BETHLEHEM — After Bethlehem High School Principal David Doemel Jr. ran into a block writing his eighth commencement address for the district, he turned to a new digital ally — Chat GPT — to turn the experience into something meaningful. 

“Apparently, it's this new tool ... that can be very helpful when used ethically to support brainstorming,” he told the audience of families, friends, and others at the Class of 2025’s commencement ceremony at the MVP Arena in Albany. “Many of you will be supported by AI technology in the varied fields you pursue, and I encourage you all to keep exploring the many benefits in an ethical manner.”

The software gave him a useful acronym to go on: STOP, standing for Seek truth, Trust others, Own moments, and Pause often. 

For each, although he shared what AI had offered, he also gave his own thoughts. 

Of truth, he said, “You will have many factors that will continue to try to manipulate you and influence your decisions. Find your moral compass and hold true to your beliefs, continue to expand your life experiences, allowing you to understand others in the world around you.”

Of trust, he said, “You are coming from a school that places emphasis on making every effort and attempt to provide students with adults they can trust. Your friends and family who have supported you. You will lose some of those direct supports moving forward, and it is critical for you to continue to grow your trusting network you can rely on. The most successful people I know are forthcoming that they would not be in the position they are in now without the support of the many individuals in their lives."

Of owning oneself, he said, “Celebrate your successes, learn from your failures, and be present for both ... Remember the times that required you to have grit, perseverance, and overcome adversity.”

And, of pausing, he said, “When you see a ‘stop’ sign, if I could have you remember one part of this acronym, it would be to stop and pause often. Your journey, your story, is unique. You are just getting through your first chapter. Be grateful for the gift of life and the opportunities we have all been afforded. Each day is a blessing and another opportunity to stop and decide how you want to write your next chapter.”

“The human experience”

Student speaker Skylar Maurer began her speech by citing the many movies that make senior year of high school their centerpiece, particularly: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 10 Things I Hate About You, “and, of course,” High School Musical 3. 

Maurer said that her own year was filled with ups and downs, and that the thing she learned about that she wasn’t expecting was “the human experience.” 

During a class where students were focused on identifying bias, Maurer said she began thinking about the things that were unifying — getting ice cream with friends, and going to basketball and football games. But then she thought about the things that set her apart, like her fights against chronic Lyme disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

“This discovery made me sad,” she said. “I was sad because, even though I could relate to people on some level, I could never truly understand them, and they could never truly understand me. We were simply too different. But one day, it hit me how beautiful that fact is.

“Every single person in this room is totally different, and that’s the thing we can relate on, that is so beautifully human …,” she said. “Everyone in this room has a book full of stories, of their stories to tell, as long as someone is there to listen, the human experience is so beautiful, because you'll never meet the same person twice. What I'm really trying to say is this is a turning point in your life. You’re going from an iconic coming-of-age movie to a bigger, better version of you.”

Life’s web

Sister graduate Claire McGahey told her classmates to “pull up a seat” and take part in life. 

“Some of my fondest memories at Bethlehem,” she said, “involve pulling up a seat next to my teachers, filling them in on exciting life updates, building relationships that propelled me through a successful high-school career.”

Others included joining student government and “letting my voice be heard and acting as a voice for others,” as well as going to sports games and “forcing myself onto the crowded bleachers with people I have barely ever spoken to before.”

Likening the social environment to a spider web, she said, “For those of you who always seem to have a seat, whether it’s because you start the conversation or because your spider web has already started to grow, I encourage you to bring help, bring in chairs when there aren’t yet enough ... make room for one more chair, because, in reality, what is there to lose."

And, if no seat exists at the table you want, you can, according to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress, “bring a folding chair.” 

“As you build new connections and experience new things, your spider web will grow,” McGahey said. “But if you ever get lost, come back to the center, come back to Bethlehem and try again.”

Advice from kindergartners

Superintendent Jody Monroe reflected on the tradition at Bethlehem of high-school seniors revisiting their kindergarten classrooms for their “final assembly,” and the lessons that the district’s kindergartners this year shared with the graduating class.

That advice was: Be nice to your parents, don’t bite people, be careful with sharp stuff, be a good listener, you should go to the beach, don’t play too many video games, you shouldn’t bang a nail into your finger, help people, don’t mess with things that grown-ups have to do, do good work, cook your own meals, pick up garbage on the ground, and be kind. 

After going over the class’s many achievements, Monroe closed on timeless advice from the author Robert Fulghum: “It is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

“Tell me more”

The final speaker, Bethlehem Board of Education President Holly Dellenbaugh, promised at the top of her speech not to lecture, and shared a wise practice from a friend, who uses the “magical phrase, ‘Tell me more.’” 

“You might say, ‘I'm thinking of starting a podcast, or I decided to start writing some fan fiction, and instead of immediately offering advice or judgment, she'll just respond, ‘Tell me more,’” Dellenbaugh said. “That’s it. Three simple words, but they change everything. Suddenly you’re not defending your ideas, you’re exploring them.

“Those words make space for honesty, for connection, for complexity,” she said. “That kind of curiosity builds bridges because it asks not just what people want, but why. Now maybe that kind of conversation is new for you. So now I ask you, are you done trying new things, or are you still willing to try something that might open up possibilities?” 

In opening themselves up to new possibilities, Dellenbaugh said, it’s important for students to first know what they stand for, to act as a filter for the new things they’ll be exposed to. 

“Some of what I'm for is small and simple,” she said. “Peanut M&Ms on road trips, chai lattes anytime, and re-watching old episodes of The West Wing. But I’m also for building and serving my community, and I’m for the transformative power of education, an education that encourages joy and discovery and asks you to think broadly.”

Dellenbaugh said these values will inevitably change over time, which should be celebrated. 

“The world doesn't need perfect people,” she said. “It needs real people, people who are still learning, still trying, and still standing for something. As you leave here, remember, you have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. In other words, you have the compassion to lead, the strength to face what’s hard, and the spirit to embrace new possibilities. So stay curious, live boldly, and when you don’t know what to do next, ask someone, ‘Tell me more.’”