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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: NYMA Class of 2011 Graduates
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| The graduating class stood at attention at the start of the ceremony. |
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| Rhiel Samson receives the Head Cadet Gold Plaque from David Fields, who had received it in 1985. |
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| Master Sgt. Bailey greets a graduate. |
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| The new graduates celebrate by throwing their caps in the air. |
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| State senator Bill Larkin (center) joined A.J.Sabbath (l) and Superintendent Maj. Coverdale on the podium. |
June 05, 2011
If the 21 senior cadets who graduated from New York Military Academy on Saturday can count on one thing, it is knowing that you can face the odds and come out winning.
“This is the graduation that wasn’t supposed to happen,” alumnus Rich Pezzullo told the cadets and their families who gathered on the quad of the school. “You are the class that wasn’t supposed to be here.”
A year ago, the board of directors announced the school would cease operations after the June graduation, ending a 121-year tradition of military education at the academy in Cornwall. Alumni, administrators and local business leaders came up with a last minute rescue plan that infused new capital into the school and sharpened its focus on academic achievement.
Rhiel Samson had attended NYMA since eighth grade and as he stood in front of a crowd of 100 or so family and friends as the 2011 valedictorian, he recalled the past year. “It was a year ago we had the appalling news,” he said, then went on to describe how they had to face new rules and harder teachers when they did come back to class in September. He praised Master Sergeant Bailey, the drill master, for reminding him that a person’s character can be the basis of success in life.
Evan Jones, the school’s interim dean, said that nearly 90 cadets ended up finishing the year at NYMA with applications still coming in from around the country and the world for next term. He praised the “grit, honor and sheer academic potential” of the 21 graduates and noted that all of them are college-bond.
NYMA board president David Fields, another alumnus, spoke about the bonds that graduates will have throughout their lives. He also credited NYMA for giving them the tools for success outside the academy.
After the speeches, awards were handed out to the graduating cadets for their work at the school and then each came up to receive his award, followed by diplomas. The close-knit staff, pared down to less than half its size a year ago, warmly greeted each graduate and family member yelled words of encouragement, proud of their cadet and of the commitment they made to another year at NYMA..
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