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![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/06242026-New-Design-HS-Graduation_JFB2344.jpg\" "\\"Graduation")
<\/a>Students walked at the New Design HS Graduation.\n<\/p>\nThe vast majority plan to attend college or community college, with many attending SUNY or CUNY schools.<\/p>\n
The SUNY and CUNY systems, in partnership with New York City public schools, offer acceptance letters from at least one CUNY or SUNY school, or both, as an option for public school students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means we continue to be the engine of social mobility in the city,\u201d Chancellor Samuels said of that choice. \u201cThat gives our young people a pathway to college and a career.\u201d<\/p>\n
One student carried a Jamaican flag, another peeled back his graduation gown to reveal a Knicks shirt with the same orange and blue colors as the school itself, but all had a school name next to theirs on photos onstage.<\/p>\n
It was a day with so much cheering and congratulations, including balloons, that it almost felt like the Knicks won another title.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAll 100 percent are going to college. It was so great to have the chancellor with us today. I feel so much love for these kids,\u201d Principal Conti said. \u201cWe always think you focus on the individual and their identity. We do that in a culture of collaboration and community. So they become the best versions of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Chancellor Samuels said he saw a high school where so many students seemed happy with their experience. The cheering equaled or exceeded what you might hear at a sporting event. A tear or two was visible as some students crossed the stage.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I looked out into the audience, the young people here are happy,\u201d Chancellor Samuels continued. \u201cThe principal makes sure they feel welcome, a friend, and holds them to high expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n Milly Perez Guzman, planning on attending Hunter College, talked about the camaraderie not just competition the school fosters.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI really enjoy the community that we created,\u201d Perez Guzman said. \u201cBy created, I mean how close we are to each other and how we somewhat rely on each other.\u201d<\/p>\n She plans to major in biology in the hope of becoming a veterinarian, pursuing a passion as a profession.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up surrounded by animals. That created a space in my heart, a sympathy for animals and for small creatures,\u201d Perez Guzman continued. \u201cThat\u2019s what pivoted my thinking into wanting to become a vet.\u201d<\/p>\n Mervin Landaverde, winner of the Tristan Seranno Memorial Award and the design award, plans to attend the New York Institute of Technology, enrolling in a five-year program to become an architect.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo many things that happen in life happen for a reason,\u201d he said, noting smaller schools can bring big benefits. \u201cI feel like here, you build connections that really last. I know people in other, bigger high schools, you don\u2019t really get to know anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Salutarian Modiline Turner plans to study psychology at Pace University. \u201cI\u2019m excited but also scared,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going in for psychology with a minor in political science. I\u2019m interested in being a therapist and in policy making.\u201d<\/p>\n Henry Gregory, winner of the math and Spanish awards, said he\u2019s going to Grinnell, in Iowa, but plans to return.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited, but I\u2019m also tired. I\u2019m excited to move on with my life, get out of the city for a bit,\u201d said Gregory. \u201cI\u2019ll come back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Chancellor Samuels talked about diversity, calling New York City \u201cone of the most diverse places on earth in every sense of the word,\u201d which means \u201cour entire city is your classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n Edgar Rodriguez, of New Visions, a nonprofit that supports city schools, sees New Design High School as a school that educates and promotes empathy. \u201cEveryone here, the staff and families, were behind you to get you here,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThey\u2019ll continue to be behind you to get you to the next stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Tiana Morrison, executive director of Design Your Future, a nonprofit that supports this school, said students learn from each other and from teachers.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe relationships with the adults, the teachers and the staff, is unique,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cThat makes this high school experience as important as your college experience.\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed to internships, from running a store at the school to music production and Google. \u201cA lot of companies come in to work with the kids,\u201d Morrison added.<\/p>\n While this was one graduation in a system with about 1,600 schools, Chancellor Samuels said \u201cthe work of learning from your peers does not end with a diploma,\u201d but continues. \u201cKeep that New York City sensibility, that openness, that appreciation of diversity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Modiline Turner, Henry Gregory, Milly Perez Guzman and Mervin Landaverde.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools Kamar H. Samuels and Principal Scott ContiIPhoto by Claude Solnik\n<\/p>\n