All through the last two years, we reported on many ‘firsts’. Unfortunately the ‘first ever’phrase is dwindling and the ‘first ever’ Graduation ceremony of Pathways School Noida on the
12th of April 2012 was one of the last. As the light shone on the graduates walking in, we had this uneasy feeling that soon the lights will dim on this last ‘first ever’ event. 
The Chief Guest was the distinguished Professor Chokkar with a background of IIM on the one hand and on the other a renowned citizen activist. To grace the occasion we had with us the members of the Board of Governors, the Jain family and the members of Pathways School Aravalli and Gurgaon.
Mrs. Dawar as the compere, set the mood for the evening with a quote from Emerson, ‘’Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there may be no paths and leave a trail.”: it was an emotion of moving on. Professor Chokkar, Mr. Pramod Jain and Dr. Advani marked the commencement of the ceremony by lighting the lamp. In her speech, the Director, Dr. Advani reminded the Graduates that they were also the first alumni of the school. She also reminded us how unique each individual was. 
Grade 11 had a surprise for the outgoing students. They had knit together a short film on their seniors. Understandably it was an emotional send off for the graduating class. 
Professor Chokkar, in his speech talked about the three purposes of education, -- the first was of nurturing good human being, the second was of opening a path of knowing one’s own self and the third was creating people who would take a lifelong responsibility of building the institution.
Shivanu, the outgoing President of the Students’ Council spoke next. He saluted his idol, the High School Principal, Mr. Jaffar and praised the teachers for nurturing him as their own son. This was followed by conferring the awards and the diplomas. Saurabh Mittal was the Valedictorian of 2012 and Srishti Mehrotra was the Salutatorian of 2012. In his speech Saurabh reminisced about his days in the school and ended by saying that “this was not the end, just the beginning.” Srishti in her speech requested everyone in the gathering to pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that “this is the last time that we are ALL going to be together in the same place.”
We were fortunate to have Mrs. Mandal, a parent, address the gathering. She said that Shivanu, her son, had come into Pathways Noida, with a blank canvas. Today she sees the canvas filled with “mesmerizing colours of the rainbow.” She thanked the management and the entire faculty for their contribution in her son’s life. Mr. Jaffar concluded the proceedings by saying that IB does not prepare students only for a career, but for life. And he was happy to see that we had succeeded. 
The evening came to a closure with the graduates lighting their candles from candles held by Dr. Advani and Mr. Jaffar. As Mrs. Dawar commented, it was the symbolic flame of knowledge that has always been passed on from the Guru to the Shishya. After this solemn ceremony, the outgoing students tossed their caps high in the air to mark the jubilation of being proclaimed as graduates of 2012.
Sudripta Tagore
HOD, English
