New Rochelle Celebrates 128th Commencement

WHITE PLAINS – New Rochelle High School (NRHS) last Wednesday marked its 128th commencement exercises with 590* graduating seniors receiving their diplomas at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The Class of 2026 – the 100th to graduate from the NRHS building on Clove Road – has garnered a long list of academic, athletic, and artistic achievements.

“No two people in this room were ever supposed to have the same story. We all started at different places, we faced different challenges, we carried different dreams,” said Class of 2026 President Stone Pride. “This isn’t just a graduating class. It’s a room full of possibilities, and that’s what makes this moment so exciting. The future is waiting for us to build it.”

Valedictorian Corey Seelenfreund said, “Embrace the new, the challenges, and the independence. By having the opportunity to make your own decisions, you’ll have the opportunity to explore what matters most to you. I’m so incredibly excited to see what we all accomplish.”

“Know that you are loved by your families, by your communities, by this city, and that this love travels with you wherever you go,” said Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert. “Know that we are so very proud of each and every one of you; not just today, but every day when you show up and work hard.”

“With every breath you are given on this earth, I dare you to love,” Student Government President Carlos Del Aguila challenged his classmates. “While you are still young, while your heart still beats, and while you can still speak, love. Because that is what the little child that still lives in each of you would have done.”

NRHS Alumnus and Board of Education President William Iannuzzi advised the graduates to face the adversity that life brings and succeed in spite of it. “Your future is not defined by what has happened to you. It is not defined by your mistakes or your setbacks. It is defined by what you choose to do next. Your class has already shown that. You have shown that young people are not the leaders of tomorrow. They are the leaders of today.”

“You have lived, breathed, and championed what we call that ‘One New Rochelle’ spirit,” Superintendent Dr. Corey W. Reynolds said to the graduates. “We see that brilliant spirit in your diverse talents, our artists, musicians, and performers who fill our spaces with color and soul. We see it in our student leaders, our National Honor Society inductees, and in our fierce advocates who refuse to stay silent and always stand up for what is right.”

“The future of New Rochelle High School and the City of New Rochelle is bright,” said Principal Dr. Dagoberto Artiles. “It is even brighter for what is yet to come. This is just the beginning, not the end of a journey. We will always be here for you. You are a small group of young people who have taken the first step in preparing for your future. The best is yet to come.”

Seven members of the NRHS Class of 2026 are headed to Ivy League schools: Brown University(2), Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania (3), and Yale.

*The number of students graduating and final GPA are unofficial pending the results of Regents Exams and the final marking period grade submissions.