Mrs. Clive
Jozef Oles celebrates his years at New Hartford. June 13, 2025.
Seniors who are graduating from New Hartford Sr. High this year have very mixed emotions about graduating, they feel happy that they’re starting a new chapter in their lives but they’re also sad to leave something they’re so familar with and won’t get to do certain things they could do before.
I emailed Mr. Romanow how students feel about graduating and how he feels seeing the 12th graders graduating each year, and he responded with,
“I think students feel very differently about graduating,” Mr. Romanow said. “Some are ready to “hit the road” and never look back and are excited for everything that life is aboutto throw at them, whether it be jumping into a career or trade, or heading off to more school. I think that others are nervous for all of those same things. No matter what, I hope students are excited for that culminating event after putting in 13 years of work through grades K-12.”
“Graduation is always a day of mixed emotions for me, both as a teacher and now as Dean,” Mr. Romanow continued. “It is very rewarding as an educator to see students in their last minutes as official students of New Hartford. The morning of graduation, I find myself looking around the stage and remembering all of the hard work that students have done, and all of the memories that had been created in the senior high over the last three years. I’m excited to see where the next few years take them!”
It can really leave a big lasting impression on students when they graduate from their final grade and they get out into the world, but it’s still a big achievement in each of our lives.
Michael Niebuhr, a senior graduating June 28th, said, “I’d say it’s weird, like our times up, and it’s going to be weird going off to college and not seeing the people I’ve been with for years.”
Jack Taylor, another graduating senior added, “It’s bittersweet, it’s exciting as a big milestone but a little sad that you might not see a lot of people you’ve been with for thirteen years.”
I feel that graduation brings out a lot of emotions in both students and teachers because I know for a fact that some teachers have been by their side from the start, and for students they might feel unfamiliar with the new world at first and feeling that way it is completely human.
“Graduation represents the culmination of a journey and the attainment of a goal. It is an exciting period in a person’s life and an array of feelings will surface for the graduate. While most people think of graduation as an exciting and wonderful marking event, many fail to recognize the other emotions evoked by this transition time. Graduation not only can bring up feelings of excitement, pride, and anticipation, but also those of loss, discouragement, and fear. Feelings of loss are commonly felt by students as they face a multitude of changes in their lives. One would not expect to feel sad during a time typically thought of as a joyful period in one’s life. However, as students approach this transition time, they are often leaving behind friends and the familiarity of campus life. It is not surprising then that as students graduate, they often experience intense grief and loss,” reported The Ups and Downs of Graduation – Counseling & Psychological Services | Montana State University
I remember when I was still in middle school and I was seeing what the halls and the lunch off campus was like and it was pretty good, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. Much like my elementary school and middle school, I had some really good teachers and friends that were with me throughout so much, and I’ll miss them all, the good teachers, my friends, and the off campus lunch.
It feels really bittersweet leaving New Hartford Senior High, considering we’ve been used to it for 9 months. We laugh, have fun, and enjoy our teachers and our time together, but if there’s one thing that can’t be denied, is that New Hartford Senior High helped develop us and even if you don’t know what to do with your life right away, that’s okay, because we’re constantly evolving and learning who you are is a process, and the best part is that we have something as inexplicable as love. It’s also very exciting to see where life leads us. So my best advice is don’t overthink what you want to do because somehow the answer will come and we all have loved ones beside us, so in the end we’ll be okay.