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Don’t fear the unknown, but, rather, chase it, was the advice given to the Franklin High School Class of 2025 by its Valedictorian at their graduation ceremony on June 26.
“Class of 2025, don’t be afraid to chase the unfamiliar,” Valedictorian Aaryan Patel told his classmates. “Let’s make this world remember our light.
Patel was one of more than 550 seniors who received their diplomas on the field in Warriors Stadium and then later, to massive cheers, ceremoniously turned their tassels and threw their mortar boards into the air.
Patel told his fellow students that he remembered watching his cousin give the class valedictory speech at her graduation, and never thought he would follow suit.
“It just goes to show that sometimes the things we think are impossible are just stars waiting for us to reach for them, and that’s actually a quote I’ve lived by throughout high school,” he said. “Reach for the stars, even the ones you just can’t see yet, but before we reach for the future, we have to grow roots, and that happened right here.”
“FHS has been more than just a building to us, it’s been a second home,” he said. “We’ve grown up here in classrooms where we met our best friends, and hallways where we once got lost but now know all too well, and on fields and stages where we discovered what we were truly capable of, and what we built is something extraordinary.”
“The class of 2025 is like no other,” Patel said. “From championship titles to national awards, from scholarships to first-generation college dreams, our class is already proving that greatness starts here. Each and every single one of us embodies what it means to be a Franklin Warrior.”
Patel said that sometimes important steps are taken when the outcome is not apparent.
“Every goal, every ambition, every vision of who we might become, it all starts with a star we just can’t see yet, but we take the risk to chase it,” he said. “Little by little, it becomes real.”
“Remember, reach for the stars, even the ones you just can’t see yet, because they are there,” he said. “They’ve always been, and now it’s your turn to shine.”
Salutatorian Jiya Patel told graduates that the real lessons they learned were out of the classrooms.
“We learned how to adapt, how to be resourceful, and most importantly, how to take chances when we’re not sure how it’ll turn out,” she said. “Whether that was trying out for a team with no experience, or joining a club just because your friend didn’t want to go alone, or raising your hand in class when you didn’t know if your answer was 100 percent correct.”
“We all said yes to things that scared us,” she said. “And so what if we didn’t always get it right? Sometimes we fumbled the presentation or walked into the wrong classroom way too confidently. But we kept trying, and that matters more than having a perfect plan.”
“The people who end up changing the world aren’t without fault,” Patel said. “They’re just the people brave enough to show up before they have it all figured out. Which is great news, because I think most of us still can’t fold a fitted sheet or write a check.”
“The world doesn’t need perfect people, it just needs people who are willing to be present,” she said. “To try, to fail, and to keep going. Meaningful lives are built not just in the big moment, but in the quiet ones where we choose to care anyway.”
“As we continue on the unique path that we have chosen for ourselves, striving for Nobel Prizes, Broadway leads, Olympic medals, and countless more, don’t forget to live in the moment,” she said. “You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one.”
“So, chase the things that bring you joy,” she said. “Fail a couple times. Laugh at the wrong moments. Be kind. And, remember, we’re all in this together, even when it’s hard.”
Class President Chloe Jackson told students that she’s been their Class President since the 6th Grade, adding that the last year was special.
“Over the past year I’ve gained a special appreciation for what came with being your class president,” she said. “I helped plan some of our biggest senior events from our senior sunrise in the fall to our senior sunset this past Tuesday. It entailed me running around with the camera telling everyone to say cheese or wave and trying to make sure that this final year was one to remember.”
“But more than all the events could take away, this role allowed me to truly connect with so many of you guys,” she said. “We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for.”
“Throughout these past few months we’ve gotten so much closer; we made friendships, supported each other and formed bonds that didn’t exist in the start of this school year,” Jackson said. “That connection was built, and it’s something very special and something we will carry with us long after we walk the stage today.”
Success, Jackson said, is different for everyone.
“For some success might be a degree,” she said. “For others it’s peace of mind, a steady job, starting a business or finally just choosing joy. Success is not one-size-fits-all. It looks different for everyone and every version of it should be respected.”
Jackson also exhorted her classmates to “always celebrate yourself.”
“Even when it feels like nobody’s clapping for you, trust and believe that I am, always,” she said. “And so are the people sitting right next to you. Whether you’re making big moves or quietly making it through, this community will always see you, celebrate you and root for you. And when the world gets quiet and you can’t hear any claps, remember you can always clap for yourself, too. Because just because others don’t give you your flowers don’t mean that you can’t go to the store and buy yourself some.”
Genesi Miles, who was named principal earlier in the school year, told the students that they are very different people than the students she met four years earlier, when she was a vice-principal.
“Those kids that you were four years ago are simply different,” she said. “Your evolution throughout high school is one that is unique to you.”
“And every single challenge, barrier, friendship, relationship, bad grade, championship, hardship, and success has made you who you are in front of us,” she said. “You are battle-tested.”
“You have all survived learning over a computer … and relearning how to be around people, all while navigating your teenage years and balancing school, sports, clubs, home life, work, relationships,” she said. “Like I said, you are battle-tested. The skills you learned in these hallways, classrooms, the weight room, the field, they all will serve you in this next phase of life.”
Adult life will be much different, Miles warned.
“There won’t be anyone following you around, checking if you’re on track,” she said. “That motivation, that next step, that all has to come from you. You’ll need to make tough decisions, make plans, adjust those plans, and take action that leads to your happiness and success.”
“Whether you’re going to college, taking a gap year, working at the family business, or you’re just figuring it out day by day, don’t let time pass without designing a life that makes you proud and your Warrior family proud too,” she said. “As you leave these hallways behind, remember that being a Franklin Warrior doesn’t end here. It lives on in how you show up in the world, with resilience, with pride, and with heart.”
“You are part of a legacy now, one that will continue to grow with every risk that you take, every goal that you set, and every challenge that you will overcome,” Miles said. “So go out there and be bold, be kind, be relentless in the pursuit of your purpose.”
State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, who is an FHS graduate and whose son is part of the Class of 2025, told the class that, “being Franklin Warriors gives you the license to be proud, to be excited, and a little arrogant and a little impatient for greater things.”
“You can’t help but recognize how great this school is and the township and what it has offered you,” he said. “All around you you’ll see the result of hard work from Franklin graduates just like you, the educators and community leaders. I want to ask you all to consider one simple proposal today: Come back.”
“Whether you are going into the military and then college like I did, or trade school, or starting a family, or you haven’t made a decision yet, it’s okay,” he said. “Just come back and tell the teachers and the administrators and your coaches how valuable they have been to your life.”
“Consider buying a house here, or starting a business, or getting a job in Franklin Township and allow that cycle to begin again and build even better,” Danielsen said. “Blue and gold, come back. We’ll keep the lights on for you.”
Earlier in the ceremony, the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Student Government co-Presidents Lily Cameron and Sofia Parillo.
The national anthem was sung by Isatu Jalloh, Queyonte Carolina, and Kaitlynn Bullock.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” observed as the Black national anthem, was sung by Ja’Kyla Culver.
The class also heard from Princess Dumbuya, FHS’s first Poet Laureate.
The school alma mater was sung by Abgail Balda, Analise Diaz, Raquel Zitowsky, Kaitlynn Bullock, RJ Johnson, Myles Cherrette, Cameron Freeman, Kaleigh-Jenn Welsh, Ja’Kyla Culver, Noelle Tatum, Nicholas Murillo, Jeremiah Watkins, Karthik Vemperala, Salma Robinson, Alycia Pinmckney, Elimary Mendoza, Queyonte Carolina, Jeremy Cubias, and Aaron Holley.
Here’s an extended photo gallery of the day:
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