A Moment With: Celeste Stracco

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle

This interview is only a brief glimpse at the time Celeste Stracco spent in high school. The wonderful moments she has shared truly provide an explanation into the start of Randolph High School, which serves as a stark contrast to the high school we know today. These memories that she has opened up about give context to just how our school started and illustrate for upcoming students the momentous history they are walking into and the history they themselves can make.

The Interview: Class of 1967

Q: What was your favorite memory from Randolph High School or your time in Randolph in general?

"I am proud to be a life-long resident of Randolph. I feel so fortunate to have grown up in a time when Randolph was a very rural township with lots of open space, woodland areas, and many farms. Only a few small housing developments existed at the time. Prior to 1959 there was only one K-8 school in the district. As a result, Randolph was a relatively small close-knit community. I fondly recall that as children we spent many hours playing outdoors with our friends…until, of course, the daily 5 PM siren sent us all scurrying for home.

High school, however, was indeed a very special time for me. The high school building (now RMS) opened its doors for the first time in September 1961 to grades 7, 8, and 9 (a total of about 450+/- students). Since we had all attended the same K-8 building (Consolidated School aka Center Grove) we pretty much knew everyone in the building…including many of the grade 7 and 8 teachers who just moved over from the Consolidated School that would now be a K-6 building. Over time we grew into a six-year high school (housing grades 7-12); the Class of 1967 was the first class to attend all six years.

As a new high school it was the charge of all the students to “create” this new Randolph High School. We held school-wide elections to decide on the school colors, name its publications, and choose (RAMS) and name the school mascot (RAMROD). Ramrod was a real-life ram who was present on the sidelines at all home football games and during the week could often be seen grazing in the upper courtyard of the high school. It was truly a year of “firsts”…a time of adventure.

With each new year more and more opportunities for involvement emerged. Since there were so few of us near everyone participated in one, and oftentimes more, school-sponsored extra-curricular activities…intramural and interscholastic sports, clubs, publications (i.e. newspaper, yearbook, literary magazine, chorus, band, plays, musicals, etc.)

Therefore, I would have to say my favorite high school memories centered on my involvement in school-related activities, which ultimately resulted in me forming friendships which happily have endured to date."

Q: Were there any teachers that influenced you while you were in high school? Did they change how you thought or what you planned to do with your life after high school?

"Many of the new faculty members during the early years of RHS were themselves recent college graduates. They were young, eager, enthusiastic, and motivated to be a part of and to help build this new high school. I recall with great admiration many of my K-12 teachers who served as such wonderful role models each and every day for me, an aspiring teacher. (Note: It was actually my third grade teacher, Mrs. Blankenburg, who was my inspiration. After a year in her class I already know I wanted to be a teacher.)"

Q: What activities were you a part of? How did doing those activities (clubs/sports/work/ect.) help you both in high school and out of high school?

"Throughout my four years of high school I participated in intramural sports, chorus, and musical productions. I was also a four-year cheerleader. With respect to cheerleading, it should be noted that only one squad was chosen annually for each level of competition (Freshman, JV, Varsity) and each specific squad cheered for all home and away games/matches for Football, Basketball, and Wrestling for their level. I also served as Homeroom Representative for the SGA (Student Government Association), in addition to being a member of the Girls Leaders Club and the National Honor Society.

During my junior and senior years I worked at the Dairy Queen; at that time both the Randolph and Kenvil sites were owned by the same couple. I worked primarily to earn and save for my future college expenses as I did not want that burden to fall on my parents.

The school and work activities that I participated in taught me to accept responsibility and to fully realize the need to work cooperatively with others to get a job done. I held leadership positions in many of the school activities which often required close collaboration with teachers and administrators to plan various school events. From these interactions with classmates and staff I learned valuable interpersonal and leadership skills…all very essential skills that would ultimately serve me well in my chosen career and in life."

Q: If you could tell your high school self one thing you know now what would it be? Why is it important to tell yourself that?

"I would tell my high school self to be more aware of the efforts and sacrifices my parents made to provide for me and to allow me to participate fully in extra-curricular activities. At the time, very few high school students had their own cars or even an “extra” family car available for their regular use. So I think back on the many, many times over my four years that my parents had to pick me up at the high school on cold, snowy nights after arriving home from an away basketball game (Tuesday/Friday nights) or wrestling match (Wednesday/Saturday nights). Cheerleaders rode the same bus with the players and the Skyline Conference included schools as far away as Franklin, Pequannock, and Wanaque (in the days before highways including Route 15 and Route 287) so we often arrived home well after 11 PM. Although I was certainly grateful that someone was always there to pick me up, I’m not sure my “teenage self” fully understand and appreciated how hard it was on them."

Q: What lessons have you learned since graduating that you otherwise would not know?

"Since graduating from high school I have learned the importance of planning as a means toward attaining both personal and career goals…but all the while realizing that the path might not always be smooth. Therefore, also essential is the need to be flexible in your planning. You will likely encounter “roadblocks” along the way resulting in the need to alter and/or amend your plans and THAT is the hard part. In this case, it is always important to remember that there is often more than one way to achieve your goals and find happiness and contentment in life. Note: the “road less travelled” will also get you there!

Likewise, it is important to keep in mind that during your high school and post high school career-path years you are in somewhat of a protective “bubble”; although certainly responsible for making many choices and decisions that will impact your life you are, most often, not yet having to face the “outside” word completely on your own. The time will come, however, when the decisions and choices you make will rest on you and ultimately impact others (i.e. family, friends, colleagues). It is then when the influence of family, school, friends, and the sum total of your life experiences to date (both god and not-so-good) meld together to guide you.

At the end of each day I want to be able to say I feel good about how the day went. I look back on how I handled myself, how the choices I made impacted others, and what I learned from the events of the day. I believe it’s important to like who you are…to be able to say “I’m proud of me!”"

Q: What advice would you give future generations going into high school?

"My advice would be to be grateful for all the opportunities available to you, both in and out of school, during your high school years. Be open to new experiences…participate in school activities…explore new interests…go “outside” yourself to help others…be a friend.

You will grow and learn with every new experience, all the while gaining valuable life experiences that will stay with you and ultimately influence your future life choices."

RAMROD - The Official Mascot

Interview notes:

The lessons learned in high school may at times seem meaningless but they are something that will be carried with us for years to come. The value of these moments should not be looked over as despite how much time may be spent looking to the future, these four years help shape the people we become. While there are a lot of experiences after high school, that does not diminish the worth of what is learned during this time. Each day we will learn to grow and be better than the day before, change is inevitable but how we change is up to us.

From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank Celeste Stracco for her patience and her wisdom that I have had the honor of experiencing with this project. She gave me a great foundation and the courage to continue this project even when things did not go according to plan. Despite many hiccups and changes she continued to be willing to be a part of this project from day one and without the support such as hers, this project most probably would not have ever been completed. It truly means the world to me and I do not know if I will ever be able to express just how grateful I am for all that she has done.