John Ricasoli

Thierry Gourjon

Richard Relkin

Graduation ceremonies at (top to bottom) Brooklyn College in Flatbush, Long Island University in Downtown (where broadcaster Tavis Smiley spoke), the Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill and St. Francis College on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights.

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It’s that time of the year again, folks — graduation season has come and gone. But before we send the newly minted grads out into the real world (or, “The Real World” on MTV — filming next month on Willoughby Street!), let’s recap how our area’s major colleges and universities honored the class of 2008.

Pratt Institute

May 9, Grand Mall on the Clinton Hill campus, 1,000 graduates

Aimee Oz, valedictorian:

“We have been given the best possible training. Our imagination has been guided, our skills perfected. Today, like runners in a relay race, we take up the challenge of self-determination and the will to carry onward.”

Thomas J. Cahill, president and CEO of Studio in a School Association, commencement speaker:

“If art is so important, why does it play such small role in public education? Leave here with a promise that when you land in your communities, you’ll bring back the hope that art education can be a major part of the schools.”

Long Island University

May 15, Athletic field, Downtown, 1,777 graduates

Jonathan Kuhr,valedictorian:

“So today, let us recognize our achievement, let us celebrate this next step in our life. … Let us imagine our greatest achievements and then recognize that they can be even greater. Let us visualize the change we wish to see in the world and then let us become it.”

David J. Steinberg,president:

“Universities are affirmations of life. They speak to new opportunity, to the optimism of a new generation, to the world of the future, even while studying the past and preserving its cultures. Every one of you has the opportunity to quest for and discover knowledge, to receive and give love, to seek beauty and to find the myriad types of fulfillment, including familial, financial and professional.”

St. Francis College

May 27, Brooklyn Marriott, Downtown, 300 graduates

Jessica Minotti Verderame, valedictorian:

“I looked around the table where I was sitting with my friends, and there were people from all different backgrounds: Puerto Rican, South American, Irish, Italian, Armenian, Polish, just to name a few. This is the magic that floods our halls every day. Our school is like a mini United Nations. We celebrate our differences and we all support one another and treat each other with respect. That is the spirit, the essence of St. Francis College.”

Brendan Dugan, incoming president:

“The cornerstone of your education is the principle of Franciscanism, founded on concepts like faith, hope, humility, love, caring, hospitality, peace and most importantly service.”

Brooklyn College

May 29, Campus Quadrangle, Flatbush, 3,566 graduates

Mary Pennisi, valedictorian:

“I have had the privilege of studying alongside people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds. … No matter which path you followed, you should be proud of your accomplishments.”

Leonard Lopate, WNYC talk show host, speaker:

“A liberal arts program is a lot more than just the subject you’ve majored in. You may have wondered over your time here whether there’d ever be an opportunity to apply some of the knowledge and skills you’ve picked up in your required and elective classes. But don’t be surprised if those opportunities do knock. It’s at those moments that you realize just how worthwhile the years you’ve spent on all sides of this quadrangle have been.

PolytechnicUniversity

June 2, Avery Fisher Hall, Manhattan, 987 graduates

Mohammad Makhdoom, valedictorian:

“As proud individuals, we are ready to graduate and leave Polytechnic University. By graduating, we proved to ourselves and to others that we have the potential for achievement. We must continue to fulfill our potential.”

Jerry Hultin, president:

“I encourage you to enter this next stage of your life with a spirit of adventure. Set your standards high and challenge yourself. Set bold goals for yourself, both personal and professional. Be hungry for success. Uphold your personal values, make decisions, accept responsibility and stay focused on your goals.”

New York City College of Technology

June 3, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, 1,912 graduates

Stacy Cruickshank,valedictorian:

“Let us go out into the world even bolder than when we first walked through the doors. … And let us be ambassadors of our alma mater, the college that molded us, the college through which we developed life-long friendships and relationships, the college that equipped us with skills and placed us one rung higher on the ladder to realizing our dreams.”

Borough President Markowitz, commencement speaker:

“As a Brooklynite, a New Yorker and an American, you owe back. That means become involved in your neighborhoods. Volunteer your time, your expertise and all of that know-how you learned at City Tech. In life you can wait for things to happen, or you can make things happen. As a graduate of City Tech, you have style, moxie, pizzazz and chutzpah! And most important of all, you’ve got the Brooklyn attitude! You’re gonna make things happen!”

Medgar EversCollege

June 7, College amphitheater in Crown Heights, 975 graduates

Sherona Barnaby-Daley, valedictorian

Gov. David Paterson,keynote speaker:

“I wish for you all that you desire in your careers; but it is the responsibility of our government to make sure that you have equal opportunities. … As you go forward in your lives, don’t forget where you came from,. Don’t forget Medgar Evers. Don’t forget the younger people who will be coming to this school. Contribute to the school. Come back.”

Borough President Markowitz, guest speaker:

“As Medgar Evers graduates, I know you’ve got the style, pizzazz, moxie, and chutzpah. I know that you’ll make things happen. You are the best of Brooklyn and the best of New York.”

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper