'We have grown up': Class of 2023 graduates from Braintree High School

Joel Barnes, The Patriot Ledger
·6 min read

BRAINTREE – Members of Braintree High School's Class of 2023 may be leaving their innocence behind, but they still have much to gain, Class President Kylie Vo said during graduation ceremonies Saturday.

“Let me assure you that this loss of innocence is not a bad thing," she said. "Our experiences lead us to take a newfound understanding of life and of knowledge. Losing our innocence allows us to see the world's true complexities and gives us the experiences and skills to make a difference.

“We are all crossing this threshold in our journey," she told her classmates and their family and friends. "It is here today at this ceremony that marks this symbolic turning point.

Graduating seniors from Braintree High School proceed onto the school field.
Graduating seniors from Braintree High School proceed onto the school field.

"We have grown up and are about to leave our safe haven," Vo said.

Members of Braintree High's Class of 1973 was in attendance to mark their 50th anniversary.

Class of 2023 Student Council President William Rafti had one final request.

“Look around," he said. "Look at the person to your left, to your right, in front of and behind you and ask yourselves, 'Do I really know these people?' They may be your best friends, classmates, teammates or even just an acquaintance, but really ask yourselves do you know what those around you have faced to get to this ceremony today?”

Rafti said there is much to learn from books in English class, such as “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, which is a collection of linked short stories about a platoon of American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. Rafti said the lesson he took from the stories is that everyone carries different emotions like stress and anxiety. He reminded people to be kind and to have empathy.

Valentine Mireku and Abdul Makhzoum hold graduation gifts.
Valentine Mireku and Abdul Makhzoum hold graduation gifts.

“Many of us were burdened by stress," he said. "Stress of a busy schedule, stress of trouble at home or stress about the world around us. As I look out into the wave of Braintree blue before me, I see not only a graduating class of students who by requirement have gained a certain number of credits in each subject and passed the MCAS but also I see hundreds of young adults who have not only survived the terrifying challenge of high school but also some of the most difficult years of our lives.

“Please treat people with kindness because we are all simply human. Try to carry with you a positive attitude, a helping hand and an open mind because if you do our world will be better because of it,” Rafti said.

Braintree High School valedictorian May Ng, right, and a friend hold flowers and balloons.
Braintree High School valedictorian May Ng, right, and a friend hold flowers and balloons.

The Class of 2023

Alexander Aborn, Khalil Abu, Matthew Adams, Isabella Aguiar, Naliyah Aime, Iris Akshia, Dorisvaldo Alfaro, Ryan Almeida, Zahraa Al-Mosawi, Zainab Al-Mosawi, Colleen Archdeacon, Conor Archdeacon, Mariano Argueta Mejia, Syniah Ashley, Preeti Bachu, Grace Baldwin, Tadas Baltaduonis, Samantha Barbosa, Hannah Barrett, Lilliana Baszkiewicz, Chansly Beauvoir, Olivia Berry, John Bleakney, Angelina Breda, Thomas Brogna, Ryan Brooks, Grace Brooks, William Browne, Anastacia Bucko, Kieleigh Bulman, James Burke, Ava Burns, Kyra Buro, Brianna Burrell, Devon Butler.

Brenna Caliri, Maeve Candura, Giavanna Canelli, Mia Capaccioli, Paige Capece, Anthony Cappello, Anthony Carey, Madison Carlsen, Jason Carmel, Timothy Carney, Shea Caron, Leo Carrillo, Andrew Carroll, Nathaniel Carroll, Lily Carver, Julianne Cavanaugh, Meghan Ceriani, Muath Chaghouri, Jasmine Chen, Christopher Chen, Selena Chen, Vicky Chen, Zhiyin Chen, Ivan Chiu, Luke Christmas, Aidan Civittolo, Jack Civittolo, Michael Clancy, Caroline Clougher, Angelina Coady, Drew Coady, Ryan Cochrane, Austin Colantonio, Cassidy Cole, Sophia Colleary, Olivia Collins, Ryley Comerford, Kevin Corcoran, Wyatt Corey, Owen Costello, Keira Cronin, Caroline Crook, Ryan Curtin, William Cusack, Edward Cusson.

Juliana Daluz, Matthew Daly, Emily Day, Sophia DeAngelis, Stephen Dedalonis, James Deery, Brendan Delaney, Paige DeSantis, Michaela DeShiro, Ava DiBona, Sean Dickerson, Charles DiMartino, Nathaniel Dinh, Dominic Dionisio, Nina DiRusso, Daria Dobrolinski, Rebecca Doherty, Ava Doherty, John Doherty, Caitlin Doherty, Anthony Dominico, Rory Donnahue, Mackenzie Donlan, Hanscard Dormeus, Aurora Doughty, Jonathan Dow.

Joseph El Khoury, Terry Elie, Genevieve Emerson, Savanna Eng, Nolan Erdody, Aislin Erickson, Emma Erickson, Leanna Eskander, Frank Ezhan, Lydia Faber, James Farragher, Nicholas Fasano, Keelan Feighery, Alexander Fernandes, Luis Fernandes, Jaxiel Figueroa, Martin Finnerty, James Fitzgerald, Julia Fitzgerald, John Fitzgerald, Eva Flaherty, Rose Flaherty, Meghan Fleming, Derek Foley, Makenzie Fowler, Mario Johnson, Tyler Furness, Ronnie Furtado.

William Galligan, Ava Garcia, Jordyn Garcia-Smith, Lucy Gately, Cameron Gazzolo, Anthony Gillis, Amanda Glynn, Matthew Goode, Emma Gordon, Malachi Gorman, Abigail Grace, John Grace, Cameron Grieve, Makenna Gunning, Alexandrina Hall, Kierra Hall, Leena Hamdeh, Jason Handrahan, Benjamin Hankinson, Angela Hannon, Thomas Hayward, Alejandra Herrera Aldana, Olivia Hingston, Benjamin Ho, Trinity Ho, Fiona Holland, Jaiden Holmes, Ciara Horan, Shannon Houlihan, Amya Howell, Evan Huang, Jiaqi Huang, Grace Huang, Kyle Hutchinson.

Malana Jacobs, Ryan Jaehnig, Emily Jessen, Mario Johnson, Barry Joseph, Colleen Joyce, Kate Joyce, Aydin Karama, Amalia Karr, Clara Keka, Lauren Kelley, Jayson Kelly, Magnus Kendall, Brian Kenney, Terence Kenny, Christina Kent, Meba Ketema, Bilal Khan, Jonathan Killeffer, James Kinsella, Lisa Knauber, Amy Krason, William Krupa, Linqi Kuang.

Mckayla Labadie, Rachel LaLama, Brandon Lam, Perry Lane, Amberly Lara, Madison Larkin, Dylan Le, Kiet Le, Conor Leahy, Bridget Lee, Brooke Lenling, Michael Lentini, Brooke Leone, Eugene Leong, Thomas Letteney, Christopher Lever, Toby Lever, Heidi Lin, Jason Li, Duncan Lin, Nathan Lin, Willson Lin, Tristan Linn, Kelsie Littlewood, Mason Liu, Josephine Liu, Hunter Logan, Aria Long, Micaela Lopes, Ellen Losordo, Steele Luckey, Steven Luongo, Kyleigh Lydon.

Margaret MacCormack, William MacDonald, Elycia MacGregor-Monteiro, Skylar MacMinn, James Madden, Kara Madeiras, Kaia Madi, Abdulghaffar Makhzoum, Finley Marshall, Tessa Marston, Jovian Martino, Jhellane Mateo, Brendan Mattes, Thamyris Mayrink, Gabrielle Mazzini, Isabella McAuliffe, Haleigh McCaffrey, Ava McCarthy, John McCarthy, Peter McDonald, Brady McDonald, Finn McDonough, Margret McDonough, Shae McDonough, Leah McGonagle, Allison McNamee, Cameron McPhail, Allison Melo, Carmen Menghi, Evan Millholland, Valentine Mireku, Joseph Molloy, Gavin Moran, Liah Moriarty, William Morison, Fiona Morris, Molly Muldoon, Ella Munroe, Matthew Murphy, Georgia Murray.

Cassandra Naughton, Olivia Needham, May Ng, Nicole Ng, Peter Nguyen, Johanna Nguyen, Joshual Nguyen, Juliana Nguyen, Anthony Nguyen, Bertina Nguyen, Julian Nguyen, Kayleen Nguyen, Brian Norton, Evan Noun, Daniel O'Brien, Jamie O'Connell, Ella O'Doherty, Kieran O'Grady, Richard Oliveira, Taryn O'Malley, Lela Opila, Mathew Oppman, Aaron Osagie, Aine O'Shea, Daniel O'Shea, Justin Ostrom, Ryen Pacino, Michael Palmarin, Julia Panaro, Dina Papadopoulos, Nikolas Papantonakis, Megi Papingu, Bindi Patel, Diya Patel, Mia Pellegrino, Aaron Petitti, Isabella Petrov, Havan Phan, Tyler Phan, Ava Picard, Allison Po, Jase Potter, Greyson Prado, Jack Presutti.

Xiaojun Qin, Samantha Quigley, William Rafti, Elizabeth Reardon, Rudaina Refaey, Maham Rehman, Madison Reynolds, Taynned Rivera, Bryan Rizzo, Neisha Robertson, Anna Rocha, Devin Rosa, Jasmine Rous, Zachary Ryan, Sophia Ryan, John Ryan, Jake Rynne.

Kerrigan Saccoach, Shawn Sailesh, Herman Saini, Mohit Saini, Juma Salazar, Jacob Santagate, Bridget Sawyer, Meghan Scott-Richmond, Jaynah Sengsouvanh, Varuni Senthilkumar, Abigail Shalgian, Elijah Sical-Moises, Yharielys Silvestre, Alana Sinclair, Ava Siracusa, Rayna Smith-Pelletier, Fallon Somers, Gianna Spadorcia, Colin Sprague, Tanish Srivastava, Noah Stec, Ornarose Stones, Juliana Summers, Daniel Surette, Pearson Suttles, Jack Suttles, Ja-Ayna Sweatman.

Jason Tam, Cassidy Tan, Liam Tanguay, Sara Tardif, James Tellier, Jared Tempesta, Andreas Thoyas, Isabella Thurston, Jackson Tiernan, Ceana Tran, Paris Tran, Papingu Tran, Kardon Tran, Benjamin Trotta, Neilie Tuite, Meder Tukeshov, Abigail Ugochukwu, Christopher Utley, Juan Valencia, Ella Valenzuela, Lucy Vandor, Anthony Varrasso, Alexander Veneziano, Damianna Villa, Qin Vo, Raymond Vo, Nghi Vu.

Braydon Walorz, Clint Walsh, Rehman Walters, Monica Warwick, Corey Watson, Jillian Welby, Delaney Welch, Ava White, Rosa White, Shazay Wilkins, Sabrina Wise, Molly Witham, Ella Woods, Elaine Wu, Natalie Wu, Myle Xa, Saini Xu, Yigit Yalcinkaya, Allison Young, Robert Young, Maggie Yung, Edison Zheng, Senthilkumar Zhou, Rylee Zhuo, Ryne Zmudzien.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree High School Class of 2023