MILLBROOK — On a cool, breezy evening, friends, family, and the 69 members of the graduating class gathered on the football field for Millbrook High School’s Commencement ceremony on Friday, June 20.
Welcoming remarks were given both by Principal Eric Steipp and Superintendent of Schools Caroline Hernandez Pidala. Steipp, inspired by Detroit Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, prompted students entering into a world that is hard either way to “choose your hard.”
“Graduation isn’t just a celebration of what you’ve done,” Steipp said. “It’s a launchpad of what comes next. The world will continue to challenge you, some moments will test you, others will reveal your strength. Through it all, you will have your chance, again and again, to ‘choose your hard.’”
“I see a community of change-makers,” Hernandez Pidala said as she commended the work of the students and envisioned what all their futures hold. Summarizing a quote by Margaret Mead, Pidala advised students to “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Brendan Lee, Chemistry Instructor and Co-Advisor of the National Honor Society, provided a message of assurance to the class of 2025. Lee spoke of the world in which the graduates are stepping into and provided comfort in sharing that everyone is always learning how to navigate life, no matter how old.
“Today’s problems are unique and challenging, but not uniquely challenging,” Lee stated. “Being able to see the humor in a tough situation is part of accepting your mistakes and learning from them.”
Addresses were also given by Salutatorian Lisa Cameron and Valedictorian Amber Concannon. Cameron compared the milestone of graduation to the transformation, growth and emergence of butterflies.
Millbrook valedictorian Amber Concannon offered a message of inspiration to her classmates in a speech at the ceremony.Grace Demarco
“The caterpillar transforms. Not instantly, not easily, but gradually and with intention,” Cameron said. And although education is their chrysalis, graduation does not signify that growth or learning stops.
In Concannon’s address, she noted the date not just as their high school graduation, but also the summer solstice. “A symbol of growth, prosperity, and new beginnings, it is the day of the year where the light stretches longer than any other,” she said. “It’s nature’s way of reminding us to take the space to stretch, because the solstice is the day that the world gives us time for more.
“Carpe diem,” Concannon said to her fellow eager graduates. “Make the most of this moment without dwelling on the future.”
After the conclusion of the speeches, graduates walked the stage and received their diplomas, and before the presentation of the graduates, were treated with a time capsule video, advice from the Class of 2037 and a student-designed slideshow.
Upon the final Presentation of the Graduates to the Board of Education by Superintendent Hernandez Pidala, the caps of the 69 Millbrook High School graduates flew in celebration.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
