“Time” was the theme of the Saucon Valley HS’s graduation ceremony June 5 at the district stadium. Speakers included Supt. Jamie Vlasty, valedictorian Stephan Goudsouzian, salutatorian, Nitya Thakkar and officers of the senior class.

Saucon Valley HS Principal Dr. Richard R. Kaskey opened the ceremony and welcomed family and friends of the soon-to-be graduates. After the 129th senior class entered the stadium, members remained standing and turned toward the stands for several minutes.

The SVHS choir, minus the seniors, performed the national anthem.

Once senior class members took their seats, Kamryn Crookham, class president, offered her remarks.

“We spend so much time chasing milestones, speeding through parts of a story we would like to re-read,” she said. “We are stepping into a new chapter today. Life is lived, and memories are made in the small ordinary moments. Slow down.”

Valedictorian Stephan Goudsouzian recounted a YouTube series he had watched in which people of various ages were asked about their regrets.

“The oldest people interviewed had no regrets,” he said. “They refused to let mistakes define them. Take chances; make mistakes.”

Nitya Thakkar, salutatorian and student government treasurer, spoke about growth and opportunity.

“The distance between who we are and who we become is ‘Yes,’” she told her classmates.

Ellie Hamman, class secretary, announced the various awards, the top ten percent of the class and classmates entering military service after graduation.

The choir, along with its senior class members in their caps and gowns, performed “Homeward Bound.”

To recognize its 50th anniversary, Marin Bowers, SGA co-president, asked members of the Class of 1976 to stand. Then she asked all who had graduated from Saucon Valley to stand as well.

Supt. Jamie Vlasty returned to the theme of the evening, “Time.”

“Our biggest mistake is thinking we have time,” she said. “The most valuable thing you possess is time. Congratulations, graduates, your time is now.”

Faculty speaker Jeremy Kittek, an AP History and physics teacher at SVHS for 18 years selected by the graduating class, spoke about starting anew.

“Tomorrow you will get to open your story to page one, and begin again,” he reminded his audience.

Kristen Lussier, SGA vice-president, spoke about family and belonging.

“The one thing bringing us together is Saucon Valley,” she said.

Once diplomas were distributed, the recessional began as the choir sang the Saucon Valley Alma Mater.