Mineola Class of 2012 Remembers Classmate at Graduation

Few classes have such a crystalizing moment as the Class of 2012. Two years ago over 400 students came together in the back of Mineola High School for a candlelight vigil for Matthew Hylton, who had .

“That helped us deal with all of the grief and begin the healing process,” principal Ed Escobar told parents, family members, guests and the during the school’s 121st commencement exercises at C.W. Post on June 23. “Now a few years later you have kept Matt’s spirit alive through fundraisers, paintings, a senior project presentation and smaller but possibly more meaningful things like having students just wear the purple pinneys in school. I feel strongly in the importance of believing in something and acting on it. As a class and community, you believed in the good grace, beauty, strength and power that can be drawn from a person’s life.”

In his remarks, class president Joseph Massaro observed that “the Class of 2012 has been special in a way that Mineola has never seen before,” noting how it took the tragic death of their classmate Matthew Hylton in their sophomore year “which really united us as a grade. Because of how friendly Matt was, we were inspired to keep his spirit alive in everything we did as a class.”

Tributes to their fallen friend and classmate abounded, as valedictorian Siobhan Adams encouraged the class to be “open to new experiences. You never know when someone can sit down in front of you in class and completely change your life for the better.”

In her address, she remarked that “the class of 2012 has been through a lot together. I feel that our classes is one of the closest graduating classes in Mineola High School. Unfortunately part of this is due to the passing of Matt Hylton. It was devastating to each of us to learn that someone who had brought such joy into the world is no longer with us. However, in all that was done in honor of Matt, such as the vigil right after his passing, the mural that now hangs in the cafeteria and our senior pinneys, something positive was able to come out of something so terrible. And that our class truly bonded with one another and has maintained that bond ever since.”

But as much as the day was looking back as a tribute to their fallen friend, it is also about moving forward.

“Today is a day to celebrate and to look forward to our futures,” Massaro said. “But we also have to stop and say ‘thank you’ to the people who have helped us along the way. On behalf of the class of 2012 I would like to thank our tremendous faculty, even the ones I am not related to. I would like to thank the Hylton family who taught us how to embrace the celebration of life with dignity and courage.”

Like many seniors, Salutatorian Zachary Englis did not know where he was headed to school before ultimately selecting Hofstra. “For a while I think I was so focused on being sad about what I was leaving behind that I forgot what I had received. I entered Mineola as a five-foot short freshman and I’m leaving as nearly a six-feet tall senior. Those extra inches aren’t the only way I’ve grown. We are a family, a family that will leave high school an enter the world as one. Like a family, we have argued, we have laughed and we have cried together, we have celebrated each other’s victories... and we have supported each other in times of heartbreak, like the passing of our friend and classmate.”

Adams, Jennifer Bonziglia, Dana Clingo, Stephanie Flaum, Joseph Lao, Emily Mahlmann, Massaro, Natalie Post, Chantele Sterling, Alexander Toth and Daniel Willis along with Ms. Meghan Messna on piano also performed various works during the ceremony including “Landslide” and Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”

Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler would also not let the class escape without sharing his traditional observations of the class and a few of its members: Siobhan Admas poses “triple threat,” being that she is “brilliant, can sing and act” and whom the superintendent would miss in the musical and theatrical performances; it is the end for four families with the graduations of Dana Clingo, Alicia Mercurio, Kerri Medlock, Adriana Sarno, the last children of the families since Nagler started in the district in 1999. “Thank you for sharing your children with us. We would be ecstatic if you decide to have another.”; Deanna Constantino, Erin Etherson and Dylan Dombrowski literally left their mark on the school with the which “was a welcome addition and an interesting senior project.”; Christopher Gavin’s fundraiser and Danielle Cohen for their senior projects were some of the most unique he had ever seen; the face Joe Massaro makes on stage as “it doesn’t matter what character he plays, it’s the same face; and every time I see it, it cracks me up. And this year he was joined by Joey Lao – who also has this face – and they really stole the show.”; Robbie Clarkin “is tough. As coach Guido stated, ‘he doesn’t remember the best game he ever played’.”; HanByul Byun had drawn Dr. Nagler’s likeness in a mural ‘Dare to Dream’ next to Galileo and Steve Jobs. “I did doublecheck to make sure it wasn’t some other bald guy. I’ve never been so flattered.”; he “never had a kid ask so many questions in a short period of time” as Shaun Matthew; he met Kelsey Napolitano when she was 5 and hiding behind her big sister. “unlike her parents I love her quick wit and attitude.”; of Matt Moro, the student representative to the this year, “I have never seen a person so seemingly unprepared do so well. He has a natural gift for speaking in public.”; of Hylton, “let his spirit serve as a reminder to live and enjoy life. Work hard, have fun and don’t let setbacks get the better of you.”

Board of education president Christine Napolitano - whose youngest daughter was one of the graduates – began thinking about the speech she would be giving as commencement speaker in the beginning of the school year. “I wan’t sure if I could do it without getting too emotional,” she noted in her speech, noting in reference to Hylton that “it is that kaleidoscope of memories – the sweet and the bitter – that you will take as you move on to the next challenges you will face.”

As her speech went on, she in fact did choke up, receiving encouraging applause from the audience as she spoke about family to the graduates.

“I hope that wherever you go in this world, you will always take a little bit of Mineola with you. Over the years I have met many, many parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins who have all contributed tremendously to your safe and sound upbringing. As I look around this auditorium I see so many of your parents beaming with pride,” she said, fighting back emotion. “Children are the threads that weave a community together and I will be forever grateful for all of the wonderful memories that I have and my children will have of growing up here. I urge you graduates to remember how much you are loved at this very minute by all the people in this room and to honor them by living your best life.”

Click for photos of the entire Class of 2012!