Julian Chiveral, valedictorian of the Class of 2016 at Harford Technical High School, had a simple goal for his graduation speech.
"The most important thing I really want to say is thanks. I just want to say thanks," he told his classmates and their family and friends, gathered at the school auditorium Friday evening for Harford Tech's 38th annual commencement.
"I am not going to list all the teachers that made a positive impact on my life because I would have to mention every single one of them for one reason or another," he said, noting his biggest teacher was his mother, who also works at Harford Tech.
He joked that, when he was preparing for his interview to apply to Harford Tech in 8th grade, he had wanted to introduce himself by saying: "Hi, I'm Julian Chiveral and I'm going to be valedictorian of the Class of 2016 – and if not, 2017."
The 250 young men and women ready to graduate from Harford Tech had all chosen to be there, and Chiveral thanked them for "keeping high school interesting and keeping it a great experience for me and everyone else."
"The main people I wanted to thank are the police officers standing in the back of the room," Thomas Mullen, the class president, said.
A handful of law enforcement officials and firefighters, who attended to support graduate Tyler Dailey, the son of fallen Sheriff's Office Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey, got a loud round of applause from the room.
Tyler Dailey took a grateful bow while walking across the stage to get his diploma, where he hugged Principal Charles Hagan. The sudden death of Dailey's father, who was shot to death Feb. 10 in Abingdon along with DFC Mark Logsdon, was not the only loss suffered by Harford Tech's senior class.
Gary Siler, a softball coach and prominent former wrestling coach, died suddenly in April 2015. Students like Brian Triolo, who had Siler as a teacher in the masonry program, remembered him fondly.
Triolo said before the ceremony that it was hard to lose his teacher, but "we powered through it."
"There's been a lot that's happened," he said about his time in high school, before adding: "It's been fun, honestly."
Triolo, a varsity soccer player who plans to major in civil engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, said he had the "best soccer coach" and noted he looks forward to visiting Harford Tech after he leaves.
During his graduation speech, Mullen quoted Oscar Wilde after encouraging his classmates to be themselves: "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
"For all of the seniors in the crowd, I personally applaud you for choosing Harford Tech and making that decision of what to do with your life," he told them. "You all pursued different, separate paths, like, people in cosmetology are learning how to cut hair, people in carpentry are making things like this podium."
"As soon as we applied, we decided we were going to do something different. We became overall held to a higher standard, as we've all seen over the past four years," he said.
Hagan, the principal, quoted the song, "Dear Younger Me," by the band MercyMe: "Dear younger me, Where do I start, If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far, Then you could be, One step ahead, Of all the painful memories still running through my head, I wonder how much different things would be, dear younger me."
He said it was worth asking where one will be five or 20 years from now, and although it is impossible to avoid all regrets, "the whole point is, we learn from those things. We grow."
Hagan thanked families "for sending us such wonderful students to work with" and told the students: "Make sure you're focusing on your loved ones around you, on the people that mean the most to you, to be respectful, to have integrity higher than anything, and if you do those things, you'll be successful and you'll be loved for who you are, not what you do, how much money you have, not how big a house, not how big a car."
The distinguished alumnus recognized this year was Eric King II, from the Class of 2003, now a graphic designer for BodyArmor sports drink.
"It's kind of weird that I am here, because if you asked some of the teachers, and definitely asked Mr. Hagan, I was kind of a handful," King said with a smile about his time at Harford Tech, before adding: "Rest in peace, Mr. Siler."
"One thing I can't explain to you is, we chose this school," he told the students, explaining that because of the nature of their chosen professions, "you guys will be told numerous times that you can't do well in your field."
"You are going to be told, 'Give up,' 'Let it go,' 'Move on to something else,'" he said. "If you want it, you can get it. Keep that in the back of your mind."
Before the ceremony, students Allie Stevens and Alexis Endlich also recalled their favorite teachers.
Stevens, who plans to study psychology at Harford Community College, said senior year was "my favorite year" and she was ready to get graduation over with.
Emily Bowler, who wants to study radiology at the Community College of Baltimore County, said about graduation: "Last year, I thought I was going to be really upset, but now that I'm actually here, I am just ready for the next step in life."