Nearly 200 St. Joseph High School students took their first step into the real world on a hot Saturday on Dalling Field.
St. Joseph President William Fitzgerald called the students a "work in progress." The 188 graduates, who make up the school's 48th graduating class, earned $16 million in grants and scholarships and 99 percent are going to four-year colleges, he said.
The president added, "a school, like a church, is about people, not buildings. You are St. Joe's."
He told the graduates to pick one issue, from environment to respect for life, and "do better."
"Moral and ethical leadership is not learned from a textbook," he added.
Valedictorian Matthew J. Immerso advised his peers to persevere. "Never stop growing. Never stop learning and always move forward," he said.
Immerso, who was active in extracurricular activities and took the stage in the school play this year, opened by joking that he is an "18-year-old who just learned how to make a grilled cheese sandwich three years ago."
"Over four years, we have seen everything. We have never stopped growing and never stopped learning," Immerso said.
First Selectman Tim Herbst urged the alumni to make tough decisions even if they are unpopular and to lead.
"Each and every one of you must step up and be a leader," said Herbst, who graduated from Trumbull High School. "Everybody has the ability to lead. You don't need a title to be a leader."
He told them to value their reputation and their word, because that is all they will have.
Great leaders inspire people to do great things, the first selectman concluded.
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