LBHS grads march on

“What is our generation going to be known for?” Valedictorian Chandler McMillan asked the Long Beach High School class of 2014 at last week’s graduation ceremony. “It has to be more than binge-watching ‘Breaking Bad’ on Netflix and taking selfies.”

The crowd laughed at the truth in her statement and cheered as McMillan instructed her classmates to take selfies with the people around them, to capture the moment forever. McMillan even followed her own advice, posing with school officials on stage mid-speech.

The bleachers at Veterans Memorial Field were filled last Friday, as 303 graduates celebrated the end of their high school careers at the school’s 91st commencement. As the seniors entered, some struck fun poses for the audience, while others smiled happily to themselves. Mothers and fathers waved to their children with one hand and took pictures with the other.

In her speech, McMillan encouraged her fellow graduates to be a great generation that contributes record-breaking advancements to the world. “Even though we still have much to learn,” she said, “today we graduate and celebrate the exceptional progress we have made thus far, and our journey onward.” McMillan will attend Duke University in the fall on a full scholarship from the university.

In his address, LBHS Principal Neil Lederer offered the departing seniors advice based on his own educational journey. “I hope you have a life’s work that you will treasure, as I have treasured mine,” he said, admitting that after studying biology and political science in college, he wasn’t sure what career to pursue. “I had to find a field that would excite me and give me a feeling of accomplishment,” Lederer said. He decided to give education a try, and, he concluded, “48 years later, I stand before you a very happy man.”

Senior class President Falynn Enright, who will enroll at New York University in the fall, presented Lederer with an honorary diploma, saying that in just one year as principal, he had dedicated himself to the school, developing relationships with hundreds of students and staff members. “There has never been an administrator who was as caring, as friendly and loved by everyone in the school as Mr. Lederer,” Enright said.