All the usual ways of showing excitement during a high school graduation were present at John Stark Regional High School’s commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon.
There were the traditionalists – the clappers, the cheerers and the screamers – and those bent on making noise without their vocal chords, who employed air horns, kazoos and other noisemakers as their friend or family member accepted their diploma.
But perhaps the most significant method of salutation to students came at the end of the ceremony, when a cannon fired shortly after students moved their tassels across their mortarboards and tossed them into the air. The cannon dates back to the Revolutionary War, and its presence at commencement is as integral to the school’s character as its motto of “Regard, Respect, Integrity.”
But although members of the 30th graduating class spent some time reflecting on their past, those in attendance spoke about the importance of looking forward and making their futures their own.
“Look at how much we have accomplished as a class with all the successes under our belts,” said Valedictorian Alyssa Robichaud. “Look at how much we have accomplished as a class these past four years and how many championships and competitions we have either won or have brought John Stark closer to winning than ever before. … Now think of what we can do as individuals taking on the world.”
Salutatorian Warren Quinlan noted students might be going into the world with a few scratches and dents, like the chairs they were sitting on, but that was what made their accomplishments so significant.
“Just like all of our chairs, we all have our own scratches, dents and chipping paint to tell our own story, not the story of the person sitting next to us, and that is just beautiful,” he said.
Indeed, the impact students would make on the world was now entirely up to them, said SAU 24 superintendent Dr. Lorraine Tacconi-Moore. Up until Saturday, their lives had been marked by routines determined by others from the moment they woke up to the time they went home.
That probably won’t change once you head into the adult world, Tacconi-Moore said, thanks to work and class schedules. “The change here will be that for most of you, this is the first time you’ll be determining how you will deal with life once decisions are up to you alone.”
Sound daunting? It is, Tacconi-Moore said, but she told students not to be afraid. “It’s not whether you’re smart,” she said. “We know you are, you’re about to be John Stark graduates … Do you leave here organized enough, skilled enough, mature enough and with enough character to deal with the change that is about to become your life? We sure feel that you are ready to do that; and more importantly, we’re all counting on you to do that.”
John Stark principal Christopher Corkey said it would be easy for students to focus on any uncertainties they may be facing in their future, which he compared to the villain in the story “The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.” He said he used to fixate on the wolf, but instead asked students to focus on what ultimately kept them safe – a solid foundation.
“I’m not thinking about the wolf,” he said. “I’m thinking about the foundation of character that’s been built, one brick at a time, by all those little interactions you’ve had. Hopefully you’ll be taking bricks from your friends here, and hopefully some of the faculty members, and when times get, you can pick up one of those bricks … and it’ll take you through the next storm.”
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)