NEW PHOTOS! Point Beach High School Graduates Urged to Make Their Own Luck

"Enjoy the walk, you've earned it," Point Pleasant Beach Superintendent John Ravally said to each senior who passed him as they entered the football field for the Class of 2011 graduation on Thursday evening at G. Harold Antrim Elementary School.

Ravally later lauded the 103 graduates on hard work that, he said, resulted in $4 million in scholarship promises to the students seated before him on the field. That hard work, he told them, will continue to pay dividends further along in life.

 "Thomas Jefferson said, 'I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it,' " Ravally said. "I promise there will be plenty of opportunities that come your way over the next few years, and if you work hard, you will find success."

 Valedictorian Jacqueline Taylor reminded her classmates that they and they alone decide where their lives go from here: "We don't know what's next. The response has been left blank on purpose, for each of us to fill in our own answers."

 Salutatorian Ryan Manheimer said not knowing what the future holds is "the beauty of life and of youth. Build your castles in the air and build foundations under them."

 And while Ravally heralded their hard work, he left them with a wish for a little luck, in the form of a lottery ticket tucked into each of their diplomas, in the hope that it might help pay their tuition bills.

 "Check those numbers carefully," he said, "and Jules, check yours twice," he remarked to his daughter, Julianne Ravally, who was among the graduates, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

 "Graduation is not the end, it's the beginning," Principal Terri King told the students. "Live, love and think and you will be happy. And if you can grasp that, you will always make a difference."

The Class of 2011:

Juan Alcantara

Raymundo Ayala Romero

*Joseph G. Beattie

*Erica Beckenhauer

Bryan Vincent Benites

*Sarah Goddard Beresik

*Alexandra Nicole Bologno

*Kelsey Anne Brandon

Matthew Stephen Brodeur

Richard Brooks Jr.

Geraldo Antoni Cartagena

Brian A. Cochran

Michael Cornelius Conlon Jr.

Samantha Kimberly Conti

*Thomas Alexander Coppola

*Bianca Cornejo

Margaret Pamela Dellraria

*Perla Diaz

*Jacqueline Nicole DiPasquale

Kathleen A. Doherty

Kevin Michael Donohue

Adam Eric Downes

Sean T. Driskill

Aaron William Egerter

*Sarah Anne Erbe

*Emily Thompson Fersch

*Nina Marie Ficociello

*Taylor Robert Fioretti

Victoria Rose Fioretti

Brooke Alison Fitzpatrick

*Christopher Thomas Frio

Taylor William Gaal

Daniel Patrick Gagliardo

Joseph Garruto

Victoria Taylor Geron

*Christie Elizabeth Glass

Austyn Godesky

Joseph A. Grabowski

Andrew James Gross

Jacob Gundrum

Zachary Gundrum

*Lisa Zahra Hajisafari

Dalia Noel Heyaba

Joseph Thomas Horacek

William Charles Humphries

Rodrigo Henriques Jordy

*Jordan Kaufman

*Dylan Leigh Kelly

Zachary R. Lamb

Kelly Anne Maguire

*Ryan James Manheimer

Matthew K. Marsh

Scott R. Martindell

Kayla Mary McCarthy

*Megann Kelly McDonald

Samantha Anne Morcroft

*Matthew S. Moreno

Matthew H. Morris

John Henry Morris III

*Kristin Ann Murray

*Grace Amelia Newall

Krystin Taylor Noack

*Remington Elizabeth O'Connor

Quinn VanFleet Olsen

*Taylor Lynn Palisi

Brendan Robert Parisi

Alexander Michael Patriarca

John Patrick Philhower Jr.

Emily Maria Providakes

Elizabeth Laurel Pula

*Juliana Maria Ravally

Jarelle Alexander Reischel

*Lauren A. Romao

Michael James Rotando

Luis Alberto Sanchez Santiago

James Walter Santolla

*Taylor Alexa Sardoni

*Tyler Elizabeth Ann Sartori

Joseph Anthony Saverino

Anthony Michael Scardino

*Victoria Anne Schliep

*Alexa Keenan Scott

*John Patrick Seip

Declan E. Shea

Joseph Steven Sherbo

Alfred A.J. Sica III

Dylan Thomas Spader

*Sarah Juliann Spader

*Chelsea Ann Storino

Braderic Cole Swanick

Faithe Aileen Swanick

*Jacqueline Mae Taylor

*Ryan Joseph Thomson

Jesse Kenneth Tooker

*Samantha Rae Torinese

Johnathan Peter Varga

*Cora Elizabeth Wallace

Kelly Walls

Emily Annice Warga

*Brittany Helen Wasas

*Daniel Anthony Williams

*Sara Elizabeth Wisniewski

Jessica Lynn Yori

*Denotes membership in

The National Honor Society