Wahconah Graduates Ready For 'Leap of Faith'
 Wahconah Regional High School graduates celebrate on Sunday afternoon at the school's gymnasium. |
At their graduation ceremony on Sunday, valedictorian Alexandra Keator recalled taking another leap of faith when she launched herself from a tall height holding onto just a rope at an aerial adventure park her freshman year.
"When I got to the leap of faith I was paralyzed," Keator said overlooking her classmates in the school's gymnasium. "I stood at the obstacle and looked down at my destination."
As she looked down at the platform below, a long line of her classmates stood behind her. But they didn't berate her; instead they rallied for her.
"They gave me the courage to jump," Keator said.
Keator said the class of 2013 has already taken many leaps of faith, including "mustering up the courage to perform on stage last year at senior assembly or to do the Napoleon Dynamite dance at Turkey Fest."
"Most recently, we had to take the biggest leap of all, the leap for our future," Keator said of future life decisions such as examining college, work and service choices.
She also explained the confusion of being considered "Generation Y," and proposed to rather be "Generation Why Not?"
.JPG) Principal James Conro praised the Class of 2013 for their fundraising efforts after Hurricane Sandy. |
Class President Timothy Wagner reminded his fellow graduates that they already possess the tools to make the transition into the real world possible — namely hard work and discipline — but will still continue to grow in the future.
"Behind me sits 123 men and women who have a lot to learn, but for now we learned all we can at Wahconah," Wagner said. "The only thing left to do is graduate."
Principal James Conro applauded the class for its efforts, telling them their legacy is "near perfect."
"This is the smallest class to ever graduate [from Wahconah Regional High School] but collectively they have an amazingly huge heart," Conro said.
Conro continued to explain the diligent work the students did in fundraising efforts after Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey.
"I was very, very emotionally moved as I walked in every morning," Conro said of when he saw students entering the school with clothes, food, diapers, cleaning supplies and even dog food to donate to the distribution centers in New York City.
"I think that says a lot about the Class of 2013, they have great hearts," Conro said.
Conro some graduates will continue their education in 39 different colleges, ranging from Berkshire Community College to University of Vermont to Cornell University. Three graduates who will enter military service stood up in recognition and received a 20 second applause from the packed gymnasium.
After the graduates received their diplomas and turned their tassels, they launched silly string, fired off poppers and sounded off the airhorns before exiting to the band's performance — under the guidance of Band Director Brian Rabuse — of "Eclipse," the final song on Pink Floyd's 1972 album "Dark Side of the Moon."
| The Graduates | Scholarships & Awards | Val & Sal | Photos |
|
Colleen Armacost
Tori Arthur
Kathleen Autenrieth
Makenzi Avallon
Zachary Baran
Jonathan Barcher
Anthony Baroli
Amber Bassett
Kessa Battaini
Jared Benoit
Michael Bishop
Ryan Blessing
Jonathan Bracci
Jacob Bradley
Rachael Brennan
Mathieu Brzostek
Walter Burmer
Lily Calaycay *
Zachary Castine
Brandyn Cesan *
Emily Chevett
Matthew Clayton
Cameron Collins
Clark Cone *
Kaitlin Cook
Tiffany Corbett
Courtney Daley
Nicholas Dargi *
Christopher Darroch *
|
Timothy Desmarais
Manish Devana *
Joseph DiMassimo III
Grace Doble
Padraig Dougherty *
William Driver
Mary Eagar
Ryder Fairbank
Jaclyn Farrell *
Jordan Fiske
Sarah French *
Michael Friedman
Devin Gale
Tristan Gaylord
Kaitlyn Gingras
Christopher Girard
Lexi Girard
Jeremy Godbout
Logan Gresser
Erin Grogan *
Lane Grogan
Rebecca Grunow
Laura Harnett ++
McKenzie Harrington *
Eric Hermann
Payton Hines
Daniel Hopmans
Romana Hruby
Nathan Ivanowsky
|
Jared Jordan
Alexandra Keator +*
Samantha Keller *
Elisabeth Kowalczyk
Kevin Lambert
Madison Laramy
Gabrielle Lavinio *
Shannon Lussier *
Savannah Machado
Bayleigh MacHaffe
Bethany McBain *
William McKibbin
Danielle Melchiori
Jonathan Monteleone
Nicholas Montferret *
William Moro
Calli Morrison
Shivaram Muruga
Melvin Nixon 1
Meghan O'Boyle
Cassandra O'toole
Adam Parker
Caitlin Peeler
Natalie Polo
Stephanie Rawson
Christina Reardon
Kelsey Rice
Zachary Rocca
|
Justin Roughley
Holly Rueger *
Nicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sawyer *
Austin Shaw
Grace Shears
John Skidmore
Morgan Smith
Nathan St. Pierre *
Aaron Stedman
Alexander Stevens
Heather Szklasz *
Brianna Tooley
Samantha Trumble
Kelsey Trumbull
Nicholas Tutela
Ericka Unwin
Dustin Van Fleet
Jessica Voight *
Timothy Wagner *
Mikayla Weigel
Jessica Wendling
Alanna Snow White
Daniel White
Mitchell Wilbur
Robert Wilson
Plymouth Wood
Mary Zabian
|
| + valedictorian, ++ salutatorian, * National Honor Society | |||
Tags: graduation, graduation 2013, Wahconah,
