MHS Valedictorian: ‘Beat Back the Haters’

Moorestown High School’s 2011 valedictorian doesn’t like what he hears when tuning into the news. 

Pundits talk of how ’s generation is inferior—they’ll be less educated than their parents, have a lower standard of living, face more challenges. His generation has a lot of haters, Cody said in his graduation speech to the class Thursday.

“Will we sit back, complacent, apathetic, and let the world shape itself?” Cody asked his class. “Or will we rise to the occasion, beat back the haters and shape the world the way we want it to be?

“For our sake, I hope we choose the latter. ... We will solve the problems we face one at a time, we will imagine the world we want to live in and we will disprove the haters.”

Cody and his classmates became the newest alumni of Moorestown High School during Thursday’s commencement exercises in the football stadium. The class is the 50th to graduate from the school since it moved locations from Second and Church streets.

Speakers reminded the students of that long legacy, and that even after they leave the campus, their high school experiences will continue to shape them.

Their education at Moorestown High School will give graduate the tools they need to prove doubters wrong, class president Safeena Padder said. 

“As MHS grads, we aren’t so familiar with failure, as our understanding of failure is often the average person’s idea of success. This is both a gift and a burden of responsibility,” Padder said. “…With what we’ve been given here, we have the power to imagine better.” 

The high school football stadium transformed into a sea of gold and black for graduation, as 366 seniors crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. And, those diplomas have a new twist from previous classes’. The cover depicts the school with the grove of trees that surrounds the building. 

Also packing the stadium Thursday was a multitude of proud parents, grandparents, siblings and other friends and family of the graduates. Sections of the crowd came alive as the graduates crossed the stage, with family members cheering on students. 

The class had its own celebration on the field, as that most beloved student tradition of high school graduations—contraband beach balls—bounced around during the ceremony.

Amidst the celebratory mood, the day no doubt was poignant for all parents, but especially so for Candace North. Her son, Charles North VI, became the fourth generation of the family to graduate from Moorestown High School. His great-grandmother, Helen Ward Lyons—a 1944 Moorestown High School alumna—came to watch Charles graduate as well.

Candace North freely admitted she has broken into tears all week long at the prospect of her firstborn graduating. Those tears began to flow again Thursday as she talked about Charles.

“This is exciting and rewarding. He’s moving onto the next challenge,” she said of her son, who will attend The College of New Jersey in the fall. “Watching him graduate is living proof that the generations change and move on, but they each have their own legacy.”

Following the pomp and circumstance, the graduation ceremony wrapped up with the booms of confetti and streamer canons and the toss of 366 mortarboards to signify that the Class of 2011 now moves on to new pursuits.

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