Norwell High School graduates encouraged to 'fly high, fly hard and fly strong'
NORWELL – Norwell High School faculty and staff lined the walkway as the 162 graduates proceeded onto the school’s football field Saturday, June 4.
The graduating students took their seats in the bleachers – facing a crowd of their friends and family – during a graduation ceremony full of humor and touching lessons.
In her welcome address, class President Tia Cantor was the first to offer her classmates words of wisdom as she reflected on the experiences of her peers and the bond they shared walking the school halls together. Cantor prompted the graduates and the audience to recall their own memories of high school and the importance of remembering “beautiful small moments."
“All of these big moments that you hold so tight in your memory are collections of small moments that added up to become who we are,” Cantor said.
Alex Geagea, chosen by his peers to deliver the senior address, dwelled on many of the small moments during his speech. Knowing laughter rustled through the audience as Geagea called out memorable teachers, shenanigans in art classes and students’ reliance on Khan Academy – all markers of the students’ elementary and middle school years.
Geagea took a moment to appreciate the class’ resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and left his peers with a moving message about their futures.
“Don’t change for the world,” Geagea said. “Make it change for you because it will be a much better place.”
Before awarding diplomas, Norwell High School Principal Marc Bender recognized members of the National Honor Society. Bender announced the recipients of two awards: valedictorian Katherine Johnson received the Mary Gunn Award and Geagea accepted the Harry Merritt Award. The two salutatorians, Sidrah Fawzi and Brynn Vetrano, also received recognition.
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Walking up to the podium and donning a blue robe identical to the students, science teacher David Kitchen, who is retiring this school year, delivered a touching speech teeming with wisdom. His voice thick with emotion, Kitchen thanked the graduates and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
“Even though you leave here as young adults, you will always be our kids,” Kitchen said. “It’s too hard to say goodbye, so I leave with these words: Everyone here has worked hard to give you wings. Now, fly high, fly hard and fly strong.”
Norwell High School Class of 2022
Tia Cantor, Anna Kirchner, Clelia Adeze Megwa, Brett Holland, Julianne Gah-Yeen Flynn, Alex Geagea, Nicholas Abreu, Cameron Achorn, Zoe Alex, Lillian Almeida, Dorothy Amon, Nicholas Anastos, Bianca Anderson, Jessica Ashworth, William Baharian, Michael Balestracci, Shanen Bateman, Lauren Bedford, Micah Beltrami, Brian Black, Audrey Booras, Michael Bulens, Margaret Burnham, Elizabeth Carnes, Abigail Carney, Liam Carroll, Mia Cashin, Jackson Cerruti, Abigail Chapman, Sydney Christensen, Grace Zemfira Coffey, Maria Colantoni, Ashley Colman, John Coyle III, Aiden Cui, Nathan Curtin, John Dalia, Victoria Dalia, Joseph Daly, Tristen Davis, Sara DiSciullo, Maggie Donohue, Seamus Doyle, Sean Durkin, Andrew Dynan, Andrew Farias, Sidrah Fawzi, Caitlyn Fitzsimmons, Rita Foley, Madeleine Fox, Mia Frattasio.
Giulianna Gianino, Colin Gibbons, Cameron Guarachi, Margaret Haas, Isabel Hague, Miranda Halatis, Alyssa Hatton, Casey Heaney, Corinne Henderson, Alex Hernandez, Ryan Hernandez, Teresa Higgins, Katherine Hogan, Madison Hohmann, Dominik Hooks-Ouellette, Taylor Howell, Anna Howie, Justin Hutchins, Neha Jatheender, Alison Jenkins, Katherine Johnson, Mikaela Johnson, Neila Judge, Trevor Kaighn, Emily Kandravy, Abigail Keefe, Sarah Kenney, Amy Kiernan, Madison King, Hyrum Lambert, Samuel Laperle, John Laura III, Chloe Lawrence, Kaitlin Lazcano, Owen Leaver, Erin Ledin, Julia Leonard, Maya Levitt, Summer Loring, Celia Lucchetti, Robert Lyden Jr.
Rowan MacLellan, Liam MacNeill, Maxwell Maiellano, Timothy Marsicano, Norah McCarthy, Gretta McEachern, Seth McGowan, Madeline McKay, Matthew McKenna, Thomas McMahon, Ella Milani, Veronica Milun, Caitlin Morrison, Norah Murphy, Charlotte Murray, Matthew Nentwig, Ella Norton, Katie O'Driscoll, Emilyrose Otis, Annika Paulson, Grace Penna, Maeve Perry, Alec Pettit, Eleanor Phillips, Nina Quintero, Cameron Rogers, Mary Jean Conahan Roman, Anna Ruffini, Caroline Ryan.
Mary Santos, Madeline Schiller, Evan Schindler, Gerald Schindler, Tyler Segal, Hana Selman, Bridget Shaw, Jonah Shumaker, Conrad Sigwart, Daniel Silvers, James Simmons, Camden Smith, Jane Smith, Mischa Spasic, Maeve Sullivan, Hannah Takahashi, Connor Therrien, Ethan Thompson, Evan Thompson, Garrett Toland, Andrew Van Winkle, Michael Vasquez, Taylor Veneto, Brynn Vetrano, John Vining, Emily Vo, Amanda Ward, Courtney Weathersbee, Elinor West, Graham White, Chloe Whyte, Gianna Wilson, Helena Wollam, Corinne Young.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell High School Class of 2022 graduates with 162 students
