Montville Township High School -

“I’ve learned that nothing worth having will ever be easy and that if you truly set your mind to anything you will accomplish it,” Cristina Ryduchowski, the Montville Township High School [MTHS] Class of 2024 Vice President, recently said.  

“It requires bravery and persistence,” Ryduchowski clarified, “but nothing is unachievable.”

Bravery was the theme of Ryduchowski’s graduation speech.

Each year MTHS invites four seniors to speak at the school’s graduation ceremony.

When the MTHS Class of 2024 President, Ryan Sun, was also named Valedictorian, Ryduchowski, as the Vice President for the Class of 2024, received the unique opportunity to address her peers.

“I can guarantee we have all faced some form of struggle, hardship, tragedy, and difficult choice,” Ryduchowski noted as she addressed the class. “But I can also guarantee that us sitting here today is testimony to the fact that we were, and can be, brave enough to survive all of it and more.”

Across the nation, the members of the Class of 2024 each began their freshmen year during the height of a global pandemic.

“Today is our high school graduation; however, it is so much more than just that. It is a pivotal turning point in our lives,” Ryduchowski explained.

This coming fall, Ryduchowski will begin a major in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Miami. The highly motivated graduate will pursue a Pre-med track during her college career.

“My favorite memory was a recent event at our Senior Sunset,” Ryduchowski recalled. “I put together the montage that played, which I called ‘Montville Made,’ and it truly was an unforgettable experience putting it together, and watching it together, as a class, at sunset. Having the opportunity to watch our class grow up in Montville before our eyes and reminisce on memories and experiences was something I will never forget and cherish forever.” 

Ryduchowski attended Montville Township Public Schools [MTPS] for her elementary, middle and high school education. In addition to MTHS, Ryduchowski is a graduate of Hilldale Elementary School and Robert R. Lazar Middle School.

“I would like people to know that MTHS is there for you, as students, to grow, and [it] has resources that students should take full advantage of,” Ryduchowski said when asked what she would like others to know about MTHS. “At the end of the day, MTHS is there to support its students.” 

Two Hundred Seventy-Seven seniors in the MTHS Class of 2024 received diplomas at the school’s 53^rd Annual MTHS Graduation Ceremony. The June 20, 2024, ceremony can be viewed in its entirety on the Montville Township Public Schools YouTube Channel, or by visiting www.montville.net/mthsgraduation.

“For you, the class of 2024, I hope that you leave this field feeling brave, prepared to be brave, and ready to practice bravery in the upcoming chapter of your life,”  said Ryduchowski, as she bid farewell to the Class of 2024. “And, in doing so, you will make our world a better place for yourself and for us all.”

A transcript of Ryduchowski’s entire speech is below. The speech can also be viewed on the Montville Township Public Schools YouTube Channel.

A Transcript of Cristina Ryduchowski’s Speech:

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed faculty, proud parents, and fellow graduates,

Today is our high school graduation; however, it is so much more than just that. It is a pivotal turning point in our lives, one that marks maturity, growth, accomplishments, hardships, and failures that have occurred not only during the past four years but since our very first day of school. We sit on this field today not just because we made it through four years of high school, but because, for the past thirteen years of our lives, we woke up—maybe not every morning, but most mornings—and decided to put one foot in front of the other, put on a brave face, and live our lives day by day. Some of those days were good, some bad, but regardless of the outcome, we went to bed and woke up for the next one. 

In those thirteen years, I’ve learned that life is scary and unpredictable. It can hand you life’s blessings one day and slap you across the face the next. We have all experienced it. I can guarantee we have all faced some form of struggle, hardship, tragedy, and difficult choice, but I can also guarantee that us sitting here today is testimony to the fact that we were, and can be, brave enough to survive all of it and more. I would like to take this moment for everyone here celebrating our successes today to recognize your own strength and bravery, to remember everything that you’ve worked through for you to be here. While I’ll never know what you just thought of, I can remind you all that you’ve been brave at some point during your life to make it to be sitting on this field today. We’ve all conquered battles, put on brave faces, and marched forward, and we will continue to do so in the next chapter of our lives. I am so proud of you, of us.

Despite the world's unpredictability, I would like to stress its malleability and the fact that we have the ability to make a difference, whether big or small, and that our bravery can be used to do good for ourselves and our world. In 10th grade, I blindly began a relief effort for the Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Poland from the war after being profoundly impacted by the media coverage of the devastated families. It took merely a week for my effort to grow from a small bin in my basement to five garages full of relief items—enough to fill a 40-foot shipping container and be sent to the Polish Red Cross in Warsaw, Poland.

No matter how my endeavor turned out, I believe it was not the accumulation of supplies or the money raised that made the biggest difference. It was the way I witnessed kindhearted and like-minded individuals band together across the East Coast to accomplish a common goal of giving back and practicing kindness, sincerity, and purity. But most importantly, bravery. For myself, I stepped out of my shell and put myself in front of hundreds of people who looked solely at me to lead them in the right direction. My initiative grew far greater and bigger than I would have ever imagined, and it took courage to stand in front during moments when I needed direction and had no clue as to what I was doing. For those I encountered, they entrusted me with their time, energy, and desire to make a difference. We all chose bravery by showing up every day to share this purpose.

Life is full of choices and challenges, but also opportunities, and so I encourage you, class of 2024, to be brave and take full advantage of those opportunities as we embark on the next four years and the rest of our lives, even when life slaps you back and forth and leads you down paths you would have never expected to take. Use your bravery not only as a method to get yourself through your own struggles but to do good for yourself and our world. For me, my experience is a daily reminder of how one small action or initiative can cause waves, and how there is strength in struggle. For you, I hope it inspires you to reflect on your own experiences and to approach this new part of your life with courage and bravery. I understand that this sounds cliché; we’ve all been told that we can change the world our whole lives. What makes my message any different? It was not until I experienced the unity and strength in my endeavor that I wholeheartedly believed that the world is truly in our hands and that we can do anything—you can and will do anything if you are brave enough to take the first steps toward it.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word brave is defined as having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: having or showing courage. A brave soldier. A brave smile. However, in accordance with my experience, my family, and those surrounding me, being brave entails so much more. While you would never know their experiences by taking a quick glance, my parents have been through thick and thin to be with us today and to raise me to this moment—believe me, to truly know them is to love, admire, and aspire to be like them. My dad, a brilliant man and one with a heart of gold, raised me beside my mom on the premise to always stand tall, work, and fight for what you want, that when there's a will, there's a way, or his own dad's words, "If you do not have it in your head, you'll have it in your feet." My mom, one who has lived nine lives with a heart so kind yet fierce, raised me on the premise of the impressionability of the world, the importance of maintaining patience and remaining true to yourself, loving yourself, and being confident. With these lessons combined, they produced the three-worded term: "Cristina, or TT as my family knows me, be brave." It was this phrase that my parents repeated before every class presentation, test, soccer game, any upcoming moment, and even just prior to delivering this speech, that reminded me to be myself, to put my heart into everything that I do, and to smile in the face of fear.

Before I learned for myself the magnitude of bravery, it was my parents' words and mantra that served as my pillar of strength, and for that, I want to thank them. However, as I've grown and experienced life and the ups and downs of accomplishing and failing, I've developed my own idea of their words. These words provide me with the will, confidence, and drive to pursue my dreams and do good for the world and for myself. But they also remind me that while your bravery must come from within yourselves, you do not have to be and are not alone in order to be brave. We’re here surrounded by our family and friends, our teachers, peers, and mentors all of whom have helped us be brave, been brave themselves, and moving forward will support us in being be brave, succeed, and live our lives to the fullest like my parents, family, and friends did for me.  For this, I would like to thank my family again, my grandmothers, my best friends who I absolutely adore and whom I’ve had the privilege of learning from, building forever relationships with, and look forward to supporting and watching them accomplish their own dreams. They all know who they are. To Montville Township, our staff and teachers who have supported us until now and prepared us for our futures- thank you. 

For you, the class of 2024, I hope that you leave this field feeling brave, prepared to be brave, and ready to practice bravery in the upcoming chapter of your life, and in doing so you will make our world a better place for yourself and for us all.

Thank you, and congratulations!