Make Every Second Count, WHS Valedictorian Tells Fellow Graduates

“Make every second of your life count,” Valedictorian Elvin Abreu told his fellow Woodbridge High School graduates on Wednesday afternoon.

He encouraged the class to experience everything they can in their future, such as meeting new people and experiencing new things, all while cherishing every moment.

“High School is full of lasting memories, life lessons and meaningful experiences,” he expressed. “It is up to us, Class of 2013, to make our future the same.”

Class President, Neil Parekh, quoted Beyoncé in his words to fellow graduates, saying, “We run the world.”

He closed his speech by telling the Class of 2013; their future is so bright that they need sunglasses. Parekh then put on a clown-sized pair of sunglasses.


Looking back on his first day at Woodbridge High, Abreu recalled on feeling shy and lost, but having Principal Lee Warren standing there smiling, greeting students and showing them where to go.

“And not just that day, but for the entire four years we were here,” Abreu said. “Thank you for being such an approachable person throughout our high school careers.”

Warren, who spent his final day as Woodbridge High School Principal at the ceremony on Wednesday, was constantly thanked by speakers and wished a happy and healthy retirement.

Following Warren’s speech, students, faculty and staff gave the principal a standing ovation.

“It has been a privilege to serve the children of Woodbridge Township School District every single day,” he expressed.  “GO BARRONS!”

Abreu noted that Warren would always be remembered as the #1 Barron at Woodbridge High School.

After Wednesday’s ceremony, graduates would not be greeted as Woodbridge H.S. students, Warren said, but citizens of this vastly changing world. A world in which they will have an immediate impact, he added.

John Bader, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, a former WHS Vice Principal and WHS grad himself, told Warren that sometimes it is easier to say ‘I love you’ through a song.

Bader played Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ on his iPhone through the microphone, which prompted some singing in deep voices by the students, as well as tome tears.

Once the song ended, he said to Warren, “Thank you for making Woodbridge High School a wonderful world for all of your students.”