible, and a very diligent worker. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she attempted to learn Japanese and German by herself when she was younger, and is trying to learn Korean because “she loved how the language sounded when her piano teacher would comment in Korean while she was practicing.”
President of the French Honor Society, the vice president of the Math Honor Society, and the secretary of the senior class Student Council, she excelled at her five AP classes and one honors class.
She volunteers weekly with a Taiwanese nonprofit organization similar to Red Cross, sending aid to countries that have experienced natural disasters, or are in need in some other way.
Wu is preparing to earn a degree in computer science “and try to create things that make life easier for mankind,” the district said.
According to Superintendent Raymond A. Gonzalez, Marini, bound for UMass-Amherst, took on four AP courses.
“She maintains a goal-oriented mindset, relies on self-motivation to complete her assignments motivation to complete her assignments, and is ambitious with activities pertaining to school, athletics, volunteer service, and personal hobbies,” Gonzalez said.
She was a valued member of the varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams since freshman year and enjoyed co-captaining both teams.
She took honorable mention All-League in lacrosse, First Team All-League in field hockey, and Second Team All-County in field hockey junior year.
Secretary of the school’s Future Business Leaders of America, she recorded important information members about upcoming fundraisers. She was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and English Honor Society, and was in Peer Pals Club and and the Math Team.
An intern at the Ho-Ho-Kus Veterinary Hospital, she is interested in animal behavior and natural sciences.