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Central Jersey College Preps’ Class of 2025 was told to be “leaders with integrity” at its graduation ceremony on June 18 at the Mettlers Road campus.
The graduates heard from Jeannine LaRue, who during her career has been an elected official, lobbyist, educator, healthcare executive, and government official.
“Before you walk across the stage and out into the world, I want to talk to you about something that’s way far beyond your GPA,” she said. “It’s far beyond whatever colleges you have been admitted to, no matter what job offers you get or your social media followers. And yes, that is integrity.”
“Integrity is often defined as doing the right thing even when no one is watching,” she said. “But it’s more than that. It’s the alignment between your values, your actions, and your words.”
“It’s the quiet voice inside of you that says, I won’t cheat, I won’t lie, I won’t pretend to be something I’m not,” LaRue said. “It’s how you behave when there’s no applause, no spotlight, and no instant reward. In a world where it often overshadows authenticity, where filters can replace facts, and where pressure to fit in is relentless, integrity is your anchor.”
“You’ve seen leaders rise and fall, not always because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of integrity,” she said. “As someone who has spent almost the last 50 years in the political and public arena, I can tell you first-hand, integrity sometimes can be challenging for some people. But if you don’t hold that one thing at the highest esteem, no matter what you do or where you go, I can guarantee it may not happen quickly, but at some point you will fall.”
Living with integrity, she said, means speaking up “when someone is being mistreated, even if you’re the only one. Own your mistakes. Say I was wrong, say I’m sorry.”
“Don’t cut corners, don’t cheat to get ahead, don’t compromise your values for a shortcut,” she said. “Integrity isn’t about being perfect. It’s about intention. It’s about consistency.”
“You’ve earned your diploma, you’ve gained knowledge,” she said. “Now it’s time to live with wisdom.”
“Let your name be one that others associate, not just with success, we know that’s going to happen, but with integrity,” she said.
Salutatorian Semra Suslu told her fellow graduates that “today marks the beginning of finding the origin of what has been written for us, and we’re truly overwhelmed with the decisions concerning our lives now. We don’t have all the answers, and we never did. We make mistakes, and in the coming years we’re probably going to, unfortunately, make a lot more.”
“You’re going to trust the wrong people, say things you shouldn’t have, compare timelines as if life was a race, chase the lonely pursuit of perfection, hold on to the wrong people, and let the right people go,” she said. “You’re going to procrastinate studying too much and realize you should have started earlier when you finally opened that textbook. And you’re going to embarrass yourself, get addicted to potential, and the list is going to go on.”
“But realize that the point is to make mistakes, because as cliche as it sounds, it allows us to keep learning,” she said. “Because growth is about getting the wrong learning from it and trying again anyway.”
“It’s not easy, especially when everything around us is moving fast, when people expect us to have a plan, a goal, a title, and a dream that will soon fit neatly onto our resume,” she said. “Life doesn’t move in straight lines. It doubles back, and sometimes it pauses. Most importantly, sometimes it even takes you somewhere you didn’t even know you needed to be. Trying means showing up even when you’re not sure of what you’re doing.”
“It means asking questions, admitting you don’t have all the answers, yet choosing to move forward anyway,” Suslu said. “As long as you keep trying and paving new paths for yourself when you meet roadblocks and the challenge that this life is, nothing is ever truly over and you’re still doing okay. I also want to say that in all the chaos of trying, I hope you don’t lose your ability to live in the moment.”
Valedictorian Ansh Parikh told his fellow graduates that “four years ago, a lot of us, even before that, we stepped into this building as curious students.”
“Everyone was looking around at all these unfamiliar faces,” he said. “Little did we know how far we’d come, and I can proudly say I’ve seen every person in our grade grow over the years, from the OG friend group I had back in 6th Grade to the people that I just became friends with a couple months ago. If there’s one thing I know we’re going to miss, it’s how little time we got to spend with each other.”
“And let that be a lesson for the future,” he said. “There is so much we can learn from all the people around you. At CJCP, with our grade consisting of only 85 students, we all obviously knew each other to an extent, and this allowed us to reach out to our peers whenever we wanted to and teach each other our strengths.”
“Together, this unity made us stronger as a collective, and that’s evident with the amazing universities we’re all going to,” Parikh said. “In college, yes, the books are going to be important, but so are the people you will meet. Prioritizing that balance between school life and social life will not only help you meet people with so many diverse perspectives, but also bring about a more enjoyable college experience.”
“So take advantage of it,” he said. “Grow out with your peers, pick up some of their hobbies, their values, their work ethics. There’s always something positive to take away from another person, and these practices will carry on throughout your life.”
Also speaking were co-Class Presidents Anay Choudhari and Papa Duga.
“It feels like just yesterday we were all walking into school on our first day of high school,” Choudhari said. “Some of us wide-eyed and excited for what was in store for us, and others already counting down to graduation. Whether you made lifelong friends on day one or somewhere along the way, we all found our people.”
“And those friendships, these everyday connections that we made, are what make these four years unforgettable,” he said. “Today might seem like the final game of a chapter, but for me, it feels more like a transformation. For us, it’s just the start of something new, just a shift in our lives.”
“Who are you today is a result of countless tiny, seemingly insignificant decisions,” he said. “The people you sat next to, the conversations you had in the hallway, the late night text you were reading to someone to listen. These moments are shapeless.”
“Every test we aced, even the ones we failed, every awkward lunch period, even the thrilling moments or the crushing disappointments, we all carried it all,” he said. “But most importantly, we carried our people.”
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,” he said. “But people will never forget how you made them feel.”
“Let’s go forward and keep making people feel seen, heard, and valued, just like we’ve done for each other,” he said. “Let’s make the future just as meaningful as the past.”
“To the class of 2025, we’re not defined by what’s easy to pronounce, or what’s easy to understand,” Duga said. “We’re defined by our resilience, our grit, our stories.”
“Your journey here is all that matters; you matter,” he said. “So go forth boldly with pride in who you are, no matter how different, how weird, or how misunderstood you are. Because sometimes it’s the ones who don’t fit in the mold who go on to break that mold completely.”
“Let’s go out there and make our names known,” he said.
Namik Sercan, the school’s Chief Education Officer, told the graduates that they “came of age in a world navigating a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, climate crisis, and conflicts around the globe, from Ukraine to the Middle East. You’ve seen firsthand that the world can change overnight, and yet here we stand. You didn’t flinch.”
“You faced adversity with resolve,” he said. “You did not just survive, you thrived. That’s the CJCP spirit.”
The graduates, Sercan said, “will build companies that value humanity as much as profit. You will lead communities that celebrate the difference rather than fear it. You will defend democracy, champion science, and push for change where others push for power.”
“Never let the world convince that you are too young, too idealistic, or too small to make a difference, you already have,” he said. “As you step forward, whether in intellectual halls, workplaces, or communities in need, share with the spirit of CJCP, resilience, inclusion, and unapologetically, excellence.”
Sercan said CJCP’s students set records the past year.
“This year, our students didn’t just meet the expectations, they shattered them,” he said. “CJCP once again was ranked in the top 5 percent of high schools in New Jersey and top 3 percent nationally by U.S. News & World Report.”
“We have been named the best No. 1 charter school in New Jersey for the past several years,” he said. “Our commitment to inclusion earned us the AP World Honor Roll and AP Access Award, affirming that excellence must never be exclusive.”
“As a result, 93 percent of our graduates earned college credits during their high school education,” Sercan said.
During the ceremony, the National Anthem was sung by Kyra Yorobe, and the Welcome Address was given by Nima Amin.
The class also heard from West Point representative Vince Commisa.
Here are some scenes from the evening:
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