Wahconah Grads To Define Their Generation

The class of 2014 celebrated graduation on Sunday at Wahconah Regional High School.

DALTON, Mass. — Despite the principal's attempt to characterize the class of 2014 as "wicked awesome," Wahconah valedictorian Rose May says they haven't even started to make a name yet.

"Some even call us the Internet generation. To others we are 'Generation Y,' generation now, and generation me. These names all come from what people see our generation as. Most recently experts say that our generation feels entitled, we want everything at our fingertips, we want all the answers, and we want them now. We come across as selfish to whoever comes up with these fancy generation names," May said on Sunday as 125 Wahconah Warriors entered the next phase of their lives.

But those characteristics are wrong, she said, because "we have so much in us, so much that we must do. We have not grown up enough or lived enough life yet to be defined as 'Generation Y' because we haven’t left our mark yet. Our future is unknown, and I believe it is our job to define ourselves."

The class of 2014 isn't part of what the New York Post says is "the worst generation" but rather the one that is going to "repair" the world that others hadn't been able to adjust to, she said. And that starts on Sunday when Wahcohah Regional High School graduated the next generation of the "Wahconah family."

The graduation caps off what salutatorian Eleanor Cherry compared to as running a mile. Each year was like a lap on a track, she said, and each posed their own challenges.

"Today, we have reached our metaphorical finish line. Our graduation is the ultimate finish line to the ultimate journey. It's definitely been a tough ride, but the part to remember is that we reached the finish line. High school is hard, but today, we have conquered it," Cherry said. "It doesn’t matter how you completed the journey either, the point is that you completed it. It doesn’t matter how you reached the finish line, it only matters that you do."

After conquering multiple challenges to get through the last four years, the students know they can get through anything, she said. Class President Dominic Carnevale said the biggest lesson the class has taken away is "how to learn."

"We have learned how to learn. We have learned how to turn failure into success," Carnevale said, and they've done it in a school with "unparalleled culture."

"There is a sense of family that runs through us," Carnevale said.

While May says there is still much to do to define their generation, Principal James Conro said they've already left their mark on Wahconah. Conro said the best way to describe the class is "wicked awesome."

"Every expectation we have set down, they have surpassed," Conro said. Later adding, "this class has got nothing to be ashamed of. They can be proud of the legacy they have left on Wahconah."

And, as with all other graduating classes, they are always welcome to return to the school.

"You are family. You will always be part of the Wahconah family," Conro said.

Following Conro's statements, the students were give their diplomas from administration officials. Once they all received the diploma they'd worked had for, they reached under their chairs for cans of Silly String to launch into the air in celebration.

"There is only one way with lots of hard work that we can achieve such goals, and that is through following our passions, but accepting the fact that passions can grow and even change overtime — after all, most of us are not becoming princesses and astronauts after this day," May said.

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