Drury High School Graduates 109 in Class of 2009
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"We started with an untold story,
We wrote about love and glory
The other pages filled with laughs and tears
And how we've met our fears
And it's no wonder
Why I'll miss you"
We wrote about love and glory
The other pages filled with laughs and tears
And how we've met our fears
And it's no wonder
Why I'll miss you"
But that last hurrah after being presented by Mayor John Barrett III to the packed gymnasium filled with cheers and applause was fleeting; only moments later the the class of 2009 had fled the scene of so many of their athletic triumphs to be enfolded by beaming family members.
"It is a night to be happy and celebrate," said valedictorian Ericka Oleson, "however, it is also a night of sadness and remembrance."
Oleson thanked the staff and faculty for helping to shepherd her and her classmates to graduation night, and that they should be proud of their charges.
The last four years have brought changes not only in the lives of the students, but in the greater world as well, she said. Getting to the life-turning point graduation was a great accomplishment, and now, "we have spent the past years wandering the halls and classrooms of the Drury High School and now we are really to move on."
"When we reach that daunting place that has been our destination for four years now, we have a chance to start over," Oleson told her classmates. "We will meet new people, make new friends, and learn new things. We will grow older and more responsible for ourselves. As we graduate from Drury tonight we are left to traverse our unwritten future."
 List of graduates and awards can be found here. |
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted," said the 2009 salutatorian, who described her own "gallant fall" in her first year of hurdling when she cried out about her "tan, beautiful legs." It was enough to get everyone laughing, including herself.
"Always make light of every bad situation," said Bona. "If you have fallen, get back on your feet and try again. Failure is not just acceptable, it's often essential."
She left her classmates with the battle cry of "Attack those hurdles!"
Class President Ashley Lincoln led the class in the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced the speakers; graduating band and choral members joined their groups for final performances of "It Finds An Echo In My Soul ..." and "Calling All Dreamers," respectively.
Honors awards were presented by Principal Amy Meehan, the class was presented by Superintendent James M. Montepare and Barrett, as chairman of the School Committee, handed out the diplomas.
The stage was decorated with the class flower, blue-tipped white carnations, and the class motto by Waldo Emerson — "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies withing us" — was printed on a banner above the stage. The class ode of "My Untold Story" was written by graduating seniors Andrew Rosenburg and Danielle Scaggs.
Meehan said she had a hard time trying to decide what to say to the class of 2009: "The class who knows everything."
She recalled some of the stories she's seen unfold over the four years: the shy freshman who blossomed, the transfer student who found a home on the hill, the football team that persevered after the death of a beloved coach, the student from war-torn Sudan who opened the school's eyes to injustice, "the seniors in blue and white tonight who refused to join the million-plus students who drop out of school each year."
There was both joy and sorrow, she said, triumph and defeat.Meehan left her former students with the story of an old man building a bridge to span the noontide, though he was not likely to pass that way again. When questioned by a friend as to why, the old man said responded it was for the "fairhaired youth" that followed who might be handle the stream. "He, too, must cross in twilight dim; good friend, I'm building the bridge for him."
"Continue to inspire us as you move forward in your journey," she told the students. "Continue to cross the many bridges built for you by all those here celebrating your accomplishment tonight. Bring forward with you the knowledge and skills you have learned at Drury for now it's your turn to build a bridge."
NBCTC Channel 16 will rebroadcast the graduation on Wednesday, June 10, 6 p.m.; Saturday, June 13, 5 p.m. ; Sunday, June 14, 11 a.m.; Wednesday, June 17, 4 p.m., and Saturday, June 20, 1 p.m.
