Stroudsburg, Notre Dame, PV celebrate commencement

Monroe County's first round of high school graduations held last weekend marked a return to normal for many high seniors in the Poconos.

This weekend will see another set of commencement exercises celebrated at Pocono Mountain High School East and West campuses, as well as at East Stroudsburg Area High School North and South.

A touchdown for Stroudsburg grads

A famous Mountaineer (class of 2013) gave the commencement speech at Stroudsburg High School on Friday, June 3.

The school graduated 354 students in a very crowded Ross Stulgaitis Stadium for their last night under the lights. Highlighting the ceremony was surprise guest NFL star Sebastian Joseph-Day of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Before he took the stage, school officials held a ceremony to retire the defensive lineman’s no. 51 Mountaineers football jersey

“Don’t be afraid to lose, embrace your failures, know that each failed attempt brings you a step closer to success…Character, problem solving and toughness is built through these attempts,” he told the crowd before shaking the hands of several students as they were handed their diplomas. The next day, Joseph-Day hosted a football camp for Stroudsburg Area School district athletes (ages 8-14) at the high school where he signed autographs and took photos with the kids.

“It’s a no brainer to give back to the kids, give back to the community — the community that helped me get to where I’m at. This is a huge thing for me to come to Stroudsburg and support them,” Joseph-Day said in a video shared on his Instagram.

Of the graduates, 256 will be moving on to attend college, 11 students will attend a technical institute, 5 students will enlist in the military, 3 students will be completing an internship/apprenticeship for job training, 22 students are taking a gap year and 14 students will be entering the work force.

Leading the Class of 2022 as Valedictorian and Student Government President is Casimir Morgan. Casimir is attending Penn State University to major in Engineering.

Salutatorian and Class President is Jack Francis. Jack is attending Boston College in the fall where he will major in Political Science and Mathematics with the intent to pursue a career in law.

Notre Dame High School East Stroudsburg

Notre Dame High School Jr./Sr. of East Stroudsburg graduated its Class of 2022 seniors in their school theatre on Saturday, June 4.

Notre Dame principal Jeffrey Lyons said COVID-19 was this class's biggest challenge, "At first we were virtual and then teachers taught some directly and some were being live-streamed via Google Meet. Activities were very limited, which caused limited socialization and 'team bonding' within the classrooms, the classes and the school. This lack of connectedness hurt the tone of our building. We are service oriented yet we could not go out into the community. All of us were frustrated."

In the principal's address to the graduating class he said that in spite of all the pandemic's limitations, the class found ways to grow academically while still preparing for college and life after high school. "They learned to appreciate what they had and became adept at varying ways to communicate. They were creative."

The class of 2022 was comprised of 49 graduates, of which 46 will be continuing on to further their education, one will be enlisting in the Air Force and two are taking a gap year.

Salutatorian Serabi Francis focused on the memories and strong bond made in the smaller, Catholic school setting. She will be attending University of Michigan in the Fall to study Aerospace Engineering.

Valedictorian Yianna Papadopoulos reassured everyone that despite the big changes to come in their futures, they were well prepared by the "invaluable education and the lessons learned during a real-life pandemic." She is heading to University of Alabama where she is enrolled in the pre-med program.

Pleasant Valley High School

Pleasant Valley High School sent 318 graduates out into a world of higher education, trades, work and military service during commencement on a serene Friday evening last week.

Hundreds of friends and families welcomed the Class of 2022 as they took their seats at the center of the football field.

Salutatorian Jacob O'Neil noted that "the Friday night football games, the volleyball tournaments" and other seemingly minor events were the very ones that he would hold dear, challenging his brethren to "live in the now" and to not allow their fears to limit their dreams and goals.

President Olivia Altman, Vice President Kendyl Ramsay, Secretary Jordan Kautzsch and Treasurer Maryam Mattson presented the newly-formed Parent Teacher Organization with the remainder of their funds as the Class of 2022's gift.

Reminiscing on good times with friends, Valedictorian Zachary Dooner encouraged the crowd to not limit their happiest moments to a stretch of time, and to instead "place them within the faces of your friends and family" that were there along the way.

Following the ringing of the bell and the formation of the Long Blue Line along the track, audience members flooded the field to congratulate PV's Class of 2022.

Check out our TikTok page for more Class of 2022 content!

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Super Bowl champ makes surprise visit at Stroudsburg graduation