Taconic Grads Overcame Obstacles En Route To Diploma
 The students each took their own path to earn their diplomas. See more photos here. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — High School isn't easy. But, Taconic's class of 2015 overcame all of the obstacles and on Sunday received their long anticipated diplomas.
"You all deserve to be proud to be sitting here in your cap and gown," valedictorian Anna Keen Leonard said. "We do put up with a lot. We failed tests, we found with friends, or lost jobs. These things can be very overwhelming,"
Mayor Daniel Bianchi said he had two children graduate from Taconic so he knows just how much work goes into school. Sunday's "significant milestone" doesn't just represent the hard work the students put in but also that of the parents, who packed hundreds of lunches, relearned subjects, and drove the students all over the area to help them.
"The day of a high school student can be a long one and as the superintendent said, it starts and an ungodly hour. But, here you sit," Bianchi said. "Now it is your turn to go out and make a difference, explore your world and touch the lives of others."
The students now enter the ranks of "distinguished" Taconic graduates, taking the lessons they learned with them. School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Yon said it isn't just about the math or English lesson but that the students learned much more than that.
"We hope that you also learned some of things that really count. We hope you learned compassion, caring and kindness," Yon said, urging them to be the "the person who cares" about others. "I ask you to be a real brave. Carry that Taconic tradition with you and you're sure to be a success."
Superintendent Jason McCandless gave the students a similar message in giving them some additional summer reading: the Sermon on the Mount. He hit some of the high points of that reading, saying the speech revolves around the golden rule — do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.
"There are horrible things that happen all around us and we need to stand up to them," McCandless said urging the students to fight against the bad things in the world.
He urged them to help each other to make the world a better place because "we are all in this thing called life together. We are in this country together. We are in the city of Pittsfield together."
Although speeches from the mayor and superintendent are commonplace in graduations, Taconic does things a little different from others. Earlier this year a student asked Principal John Vosburg if there was a way to have the graduation ceremony represent the cross section of interests and activities that compromise the class.
"We always do our own thing and that is the way it should," Vosburg said before walking off the stage and onto the floor of the gymnasium where the graduating seniors were sitting.
There he passed the microphone to seven different students — Alexandra Zuber, Mitchell McCauley, Belinda Boateng, Jamie Behrent, Hunter Smead, and Jahmair Chappelle — to let them address the gathering. Each wished their classmates the best and urged them to do the most with their potential.
Salutatorian Alexander Michael Stevens had a similar message in his speech. He told his classmates to never give up on their dreams, dreams the students were able to figure out during their time in high school.
"If we stay true to our dreams, it will be easier to achieve them," Stevens said.
The students then walked across the stage to receive diplomas from the mayor and School Committee members Joshua Cutler, Pamela Farron, and Anthony Riello. Yon, McCandless and Deputy Superintendent Joseph Curtis presented the awards for high honors and Assistant Superintendent Kristen Behnke and School Committee members Daniel Elias and Cynthia Taylor presented the honors awards.
"We entered the gymnasium today as students but leave as adults," Leonard said. "It is time for us to become the people we are meant to be."
The students moved their tassel to the other side of the mortar board and proceeded out of the gym to be greeted by friends and family.
| Graduates | Scholarships & Awards | Photos | |
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Basile Nii Amugi Addy Andrew Joseph Chenail Sarah Ann Cicchetti*† |
Cortnee Ann Clemons Jocelyn Marie-Claire Guelce** Selina Marie Guerrero** Shea Kathryn Hassett*† Jeremy Terrell Haven Robert Lynn Hayden Jacob Michael Heath Jonathan Louis Herforth Stephen Paul Hicks Ashlyn Mae Holden Christopher Michael Holm Morgan Elise Holm
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Benjamin E. Houghtaling Jonathan Michael Placido**
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Bailey Nicole Prescott*† *High Honors **Honors †Nationl Honor Society
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