Photos and video: Riverhead High School graduates class of 2015

Riverhead High School graduated its class of 2015 in a commencement ceremony at a newly renovated McKillop Memorial Field Saturday morning.

The stands were packed with ecstatic family members and friends as graduating seniors walked onto the field in a sea of blue and white caps and gowns. Students laughed, cried, took selfies and bounced inflatable beach balls while faculty members and students spoke at the podium.

“If you like anything I’m about to say, please wait until after my speech to Facebook, Tweet or Instagram about it,” Noah Markewitz, Riverhead High School’s Class of ’15 valedictorian, joked to his peers.

Markewitz, who is graduating with a 108.9 average, also couldn’t resist poking fun at his older sister Ellie. “Ellie was only the salutatorian for the Riverhead Class of 2010,” he said to uproarious laughter and applause. “But I digress.”

He reminisced fondly about the quirks of daily student life at Riverhead.

“When we first entered high school, we didn’t know that the odds of a teacher letting us leave class for a music lesson are about the same as the odds of someone besides Dr. Mandresh laughing at one of his jokes,” he said. “We didn’t know the reason our football team is so good is that blocking and eluding a defensive line is a skill learned trying to navigate the halls at Riverhead High School. Especially the hallway by the cafeteria.”

But in retrospect, Markewitz said, these things amount to nothing more than “nuisances.” He urged his peers to focus on the bigger picture in their day-to-day lives.

“In a few years it won’t matter if the dress was black and blue or white and gold,” he said. “It won’t matter who subtweeted who. It won’t matter how many periods there were in the day. All that will matter is our family, friends and the moments we share together.”

Video by Courtney Blasl. Photos by Katie Blasl.