TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition's 1st Annual Graduation Ceremony

Lindsey, Me, Anthony, Myteeka, and Aziz outside TRUCE Graduation.


After spending countless hours cutting out cardboard stars and wrapping them in tinfoil, hanging streamers from 15 foot high ladders, blowing up balloons and almost passing out, and writing and creating the program for the ceremony, TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition celebrated its first annual Graduation Ceremony on Wednesday June 20th, 2007. The celebration began at about 5:30 pm, when the first parents started arriving at 118th street. The kids were waiting upstairs in their assigned Team Rooms, eagerly anticipating the upcoming celebration. The theme of the ceremony was "A Black and White Affair", and we asked the kids and staff to dress completely in black and/or white to match the decorations we had put up and create a semi-formal atmosphere for the event. I was pleasantly surprised with how serious the kids took the phrase "semi-formal". Some girls went out and got their hair professionally styled while others wore fairly formal dresses, and some boys came in full suits, jackets and everything. While the kids waited upstairs for the crowd to arrive, we served them the free dinner of baked ziti, salad and garlic bread that HCZ was able to purchase. As parents started arriving downstairs, they were seated at a table in the back of the auditorium and served their own complimentary dinner consisting of a choice of baked ziti or lasagna, also with salad or garlic bread. During this time period, the entire staff was in charge of making sure that all those who were sitting were served with food and beverage and happily seated while viewing the repeating slideshow of pictures from TRUCE throughout the year and happily anticipating the arrival of the students.

At about 6:30, Monalisa (the director of TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition) came on the microphone and announced that the students would be entering and receiving their diplomas. The kids promptly began marching onto the stage, with the 5th graders in the front and the grades filling in behind them until the 8th graders all the way in the back. As each child's name was called and they were given their diploma, the crowd continuously cheered. When the names were finally read, the kids took their seats in the audience and the performances began. Kids performed everything from yoga demonstrations, step-dancing routines, a rap song, karate demonstrations, singing and even a speech. One of the most touching speeches to me was given by a shy 8th grade boy who spoke about how much he has changed and turned his life around in the 1 year he spent with TRUCE. He told of how in 7th grade, before he came to TRUCE, "I was a bad student. I never did my homework, I failed out of classes, and I just didn't care." But then his parents enrolled him in the TRUCE Fitness program in 8th grade, "And I got my act together...I started doing my homework, I started getting good grades, I took the tests to get into New York City high schools, and now next year I'm going to one of the best high schools in the city- Stuyvesant." This story really hit me. Watching this incredibly humble, almost painfully shy boy get up on stage infront of hundreds of people and speak of his own success made me realize how much TRUCE has truly affected his life. Before this program, not only would he have most likely not been able to attend the incredibly competitive high school he is soon going to, but he also would have never had the confidence or the venue to speak infront of such a large group of people. While the entire ceremony was unique and a very touching experience, this one boy stands out in my mind as the reason why TRUCE is such a unique and important program for these children.

After the performances were over, the chairs were all quickly brought to the sides of the room, the music came on, and there was a huge dance party that filled the entire room. No one was shy about getting up to dance, but rather it was a fight to see who would get to dance front row on the stage infront of the rest of the crowd. Eventually, the 5 year old girls prevailed and won front row places, but it was the 7th grade girls who really stole the show. Creating a circle and encompassing the best, most daring dancers for each song, the girls cheered and screamed and egged each other on, all the while having a blast just letting themselves go to the music. You could just feel the energy in the room as the entire crowd let lose and enjoyed themselves.

The ceremony, performance, and party were over almost as quickly as they began. By the end of the night the entire staff was exhausted, but when Monalisa asked us to stay for a few minutes and enjoy some cake with her, no one could refuse. There was a tangible feeling of pride and accomplishment in the room as those who had worked with the same group of kids for an entire year watched them walk across the stage with their heads held high as their parents acknowledged (sometimes for the first time ever) their incredible accomplishments. The 1st annual graduation ceremony was indeed a success, and there is no doubt that it will not be the last.