Portraits of a Ridge Class that Valued 'Friendship' and 'Team'

Ridge High School graduated 425 students on Wednesday night in the new gym at the high school, where the students who survived Sandy and achieved some outstanding successes this past year gathered together for the last time.

Ridge Principal Frank Howlett said that the Class of 2013 had quickly grasped the meaning of friendship and of "team." 

Together, the students became more than the sum of their parts to win athletic and academic accomplishments as teams, he said.

Howlett advised the students to keep the friendships they made at Ridge even while they head out into the world.

Student speaker David Mazumder also thanked the Ridge staff, whom he described as "amazing instructors in every field." 

He too mentioned this year's class outstanding successes in so many areas — whether in Latin or lacrosse, golf, fencing, forensics and much more. 

Speaker Gia Farooqi advised students not to rely on luck to carry them forward to new levels of success, but instead to take advantage of opportunities.

"The choice to meet opportunities with open arms is what makes Ridge," she told her gathered peers and their families and friends.