58 Students Graduate from FDNY High School

The graduates during the ceremony.

Fifty-eight happy students graduated from the FDNY High School for Fire and Life Safety on June 24, during a ceremony at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island.

"This is a great day for the Department and a great day for the city," said Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. He remembered his own graduation and the pride of his family that day, adding, "You're only limited by how hard you try."

Principal James Anderson said he began working at the school the same year the graduates started. He described the students as family and said, "The opportunities for you are endless. Keep working hard because you never know how your experiences will open doors to other dreams."

This is the fourth class to graduate from the FDNY High School, which is part of the City's small schools initiative. Housed in Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York, Brooklyn, the school provides a rigorous academic program with a special emphasis on the academic, physical and moral rigors of emergency response.

The graduates tossed their caps when the ceremony comes to a close.

One of the graduates, Malik Maynard, is the nephew of Firefighter Keithroy Maynard, who was killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

"He is one of my role models, someone I always want to be like," Malik Maynard, 17, said. He said he had a difficult time dealing with the death of his uncle, but added, "From then on, I knew that's what I wanted to be someday."

He now looks forward to going to college and someday joining the FDNY.

The class Valedictorian was Terrence Joseph.

"We've dreamed about this moment for so long," he said. "We worked hard to get to where we are today."

The class Salutatorian was Christabelle Chin, who said in their four years at the school they "learned service, bravery, safety, honor, dedication and preparedness."