E.O. Smith holds first in-person graduation since 2019
Jun. 22—STORRS/MANSFIELD — For the first time since 2019, Edwin O. Smith High School held an in-person graduation at their traditional location: the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.
Staff and students alike were happy to regain a sense of normalcy on Monday night by holding graduation at this venue following several years of virtual and drivethrough graduations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ben Shaiken, deputy mayor of the Town of Mansfield and a 2006 graduate of E.O. Smith, served as the commencement speaker. He said that his high school experience was much different than this year's graduating class, as he did not have to deal with a worldwide pandemic. Shaiken admires the graduating class' perseverance during the past two years.
"I have incredible respect for you," he said to the Class of 2022. "What you accomplished was hard."
Shaiken encouraged the graduates to find what they are passionate about. Passions may change over time as individuals have new experiences.
Shaiken believed that Mansfield had seen the last of him when he graduated from E.O. Smith in 2006. However, after attending one year of college at DePaul University in Chicago, he enrolled at the University of Connecticut in Storrs because he realized that he loved Mansfield.
Shaiken's second piece of advice to the graduates was to care about each other and their community. This will help the community improve and overcome challenges.
School Counselor Morgan Perry presented Aminieli Hopson with the Edwin O. Smith Award at graduation. The award, which has been presented annually for 62 years, is presented to a member of the graduating class who emulates the qualities of the school's namesake: Edwin O. Smith. Smith served 28 years in the Connecticut House of Representatives. He was also a professor, baseball and football coach as well as the president of the UConn campus in Storrs. Smith was regarded for his integrity and commitment to his constituents and students.
"This year's recipient truly honors the traits of Mr. Smith and the principles our school was founded on and we strive to live by," Perry said regarding Hopson.
Perry added that Hopson took rigorous courses and demonstrated leadership on several athletic teams.
"The energy and poise that he brings to all that he does is remarkable," Perry said regarding Hopson. "He has uplifted and strengthened our school and the community as one of the founders of the Cultural Awareness Brigade."
The Cultural Awareness Brigade is a club that unites, advocates for and supports E. O. Smith students who are members of historically underrepresented groups, specifically students of color.
Those who attended E.O. Smith's graduation on Monday were treated to musical performances. The high school band played the iconic graduation ballad "Pomp and Circumstance" by Sir Edward Elgar. The school's concert choir also sang a few songs in honor of graduation.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT 2nd District) congratulated the graduates via video. He said that he was impressed by students on the occasions he visited the school.
"I think your time will go down as an epic journey, as you got through a world pandemic that turned the education process upside down," Courtney said to the graduates. " Congratulations to
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