As the sun began to set on a clear, warm May day, roughly 800 seniors of the Hinsdale Township High School District received their diplomas in view of their friends and family who packed the stands overlooking the ceremony.
For Hinsdale Central grad and Honors Orator Will Gaffney the day was cause to reflect on the school’s history and legacy.
“145 years of tradition, 60,000 graduates, 109 state championships, an incredible legacy of leaders and innovators across every field, and a well-earned status as one of the best public high schools in the country,” Gaffney said in his graduation speech.
Gaffney examined the similarities between students and teachers of the school’s past, drawing inspiration from their example.
“What I discovered was a deeply held constant and unassailable drive for greatness,” he said.
Three miles south, at the same time on the same day, Honors Orator for Hinsdale South Parth Joshi, in his graduation speech, echoed a core theme from Gaffney’s, the strength of the community fostered within the District was key to their success.
“At Hinsdale South opportunity is intertwined with community,” Joshi said. “When it seemed insurmountable the support that we derived from each other is what carried us through and motivated us.”
For the class of 2024, that strength in community did not come on the first day, as this crop of grads began their high school careers under tumultuous circumstances.
“On the first day of freshman year, we had to adapt to online high school as a global pandemic raged on,” Joshi said. “It’s quite an understatement to say that our first impression of high school was rough.”
The students graduating this year did not have a full year of in-person learning until they were juniors, a difficulty that forced students to become more resilient, Joshi said. “We’ve learned to persevere through adversity, adapt to change and to support one another with empathy and kindness.”
That evening, South students were not the only ones afforded a chance to say goodbye, as the school’s principal Patrick Hardy, will leave the district after two years in the role.
In his last words to the class, Hardy posed a question, about the sacrifices made to get them to where they are now, “how will you pay it forward?”
“Just be good people, you enter a world that wants us to be divided, divisive and hated,” Hardy said. “Also remember you are enough.”
