Schools

Never Limit Yourself, Class President Tells Fellow Graduates

Montclair graduates 488, holds moment of silence for classmate.

Montclair awarded 488 diplomas to the Class of 2013 Wednesday night.

Orange ribbons pinned to the gowns of the graduates served as a reminder that a fellow classmate was not in the high school amphitheater to accept his diploma.

Eamonn Wholley, who took his life in May just weeks before his graduation, was awarded a posthumous diploma and honored with a moment of silence.

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Senior Class President Malik Rashon Wright told his classmates he never imagined standing before them at graduation. Malik said it wasn't until now that he fully appreciated everything he had learned and experienced at Montclair High.

"This appreciation that can only come from a full reflection," he said. 

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Malik said his mother taught him the most important lesson, "You must never in any circumstances limit yourself in any way."

Montclair Mayor Robert Jackson also addressed the Class of 2013, which included his daughter Taylor Jackson, a third-generation Montclair High School graduate.


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