Last Friday evening was the Sayville High School 2024 Commencement Ceremony. The boys wore purple gowns with purple caps while the girls wore gold gowns with gold caps while everyone wore a tassel that hung from the cap.

They marched to the football field on Brook Street to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” to begin the graduation.

Salutatorian Brendan Myers gave a speech. Brendan’s speech was titled “Live, Laugh, Love.” Following the speech, Harper DeVerna sung “What I Did for Love.” Post the vocal selection, valedictorian Kate Leigh-Manuell gave a speech. The speech was titled “Sayville Waits for You.”

“Live, laugh, love. For these three seemingly casual words carry a much deeper meaning. For those who know me, I say these words a lot. When things get hard, live, laugh, love. When things are good, live, laugh, love. When I was writing this speech, live, laugh, love. I never knew why I was so drawn to this phrase until I began to compose this talk and learn more about the messaging behind the phrase,” said Myers. “None of us are ever the same. We all offer something that we can share with the rest of us. The one thing we all have in common is that we are all here ready to start a new stage of our life leaving a school that we’ve all learned to love. As we move forward, we have to continue to love each other, love our lives, and love ourselves.”

“We must not only slow down and appreciate the genuine moments of connection; we must seek them out. In this next chapter, leave your room, take the phone off the hook, and take initiative in forging your own experiences. We have all grown up together, but we have a lot more growing to do. Chase the moments before they are regrets, see the value in moments before they are memories,” said Leigh-Manuell in her speech.  “We are all together, probably for the last time, so right now, while we are still us, we should slow down to appreciate how we have nurtured the minds, hearts, and characters of one another. Right now, we should slow down to appreciate the small moments we’ve shared and those yet to come. Right now, we should slow down to appreciate that we have the luxury to choose how we perceive success and how we will go about accomplishing what we desire. We will thrive. Though, if we do happen to find ourselves lost in the pursuit of success, don’t book the flight to Viena, Austria. Book the flight home. The lifelong friendships and irreplaceable memories made in this high school, in this town, will always wait for you.”

After the speeches were finished, the diplomas were distributed. Then class president Ethan Entenberg made his graduation speech, titled “The Puzzle.” Following the class president’s address, principal Ronald Hoffer named the Sayville High School merits and accomplishments in 2024.