RBC Graduates Get Poised for Future

Dylan Chayse concluded his speech to his fellow students, the Red Bank Catholic graduating class of 2011, with the opening line of perhaps William Shakespeare’s most famous soliloquy.

"To be, or not to be," the valedictorian told the assembled class, "is the question each Casey graduate must strive to answer as they embark on arguably the biggest journey in their lives thus far."

Tuesday afternoon at Brookdale Community College, in the Lincroft section of Middletown, 257 Red Bank Catholic seniors, hailing from more than 40 communities throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties, listened intently as Chayse asked rhetorically if this class was willing to be bold and daring as it entered next chapter of life.

Considering the past four years of preparation, the answer would have to be a resounding yes.

“What matters most,” said Chayse, "is what’s inside of us.”

What you’ll find inside this collection of students is a varied array of exceptional and talented kids, ones that have already made accomplishments as artists and athletes and academics.

Many will find themselves at some of the nation’s top schools next fall and, combined, they’ve earned more than $23.4 million in grants and scholarships.

This is a group that has also done its part to help change the world for the better by performing charitable acts both locally, collecting record amounts of food and canned goods, and internationally, on missions to places like Honduras and Ecuador. 

Red Bank Catholic Principal Robert Abatemarco, in his speech to the graduates, one in which he needed a moment to compose himself after reflecting on the past four years, told the assembled friends and family of the graduates the achievements of the class so far don’t tell the whole story.

“They (the audience) should know that these accomplishments are just the beginning,” he said.

Salutatorian Robert Devine echoed the sentiments of the school’s principal in his speech to the graduating class.

Highlighting the achievements of his fellow classmates, including those who have received scholarships, both athletic and academic, and those who have done work on the community service side, including those who traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild, Devine spoke of a class that has made the most of their time at Red Bank Catholic.

“Our class has made the best of the opportunities presented to us,” Devine said. “But, the class of 2011 has only skimmed the surface of what we can accomplish.”