MONROE, Conn. — C.J. Budjinski remembers starting out at Jockey Hollow Middle School as a sixth-grader three years ago, feeling “lost” and “clueless” about the future and his own place in it — a feeling shared by many of his classmates. But on Monday evening, he stood confidently at the podium during a commencement ceremony on Benedict Field as he delivered the “student remarks” to his fellow graduates, educators, family and friends.
“Back then, three years felt like an eternity and I remember thinking eighth grade was so far away that the three years would never come,” Budjinski said. “And yet, somehow here we are. What surprises me most is not how much has changed, but how quietly it happened. There was no single day where we suddenly got older, more confident or more prepared for what comes next. Instead, it happened little by little, in classrooms, in hallways at lunch tables, during projects, practices and performances, in countless ordinary days that didn’t seem important at the time.”
As Jockey Hollow graduates’ thoughts turned to entering high school and all of the possibilities their futures hold, Budjinski encouraged them to take a look back and reflect upon the learning and growth that got them to this point.
“As we leave middle school behind, I hope we remember growth is not only measured by where we are going, it is also measured by how far we have already come,” he said. “Tonight is a reminder that while we were busy thinking about the future, we’ve also become stronger, wiser and more capable than we realize.”
The reigning Teacher of the Year, Susan Russell, was the emcee of Monday’s ceremony for 254 graduates, who contributed a combined 3,485 hours of community service in their time at Jockey Hollow.
The Jockey Hollow Grade Seven Band & Strings played “Pomp and Circumstance” when the graduating class walked onto Benedict Field. Cara Crowley led everyone in reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance” and the Jockey Hollow Grade Eight Select Chorus sang the “National Anthem.”
Superintendent Joseph Kobza, Assistant Superintendent Sheila Casinelli, the Monroe Board of Education, State Rep. Tony Scott, R-Monroe, and First Selectman Terry Rooney were among the invited guests on a night in which numerous awards were given to students for their individual achievements.
In her address, Principal Julia Strong talked about the Latin inscription, E Pluribus Unum, that is found on nickels, dimes and quarters. It means “out of many, one.”
“It was adopted in 1776 as a motto of our newly formed nation,” Strong said. “A country made up of 13 pretty different colonies with one big idea: that out of many differences could be formed something stronger and greater than the sum of its parts.”
Strong said it is “a perfect description” of members of the Class of 2026’s journey through middle school.
“When entering high school, remember the lesson of E Pluribus Unum,” Strong said. “Your life will be shaped by many experiences, many relationships, and many opportunities. Embrace them all but never lose sight of the person at the center. Out of many challenges, one resilient person.”
Strong called the graduating class “perhaps the most technologically fluent generation in history.” The superintendent included technology as a theme of his speech.
Kobza said another superintendent he is friends with recommended Sahil Bloom’s book, “The Five Types of Wealth,” to him.
“Bloom talks about five measures of success,” Kobza said, including financial wealth, physical wealth and long term health and fitness, mental wealth, living a life of curiosity, growth and clarity, and social wealth, having deep meaningful relationships with close friends as well as belonging to a community.
“But tonight I want to focus on the fifth kind of wealth, because the way I see it, according to this metric, the 260 students sitting on the field tonight are some of the richest people in our town,” Kobza said. “The fifth kind of wealth, according to Bloom, is time wealth. The ability to be intentional with your finite time and energy and to spend it on what matters most.”
At age 13 or 14 years, the superintendent said Jockey Hollow’s graduates are all millionaires of time with literally decades ahead of them.
“But let me offer a word of caution,” Kobza said. “There are people out there who are trying to rob you of your wealth, and they’re not petty thieves, they’re professionals. They’re geniuses, in fact. They have advanced degrees in psychology, marketing, engineering and computer sciences.”
He was taking about those working for social media companies whose job is to engineer algorithms that keep people online and scrolling on websites for as long as possible — “disengaged from the things that actually matter, your mental and physical health, your real world friendships, and our natural instincts as human beings to be curious and make the world around us a better place.”
“Every minute you spend mindlessly scrolling is a minute of your wealth that they just stole,” Kobza said. “But here’s your thing, now that you know this, you can act. My challenge to you as you head into high school is simple. Guard your wealth. Don’t hand your attention over to a device designed to profit off your distraction. When you pick up your phone ask yourself, ‘am I choosing this or is this choosing me?'”
The superintendent encouraged graduates to invest their time in things that pay actual dividends: friendships, health and, above all, curiosity.
“Use your time to look up at the world around you and ask questions, wonder how things work, dive into new subjects and explore passions you didn’t even know you had,” Kobza said. “But don’t do it from behind a keyboard. Explore with your hands, your minds, your eyes and your voice.”
He told them to use their time to say yes to as many of the opportunities high school offers as they can.
“You are incredibly rich right now,” Kobza said. “Don’t let anyone steal a single second of your future. Stay curious, stay present and go make this world a better place. Congratulations Jockey Hollow Class of 2026.”
This gallery features some photos taken by Karen Coffey:
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