Newburgh Free Academy celebrated the graduation of the class of 2026 on Thursday, with 636 graduates making their way across the stage on Academy Field to receive their diplomas. 

 

Friends and family lined South Street to watch the graduates as they made their way to the commencement ceremony. The NFA Madrigals and school band provided musical accompaniment, with the Madrigals performing the national anthem and ‘The Yellow and the Blue’ to open the event.

 

The NFA’s Co-Principals Susan Valentino and Matteo Doddo were the graduation’s first speakers. Valentino started her speech with an additional performance from the Madrigals of Natasha Bedingfield’s hit song ‘Unwritten’, and her speech followed a similar theme. Valentino told the graduates “Your future is still unwritten. You hold the pen, you choose the direction. Your story will not unfold because of chance, but because of courage. The courage to show up, to try, to begin, even when the path ahead feels unclear.”

 

Doddo told the graduates “Every single one of you has a story. Some of your stories have been joyful. Some have been very difficult. Some of you have faced battles no one else knows about. But never let your beginning decide your ending.” Doddo’s special addition to this year’s graduation was a plane that circled in the sky over the graduation trailing a banner reading “Congrats NFA 2026 - Goldbacks for Life.”

 

NFA Valedictorian Steven Yang and Salutatorian Madison Gravel also spoke at the commencement. Gravel’s speech focused on gratitude, saying “Gratitude is one of life’s most underrated superpowers…gratitude is really a way of paying attention. It’s the ability to appreciate what’s right in front of you even when it’s easy to overlook.” She told the graduating class to thank someone that had helped them get to graduation.

 

Yang spoke about overcoming challenges. He said “Don’t end a book early because of a bad chapter. Failure isn’t the end, it’s just one part of the journey. Having the courage to keep moving forward is what allows us to grow.”

 

The final speaker before the graduates were handed their diplomas was Superintendent Jackielyn Manning-Campbell. Manning Campbell talked about her own son’s graduation, saying “Like many parents here, I’ve experienced firsthand the mix of emotions that comes with watching a child reach this milestone…As parents we know our children are growing up and becoming more independent, but we also know something else. No matter how old they get, they still need us.”

 

The NFA Co-Principals, alongside members of the school board handed out diplomas to the graduating class. 140 members of the graduating class this year graduated with High Honors, earning a grade point average of 89.5 and up.

 

After all of the graduates had received their diplomas, Ryan Orsino, the Executive Council president for the graduating class, directed the class to move their tassels from right to left, marking their accomplishment. The graduates made their final procession through rows formed by their teachers towards South Street, where families and friends packed the road to celebrate.