Schools
Berkley High School Class of 2012 Graduates
Commencement was marked by smiles, hugs, laughter and cheering on graduates as they claimed their much-deserved diplomas. Please share your photos here.
seniors had much to be proud about Thursday evening as they assembled into Baldwin Pavilion at Meadow Brook in Rochester Hills.
The warm, sunny weather made for a perfect outdoor ceremony as more than 250 graduates made their way across the stage to receive their diplomas.
A sea of burgundy and blue caps and gowns — or as Valedictorian Vicky Cheung likened them to, “Snuggies and one-size-fits-most parallelograms” on their heads — and students smiled, laughed and cheered as the ceremony dedicated to their achievements and future successes unfolded.
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Superintendent Michael Simeck put their accomplishment of graduating high school into perspective by taking them on a humorous trip down memory lane.
It started 13 years ago, when he reminded them of a period of time marked by Pokemon, Y2K scares, the saying “wazzzzzup,” the popularity of Razor scooters and more. From there, they experienced everything from wars in the Middle East to Lizzie McGuire, iPods and Wikipedia, to American Idol and Facebook, Britney Spears' one-day nuptials to the acceptance of same-sex marriage, Hurricane Katrina to the Arab Spring.
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“To rephrase it all, GM is alive, bin Laden is dead and you’re graduating from high school,” he said, met with an eruption of applause and chuckles.
This year, more than $4.5 million was awarded to Berkley seniors in scholarship funds and graduates have been accepted into colleges all across the country, from Vassar College to Notre Dame, Penn State to the University of Michigan.
Nearly 80 percent of Berkley students who applied were accepted into the University of Michigan, 85 percent were accepted into Michigan State University and 100 percent into Kalamazoo College.
Quick hits about the class of 2012
- Class President: Rachel Bornstein
- Class Vice President: Iyana Shelby
- Valedictorian: Vicky Cheung
- Salutatorian: Rachel Pernick
- Total graduates: 255
- Class song: “2012” by Jay Sean
- Class motto: “It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.” (from Batman Begins)
Class speakers and their speeches
- Rachel Pernick,
- Rachel Sabbath,
- Vicky Cheung,
Share your graduation photos
If you have photos from the graduation festivities, please share them in the attached photo gallery. Just click on "upload photos & video."
