Malverne High grads talk about hard work

Malverne High School's top three seniors spoke of hard work and accomplishment at Friday night's commencement after two weeks of controversy over the naming of the Class of 2011's valedictorian.

Amid the traditional pomp and circumstance, valedictorian Aalique Grahame, salutatorian Sarah St. John and No. 3-ranked Xavier Bernard thanked educators, relatives and fellow students.

Not one of them mentioned the mix-up that occurred after school officials admitted earlier this month that human error led to the wrong person being named as valedictorian.

Grahame urged his classmates to work hard "even when it's hard to work."

"I am standing here today not as valedictorian, but as one of you," he said, urging the crowd in Howard T. Herber Middle School's auditorium to cheer for all graduates. "Today, we've done it."

Earlier, the district named senior Sarah St. John as valedictorian, but an investigation showed that Grahame, with a 95.42 grade-point average, has the class' highest GPA. St. John's GPA is 95.16.

The district then named Grahame and St. John as co-valedictorians, but the decision drew much community criticism. The district reversed itself and named Grahame the sole valedictorian and St. John the salutatorian.

St. John, in her speech, thanked her family and her teachers, quoting the animated television character Dora the Explorer.

"We did it!" she said, saying members of the class resemble works of art.

Bernard, who had been named salutatorian when Grahame and St. John briefly were christened co-valedictorians, was offered -- and accepted -- a speaking part at commencement. He lauded Grahame and St. John for their achievements and congratulated the Class of 2011.

"Today is all about us," he said. "We worked extremely hard to reach our goal."