BArT Class of 2022 Sent Off With Advice, Assurance

Each graduate selected a staff or faculty member who had an impact on their time at the school to present with a flower in appreciation. See more photos here. 

ADAMS, Mass. — Graduation for the Berkshire Arts & Technology Public Charter School's class of 2022 was a bit of a reunion on Saturday.

The 39 graduates welcomed back two former teachers to give the commencement addresses and some perspective on changes they'd seen in the class.

Both Jamal Ahamad and Michael Vogt talked about their first year teaching with the class in middle school, and how they'd been anxious and, said Vogt, "absolutely terrified," and how much they had learned from the students.

Jamal Ahamad, now teaching English and African-American literature at Taconic High School when he's not a multimedia designer and choreographer, recalled his first year of teaching in 2017 with the class, saying he was impressed with how bright they were even at a young age.

It was during one lesson on social dynamics and gender roles, when he realized that the students were thinking in the ways of humanity in total, not idealized roles.

"It was in that moment with y'all, when I realized about young people, especially y'all, is that you have the audacity of hope," he said. "You had the audacity that you were so willing to put yourself out there and say, 'this is who I am, this is the normal to me.' It blew my mind the views that y'all used is now commonplace today, but you were doing it four or five years ago ... there are people my age who don't know who they are."

He left the class with words of advice to give to those who have nothing to give back because you never know what giving love can do for someone.

"Lastly, be bold enough to hold yourself accountable. Be brave enough to act upon constructive criticism as it services you and in doing so,  be gentle with yourself so that you may have the space to grow and change," Ahamad said. "And as you do that, be kind enough to yourself to forgive yourself. That's the thing."

Michael Vogt, a former math teacher in the middle and high school who's now teaching out near Boston, said he was quick to pick up the phone when he saw the 413 area code and delighted to be asked to speak.

"I really was confident I was going to hold it together but you know, talking to some families, talk to some teachers about the amazing things y'all have done since I've left and the amazing things I know that you're gonna continue to do when you leave this building today," he said. "I'm extraordinarily proud of every single one of you, who you have become, who you will turn into in the future."

He also offered some advice: Sing loudly, travel at every opportunity, learn the difference between studying and learning, find a good barber and a good pair of boots, add salt to boiling water, don't mix up the Red Sox with any other team and, especially, invest.

"Not money, but that helps," he joked. "Invest in your passions, invest in your hobbies, and most importantly, invest in yourself. You are your biggest advocate and your biggest backer, you need to believe that you can do it or no one else will."

Graduation ceremonies were held in the gym. Audrey Krzanik and Abigail Webster sang the national anthem and John Kozak and Lyndon Morehouse introduced the speakers. Graduate Ty Aubin led the class in the appreciation of faculty and staff at the school that they felt had the most impact on them. Each students selected a person and presented them with a pink carnation. Shasta Racela and Kevin Santana-Menendez were the class speakers, sharing "Senior Reflections."

"BArT has been such a fundamental experience to many of us and I know we spent half of our conscious lives here making memories, and sometimes we were over Zoom making memories with our pajamas on still eating breakfast with our cameras off during homeroom," said Racela, who was a student ambassador. "We're all going on to the next chapter of our lives, whether that's college, taking a gap year, going straight to work or whatever else is in store for us. I honestly wasn't sure I'd make it this far."

They said their memories of high school weren't all about the fun, but also the "tremendous workload, the expectations I would put on myself to do everything at once."

 "I wasn't alone. My teachers were always there, usually willing to accommodate when I couldn't cope," Racela said. "My friends were also there and we would help each other through any essays or slideshows that came our way. ... if we can make through high school, we can do anything."

When Santana-Menendez took the stage, his classmates laughed and cheered as he said, "I'm about to do something that I didn't think anybody would ever let me do and that's to speak freely into a microphone."

He looked back on the "tidal wave of unfortunate circumstances and events" that brought challenges and blockades during the pandemic, and the departure of some favorite teachers over the past year.

Finding ways to cope with difficulties in life can be incredibly challenging, especially as a teenager, but something he said he's always taken to heart is the human moments in life.

"A human moment is a moment where you realize how much someone actually cares, when you realize how much someone has done for you or sacrificed for you. A moment where you have built a meaningful connection with another human being or a moment of recognition for the life and feelings and accomplishments of another human," Santana-Menendez said. "I think that BArT is filled with human moments. During the four-plus years we have spent together trying to survive high school, we have build meaningful relationships with each other to help us reach the success we achieve today."

Before presenting the diplomas, Principal Erin Hattaway said the class should celebrate "all you've accomplished not in spite of what life was dictating, but in the spirit of lifelong learners. Adapting and working hard to take care of your lives and to take care of your friends and the people around you."

Executive Director Jay White said the class was living in historic times and has seen "how borders and cultures can be seemingly swept over by things like disease or national aggression."

"Turn that anxiety and uncertainty you're feeling right now and use it to harness the imagination to fashion the world that you know that we need," he said. "We're here to bask in your promise and we're here to begin to imagine with you the world that you're going to build."

The Berkshire Arts & Technology class of 2022: 

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