A bit of rain, but still plenty of shine at Keefe Tech's graduation ceremony
ASHLAND — The 49th graduation ceremony of Keefe Regional Technical School was held on the wide fields of the Warren Conference Center and Inn, with a large tent sitting empty — just in case the class of 2022 needed shelter.
And sure enough, less than an hour after Thursday's ceremony — postponed from a day earlier — it began to pour.
Keefe Tech, which serves students from Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Hopkinton and Ashland, provides hands-on technical study to prepare students for a variety of vocations.
“When we joined the school, most of us didn’t know where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do with our future,” said salutatorian Vaansh Mansharamani. But “how many of us missed going to school during the pandemic? I know I missed our teachers, friends, the lively days in our career technical area, and even some of the rowdy crowds in the lunch room — and I’m an introvert.”
Mansharamani squeezed in a few roasts about the 16 programs offered at Keefe Tech, including; carpentry, "the opposite of tree huggers"; early childhood education and teaching, "the kids who look after other kids"; horticulture, who “embody the phrase ‘touch grass,' internet slang for those who need a reality check"; and metal fabrication, “who I don’t even need to burn because they will do it themselves.”
Once they complete their freshman year, Keefe Tech students alternate weeks of academic study with hands-on learning. Upperclassmen have the option to take on off-campus jobs to expand their experience.
Mansharamani is heading to Worcester Polytechnic Institute this fall to study robotics.
During the pandemic, high school was not without its challenges. For a virtual tasting class, baking teacher Amy Snyder drove to each student’s home to deliver a box of chocolates. She said some students were surprised to see the time fly by so quickly — they feel like they were only just freshmen.
“It’s a nice graduation,” Snyder said. “I feel like it’s against all odds. They’ve really been through so much and just kept plugging away. They grow up, somehow.”
Students are moving on to a variety of colleges as well as other pursuits, including starting their own businesses or entering the workforce. One parent joked that he wanted to get in contact with a student heading to The Culinary Institute of America.
Kerine Gordan’s son, Kavaun Smith, was in the carpentry program, and although he plans to study sports management in college, Gordan said he learned a lot at Keefe Tech.
“I think Keefe is much more of a ‘this is what the world has to offer you,’” instead of just academics, Gordan said.
Of course, having someone handy around the house never hurts.
List of graduates:
Maynor Aguilar-Nieves, Omar Aguilera, Klaryssah Albani, Luis Alvarez Jr., Jean Arana, Jaris Argueta, Jasmine Arroyo, Jason Assarian, Kevin Assarian, Alexander Auble
Ruth Aybar, Jaison Badillo Mendez, Kaitlin Baker, Ana Clara Barbalho, Bruno Barbosa, Jennifer Barreto, Luis Felipe Batista, Aiperi Bazaralieva, Wellington Junior Bezerra, Brooke Bingham
Kaylee Blake, Andrew Boudreau, Taichel Boyd, Benjamin Bradway, Torin Brennan, Joseph Brown, Maya Brown-Depina, Rachel Cabral, Elmer Caguana Lema, Alexa Caiola
Drea Caiola, Jefferson Calderon Ramirez, Samuel Canoni, Mark Anderson Carcamo, Luis Carrasquillo, Rafael Dias Carvalho, Emily Caryl, Nikolas Castelli, Gabriel Chagas, Hallie Cole
Dylan Contreras, Mariana Contreras Palencia, Sabrina Correa, Steven Cramer, Christian Cuggino, Christiano Da Silva, Abelis Damian, Brayan De Lima, Breno De Oliveira, Larissa De Oliveira
Ryan De Souza, Samuel Delaney, Marccus DeOliveira, Jullian Dominguez, Maria Eduarda Dos Reis, Michael Duffy, Adam Dunnagan, John Egan, Daniel Fabrini, Ryan Fangel
Frank Faranda, Gabriel Felipe, Kaua Felix, Hailey Ferguson Debrosse, Mateus Queiroz Fernandes, Thaina Fernandez, Mylena Ferreira, Naymi Ferreira, Daniel Flores Alameda, Christopher Florian
Jeremy Fogarty, Edward Garcia, Trinity Garcia, William Garrant, Christian Gaudet, Hannah Gilvarg, Nathan Giombetti, Anthony Gomes, Jeynelis Gomez, Octavio Gomez
Cooper Gordon, Austin Grant, Victor Gudiel, Emilly Guimaraes, Bryan Gutierrez, Michael Hastings, Julio Hernandez Pereira, Andrew Hubbard, Jason Huber, Christopher Hughes
Adam Huntington, Melanie Jaeger, Christopher Jaynes, Benjamin Kasten, Priscillia Kunda, Michael Lamont, Devin Lamore, Patrick Languzzi, Evan Larson, Samuel Lavoie
Kyan LeDrew, Mariana Letellier, Barbara Lima, Raesler Lomeu, Christian Lovo, Ajani Luciano, Ruth Lugo, Matthew Lyons, Eduarda Magalhaes, Alexis Manchester
Vaansh Mansharamani, Amanda Marins, Rodrigo Martinez, David Maude, Darli Mazariegos Castillo, Connor McCaffrey, Braeden McKenna, Zachary McNeill, Jhonnathan Medina, Abigail Mello
Ana Clara Mello, Marc Mendes, Stephen Merino, Salome Mesa, Noah Montano Rodriguez, Guilherme Moraes, Helen Morais, Iliana Moran, Geovanna Moreira, Andrew Morgan
Bruna Mota, Charles Murphy, Michael Najarian III, Kristaly Nunez, Ashanti Nunez Rodriguez, David Oliveira, Jereniel Oliveras, Bryan Orellana Madrid, Julian Orellana-Vega, Mynor Padilla
Osgui Padilla Morales, Logan Patria, Owen Pelletier, Alexis Pena, Joshua Pereira, Lorraine Pereira, Abner Perez, Jeremy Perez Perez, Luisa Potes Rodriguez, Myanyeliz Quinones
Jordyn Ramos, Gabriel Reis, Yaidaliz Resto, Daurys Reynoso, Weverton Ribeiro, Mitchell Rieder, Owen Riis, Ruth Rivas Martinez, Ana Luiza Rodrigues, Julyalis Rodriguez Davila
Evan Rosato, Zoe Rosen, Andy Ruano, Neyda Salgado-Soto, Hunter Santello, Kati Santiago, William Segale, Vyom Shah, Jake Shepard, Alaja Slaughter
Elizabeth Smith, Kavaun Smith, Conor Snow, Melinda Ssebbowa, Lily Sullivan, Bruno Tameirao, Valerie Taveras, Hailey Thompson, Amanda Torres, Luis Valladares
Julia Vieira, Cameron Vilaranda, Angelina Zanella and Nicholas Zuliy.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Keefe Tech in Framingham holds 49th graduation ceremony
