PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The senior class at Pittsfield High School has elected Frankielys Payano De La Cruz, Abigail Malumphy, Brooke Tripicco to speak at graduation this Sunday, June 9, at 4 p.m.  

 

The ceremony will return to the grounds of Tanglewood in Lenox this year after a five-year hiatus. 

 

Tripicco will be attending Clark University in Worcester and is planning to double major in English and education, and possibly minor in sociology.

 

"I am so thankful for the honor of representing my class with a speech at graduation," she said. "My time at Pittsfield High School has been wonderful and full, and I hope

my words are reflective of that."

 

Payano De La Cruz moved to the United States at the age of 9 from the Dominican

Republic. She will be attending the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the fall.

 

Malumphy will be attending UMass at Boston this fall. A member of the honors college, she plans to major in nursing with a research focus and minor in Spanish. 

 

"I am incredibly grateful for my family, who have supported me through each step of the way," she said. "I truly could not have gotten to this day without the unwavering support of my mother, Neelam, father, Chris, and older sister, Maddy."

 

These three students represent the voice of this year's senior class, who have worked through a challenging four years of high school.  

 

Pittsfield High School recognizes students who have achieved the top 10 cumulative grade-point averages in the senior class. The PHS 2024 Top Ten, in alphabetical order, are Donald Corbett, Jake Christopher Duquette, Julia Haggerty-DeGiorgis, Riley Katharyn Barbara Laurent, Summer Rae Lawton, Abigail Malumphy, Jack Thomas Robarge, Camila Andrea Sebastian Riva, Grace Ungewitter and Joseph Ilan Weiner.

 

Academic departments also give awards to honor the most outstanding students in their respective disciplines. The following are this year's outstanding students: Katarena Castagna (Art), Joseph Ilan Weiner (Band), Jack Thomas Robarge (Jazz Band), Analeese Matos (Business), Donald Corbett (Computer), Brandon Westbrooks (CVTE), Summer Rae Lawton (Drama), Hannilor Nda Morkeh (Multilingual), Brooke Adler Tripicco (Edward J. McKenna Award-English), Benjamin Eshun (Math), Ethan Maisonueve (Orchestra), Braden Bienvenue (PE), Riley Katharyn Barbara Laurent (John P. Leahy Memorial Award-Science), Makayla Jayne Wax (Social Studies), Dea Courtney Wood-Crooks (Vocal), and Elliot Michael Trainor (World Languages).

 

The Seal of Biliteracy recognizes graduates who speak, read, listen, and write proficiently in another language in addition to English with a seal on their high school diploma. The Seal of Biliteracy movement has the goal of promoting long-term foreign, native, and heritage language study, documenting achievement in biliteracy, and producing a biliterate, multicultural workforce. 

 

Pittsfield High School is one of the first schools in Berkshire County to recognize its seniors for this achievement. The students who received the Seal of Biliteracy (* with distinction) are: Spanish; Amanda Pou Burgos*, Elliot Trainor*, Brooke Tripicco*, Makayla Wax*, Brandon Balcazar, Juan Bedard Torres, Jerson Gonzalez, Abigail Malumphy, Frankielys Payano de la Cruz, Paola Reinoso, Juan Pablo Salcedo; Italian; Elliot Trainor*.

 

This year, Pittsfield High School will have its first Pathway graduates. The following students have successfully completed a rigorous course schedule in their chosen pathway: Performing Arts Pathway (* with distinction), Summer Rae Lawton*, Dea Courtney Wood-Crooks* and Ethan Maisonneuve. 

 

The AP Seminar and Research Certificate is granted to students who earn scores of three or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research. Ellen Muller successfully completed the certificate in her junior year. This year, multiple candidates for this certificate have pending scores from tests taken in the spring.