Asked by the Freeport High School class of 2013 to leave them with “one last lesson,” Rich Robinson offered song, audience interaction and a heartfelt lesson about integrity.
During his keynote address at commencement exercises Saturday at Merrill Auditorium, Robinson, an American studies teacher, obliged with pearls of wisdom from “The Wizard of Oz” in words and song.
Saturday’s ceremony was the first time Freeport’s graduation had been held off campus. It was planned to allow unlimited attendance — something not possible on the school’s grounds — for the family, friends and associates of the school’s 128 graduates.
Senior James Purdy offered Thirteen Firsts by the Class of ’13, which included an improbable placement of a speed boat in a parking lot rain puddle and Forrest Lizotte’s rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” during a school assembly: “One of the bravest things I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Afterward, Robinson deconstructed the “Wizard of Oz” and offered the various life lessons it provides: kindness, an obligation to care for the members of one’s community, observation of the world around us and, of course, the courage to use of one’s brain to find compassion and respect for others.
“You can have a brain to think and your heart to love, but in order to gain selfrespect in this world, you have to have courage,” Robinson said. “The Lion taught me that, just like you. But for me it took many years to finally learn this last lesson.”
He even broke into song at several points, engaging the crowd — as well as the graduating seniors seated to his left — in the performance.
“This is, after all, the Merrill,” he quipped after a chorus of the Munchkins’ “Lollipop Guild” song, which earned him a boisterous round of applause. “You didn’t think I was going get out of here without giving you a little performance, did you?”
¦ SATURDAY’S CEREMONY was the first time Freeport’s graduation had been held off campus. It was planned to allow unlimited attendance — something not possible on the school’s grounds — for the family, friends and associates of the school’s 128 graduates.
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