Babylon Sends Off the Class of 2011

Babylon High School seniors spent Saturday morning reflecting on the past and celebrating the future, as a cloudy morning gave way to a sunny day.

Family and friends of the 2011 graduates filled the football field's bleachers, as well as two large seating areas on the field. Teachers and administrators were on hand to congratulate the students, as well as to pay homage to eight retiring teachers, many long-standing fixtures at the high school.

One retiring counselor and coach, Edward Augustine, was chosen by students to give the farewell address. Augustine, known as "the voice of Babylon" for his support of sports teams and for welcoming the incoming class of seventh-graders each year, said being chosen to give the address after 28 years at BHS "was one of the best honors he could have received."

He peppered his speech with the names of graduating students, illustrating his point that the students were given names by their families, and urging them to "be grateful for your parents and guardians. Talk to them and find out about where you come from," but reminding them that "the most important names you have will be those you make for yourselves."

"Even more important than the titles you receive," he concluded, "will be what others say about you. Will you be a 'good man' or a 'good woman?'"

Valedictorian Shannon Weber's speech echoed the day's themes about good works and the close-knit qualities of Babylon Village schools.

Weber, who will be attending the University of Richmond and majoring in neuroscience, advised her fellow students that success demands "exhausting work, a tenacious attitude, and a little bit of luck."

She exhorted the graduates to "make discoveries, have families, do big things, and help people."

Principal Robert Visbal, who is retiring this year, recounted how the the seniors rallied around Catherine O'Malley, the student unable to graduate with the class due to a medical emergency that kept her out of school for over a year, calling them "a special class."

He, along with other teachers and students, wore lime green tassels in her honor.

"This is my last year standing here, before a school that I've come to love."

As students lined up to receive diplomas, the entire naming ceremony taking less time than other high schools spend rattling off the A names, the relatively small size of Babylon's high school became tangible and an observation Shannon Weber made in her speech seemed perfectly apt:

"Each of us has a different opinion about our village, but I'm sure we can all agree that Babylon is a family."