As 16 cadets graduate from NYMA
As Ariel Farzannekou began his valedictory address, a young man dressed in black appeared behind him. The older cadets may have recognized him, but most of us were in the dark.
“NYMA was hard,” the valedictorian confided. “But life is hard…. When there is too much weight on your shoulders, you must find someone you trust.”
The cadet described a friend from his early days at the school. Together, they had the ability to make people laugh. Then the friend transferred to another academy.
The reference was a cue for the young man in black. He walked forward and gently nudged the valedictorian. It may have been scripted, but the speaker seemed genuinely surprised.
The audience needed no explanation. Obviously, the man in black was the cadet referred to in the speech. He had come back to see his friend graduate.
The ceremony took place on Saturday morning, June 12. There may have been fewer guests than in the past, because several cadets went home early because of COVID. The salutatorian, for example, sent a recorded message to the audience.
The event was moved to a different side of the quadrangle so that guests were facing the administration building and probably noticed the sign that said “founded in 1889.”Since there was no platform this year, the speakers seemed closer to the audience.
Senator James Skoufis was the guest speaker. Years ago, he had lunch at Painters with Superintendent Jin Xu. At the time, the school had only seven cadets. Now it has grown tenfold. And the senator observed an energy that bodes well for the future.
In his remarks, Mr. Skoufis focused on “authority.”
He admitted, in the words of Oscar Wilde, that “wherever a man exercises authority, there is a man who resists it.” But the senator also acknowledged authority’s positive aspects. “Who benefits when authority is wielded correctly?” he asked. And then he answered his own question by saying “all of us.”
There were 16 cadets in the Class of 2021. Ten were from the United States and six from other nations.
Before they were officially dismissed, there was a reading of the alumni who lost their lives during the past year. The list was surprisingly long. As far as any of us could remember, it was the first time a roll of remembrance was included in the graduation ceremony.
