3 days ago
Oakdale High graduates encouraged to better the world, cherish relationships
Arya Paghdal, one of the graduates in Oakdale High School's class of 2025, told the crowd at Knott Arena that the relationships and bonds that this class has made have become part of the fabric of the graduates' lives.
She was one of two student speakers at Oakdale's graduation ceremony Friday afternoon.
Hundreds of threads, each representing one of the graduates, were woven together to create the class's high school experience.
Photos: Oakdale High School Graduation
There are other threads in each graduate's life as well, like their connections to faculty, family and other friends.
Paghdal said the most powerful thread is 'the one that binds us to those we serve.'
Paghdal's high school career was one immersed in community service and helping others. She has volunteered for 12-hour shifts on ambulances and has taught English to students in Ukraine.
She will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she will major in human biology and pursue becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon.
'Those we serve have never just been recipients of our efforts. They're actually our guides and our mirrors. Through serving others, we gain insight into who we truly are and the kind of society we wish to create,' Paghdal said. '... Class of 2025, we have what it takes to better society, feed the unseen, hear the unheard and to do the unthinkable.'
There are 424 graduates in Oakdale's class of 2025, according to Frederick County Public Schools spokesperson Eric Louérs-Phillips.
Throughout the graduation, multiple speakers told the class that they can do whatever they dream of and that they should treasure and cultivate bonds with others.
As the graduates processed into the center of the arena donning black and white robes, colorful cords and medals, audience members held up phones to film the graduates they came to see and waved eagerly to get their attention.
Several performances were sprinkled throughout the ceremony.
Oakdale's choir sang 'For Good,' a song from the musical 'Wicked,' that's about how crossing paths with people can shape and change individuals as they embark on their separate journeys.
And graduate Nicholas Alimo, who was the president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society at Oakdale, played the national anthem on saxophone.
Bailey Roman, the other student speaker at the graduation, brought up a quote from poet Maya Angelou during her speech: 'People might forget what you said or did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel.'
She asked her fellow graduates to carry that message with them as they move into their next chapter.
'While you sit here today and might forget what I have said here, I know you will never forget the feelings and emotions that are rushing through you right now,' Roman said.
'... In the end, [it's] the kindness we've shared, the lives we've touched and the memories we've created together that truly make us an Oakdale Bear.'
Martina Agaba said high school taught her that everything happens for a reason. She was involved in a plethora of extracurriculars, including the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and different volleyball teams.
She plans to either attend Mount St. Mary's University or go to Frederick Community College for two years and transfer later to a historically Black college or university.
Where she goes depends on how much scholarship money she receives from the Mount.
Regardless of where she attends, she plans to pursue a pre-med track so she can achieve her goal of becoming a surgeon.
Whenever something didn't work out the way Agaba wanted or expected it to, so many other opportunities appear afterward. That's something she plans to keep in mind after graduation.
She is very excited to graduate and start life after high school.
'I think it will be a great opportunity for me to learn more about myself, grow as a person and just keep creating memories in life,' she said.
Larry Larbi, the class of 2025's senior class president, is also looking forward to graduating and becoming more independent.
He'll be pursuing a biology degree on the pre-med track and a music performance degree at Xavier University in Louisiana. He wants to become a doctor of internal medicine.
In addition to being the senior class president, Larbi was also in Oakdale's band and had played on the football team.
Some of his favorite memories from high school were spending time with his friends and making music, something that he's enjoyed and has been a part of his life since childhood.
'I'm trying to branch out, be independent and learn who I am without some factors of my life that usually hold me back,' Larbi said.
