Berkley Beat

Alma Mater

Hail To Thee, Our Alma Mater,

Hail To Thee Alone.

To The Colors That We Cherish, Those We Call Our Own.

First Maroon, The Color Brave. Then The Blue, On High We Wave,

Flaunt The Banners, Onward Carry Berkley High, All Hail!

Statistics

The BHS Class of 2026 received $6.2 million in scholarships. Next year this class will be attending several public and private universities in the state including Michigan State, University of Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Oakland University, Wayne State, Grand Valley State, Northern Michigan, Oakland Community College, College for Creative Studies and Macomb Community College. This Class of 2026 was accepted at and/or will be attending Howard University, University of Miami, Alabama A&M, Ohio State University, Berklee College of Music, Savannah College of Art & Design and California Polytechnic State University to name a few out-of-state institutions. Some students are taking a gap year, some are entering the workforce and three are entering the military. 74.6% of seniors took at least one Advanced Placement - college level - class while at BHS.  A record number of the class took rigorous vocational education classes.  28% of the class was in Band, Orchestra, Choir and/or Drama. 37.7% of the class participated in Athletics. The class earned nearly 11,000 hours in community service at over 3,400 activities.

Commencement Speakers

Berkley High School graduation included words from soon-to-be graduates to their fellow classmates. Madeline Collins shared her speech, “Flying through the Years” and Molly Frankel shared her speech “Once Upon a Time: from Berkley to Beyond;” Nadia Fobbs, Student Body Vice President, introduced the graduating class and National Anthem; Jordan Coleman, Student Body Treasurer, introduced the Alma Mater; and, Laila Miller, Student Body President, led the switching of the tassels.

BHS Principal Andy Meloche and Superintendent Scott Francis also addressed the guests and graduates.

Here are a few selections from their speeches.

Scott Francis, Superintendent

Hope looks at the darkness and says, “I am going to do something about this.” And that shift from passive optimism to courageous hope is exactly what I believe our graduates have within themselves and I encourage you all to carry with you moving forward.

The road to paradise or to ruin begins inside you. It begins with a choice. Graduates - 2008 was not just a year of struggle. It was a year that showed the world what happens when people refuse to stop hoping for brighter days. It was a year when many of the parents and loved ones who are here tonight held you when you were infants and looked at you with…Joy, Wonder, and I believe most importantly…Hope. … Because brighter days are not just something that happen to you. They are something you carry within you. Something you reach for. Something you build.

Andy Meloche, BHS Principal

Class of 2026, you have worked through your years in the Berkley School District with the patience of a cathedral builder and the strength of a mighty Redwood forest. You laid foundations that you will not see to completion. You carried the inconvenience so that someone else could experience the beauty. Essentially, you helped shape a future that you may not personally benefit from. And I want you to hear this clearly tonight: that is leadership. Not the loud kind. Not the spotlight kind. But the steady, enduring, character kind. The kind that says, “even if I don’t get the credit, even if I don’t get the comfort, I will still do my part.” Much of life works this way.

Your parents, guardians, family members and friends sacrificed in some way so that each of you will have it better than they did. This community passed a Bond that many of them may never personally benefit from. The incredible educators of the Berkley School District: the teachers, counselors, secretaries, paraeducators, custodians, lunch aides, speech pathologists, social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists and administrators all poured themselves into each of you in the hopes that you will surpass them and make even greater contributions to this world. All of these examples model the same principles the Class of 2026 has carried with them: patience and togetherness….

Plant the tree. Lay the stone. Do your part. Because the measure of your life will not be how often you stood in the shade but, rather, it will be how often you created that shade for others. Years from now, when you drive past our buildings and fields and see what they have become, I hope you smile and think, ‘I helped build that.’

Flying through the Years - Madeline Collins

Whether we realize it or not, the number four has impacted many Berkley students throughout our high school careers. In class, it’s the ideal number for a group project. In theatre, there is the fourth wall; in music, there is the four-beat count. In football and basketball, there are four quarters to every game. In track, there are four laps to a mile; in swimming, there are four laps in a 100. And in high school, there are four years. Four years to grow, four years to discover who you are and who you want to be.

To me, the high school experience can be summed up into one simple thing: the 100-meter butterfly; the event that so many fear. The 100-meter butterfly has been my event throughout my high school career. To those who have not experienced the pain, power, and rewards that come with the race, I am both jealous and sorry for you. The race is simple: four laps of flailing your arms and kicking your legs so hard you feel every muscle screaming at you to stop.

Once Upon a Time: from Berkley to Beyond - Molly Frankel

Here we are today, the Class of 2026, walking across the Meadow Brook stage, but our stories began more than a decade ago. Let's be honest, even though we have had great role models in school, many of our true role models come from TV. Whether that means Henry Danger, Hannah Montana, Jessie, or Daniel Tiger, we grew up quoting our favorite characters. Of course, whether you have watched the channel or not, everyone knows the Disney characters. Since a young age, we have been listening to the wise words of these magical mentors. Unbeknownst to little us, their quotes completely guided our high school years and will continue to inspire our futures.

Perhaps our stories began in kindergarten at Angell or Pattengill, when the world seemed so big and our only worry was to befriend the classmate next to us. Maybe that’s when we all began to believe the quote “You’ve got a friend in me” from a fan favorite, Toy Story. For the last four years, whether new or old, we leaned on each other, found comfort in each other’s presence. From late night calls for last minute study sessions for anatomy or physics, football games under the lights, student leadership’s assemblies, and group projects, we built and discovered friendships over these past four years.