Photos: Berkley High School Graduation

ROCHESTER – The Class of 2011 graduated on a glorious late spring evening Thursday inside the Baldwin Pavilion at Meadow Brook Music Festival on the grounds of Oakland University.

Pride was evident among the cheering crowd and in the fiery, touching and humorous speeches by administrators and graduates.

Salutatorian Daniel Ferman kicked off the ceremony with a blistering rebuke of Gov. Rick Snyder's push to cut education funding in Michigan.

Ferman ticked off areas in which the Class of 2011 had excelled, including arts, sports and academics and noted that his class had more National Merit Scholarship finalists than any that had come before it. But, Ferman warned, all that could be at risk if the is forced to continue making cuts.

"Mr. Snyder, as a former businessman, you should know: You get what you pay for," Ferman said to applause from the crowd.

Fellow salutatorian Nicole Lieberman followed Ferman with a good-natured speech that steered the evening back to a more light-hearted mood, urging the Class of 2011: "Don't stop believing and let's get this party started!"

After the crowd was invited to stand and join choir members in singing the Alma Mater, Superintendent Michael Simeck delivered his address.

He recapped the Class of 2011's accomplishments, which include:

• Earning more than $4 million in scholarships.
• Being accepted at a number of Ivy League schools, and attaining a 63 percent acceptance rate at the University of Michigan, an 89 percent acceptance rate at Michigan State University and a 100 percent acceptance rate at Kalamazoo College.
• Being ranked 13th among public high schools in Michigan.

And, while those were all excellent reasons to be proud, the superintendent urged the students to look beyond themselves and see the years of love and support their families and community had put into ensuring that they walked across the stage Thursday night.

"The people who raised you should be first on your list of heroes," Simeck said.

"You think Berkley is like other places. ... But, it is not." he said. "... When someone asks you where you're from, I want you to tell them: I'm from Berkley and they did a great job."

In closing, he urged the graduates: "Be humble, but aggressive and go forth and prosper."