'You're ready': Weymouth seniors celebrate challenges overcome, hopes for the future

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger
·6 min read

WEYMOUTH − Hundreds of people filled the bleachers at Weymouth High School's football field Saturday to celebrate the Class of 2023's graduation. As "Pomp and Circumstance" blared through loudspeakers, about 240 graduates clad in crimson and gold gowns marched in procession before taking their seats on the playing field.

Senior Class President Aleksander Nowicki, reflecting on his time in student government, said, "It was an odd four years, to say the least."

He encouraged his classmates to always "spend your time like the precious resource it is," and thanked them for their help and camaraderie.

Weymouth High Valedictorian Sophia Giannandrea, center, receives her diploma from Tracey Nardone of the Weymouth School Committee during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Weymouth High Valedictorian Sophia Giannandrea, center, receives her diploma from Tracey Nardone of the Weymouth School Committee during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

"I couldn't ask for a better group to accompany me through school," Nowicki said.

Class salutatorian Cassidy Ferron said the COVID-19 pandemic "overshadowed" much of the group's high school career.

Choir members sing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Choir members sing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

"What started as a two-week vacation and a canceled biology exam became the shock of not going back," Ferron said about school closures during the initial months of the pandemic in 2020.

"We worked through a generational challenge," Ferron said. "We shared an unprecedented collective experience where no one really knew what to do. But we stuck together."

Despite a cold rain, hundreds of families and friends came to cheer during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Despite a cold rain, hundreds of families and friends came to cheer during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

Valedictorian Sophia Giannandrea recalled disruptions caused by the pandemic, including "obnoxiously long one-way routes through the hallways. But we came back stronger," she said.

Quoting Sylvester Stallone's iconic tough guy character Rocky Balboa, Ferron said, "Life will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. We've already been through so much adversity at a young age: the physical, social and emotional burdens of a global pandemic. It tested and amplified our versatility."

Paige Dwyer walks in the wind with her diploma during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Paige Dwyer walks in the wind with her diploma during Weymouth High's graduation on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

In his short address, Superintendent Robert Wargo offered words of wisdom borrowed from a third grader at a Weymouth elementary school.

"Life is easy. Life is hard," he said. "When it's easy, you'll dream big. Anything is possible. When it's heavy with hardness, it will challenge you to be better. Make the most of your life. Make the most of each day. You're ready."

The Class of 2023

Olukemisola Abioye, Dillon Adams, Tyler Ahern, Luana Sette, Victoria Alcantara, Amelia Alessi, Ashlee Allen, Ashira Alleyne, Jafar Alshimrty, Colin Anderson, Corey Anderson, Taylor Anderson, Damon Andrews, Laura Araujo, Olivia Arki, Jordan Bacon, Alex Bagdigian, Benjamin Baker, Christian Baker, Joseph Baker, Sarah Balsamo, Zachary Balzano, Alicia Banson, April Barruzza, Simran Bassra, Alexander Bedoni, Timothy Benoit, Dominic Benotti, Nicholas Berardinelli, Letcia Bernardo, Kaylee Bertrand, Emmanuel Bhokeye, Mia Biondi, Devon Blanchard, Riley Bonner, Griffin Bosse, Tatiana Bradley, Joseph Breeden, Vincent Bregoli, Alanna Brewster, Dylan Brochu, Guiano Buissereth, Wesley Burcham, Josephine Burke, Matthew Burke, Megan Burns, Abigail Byrne, Ryan Canavan, Mia Carini, Ryan Cassidy, Stephen Cassidy, John Cedarstrom, Triston Cesar, Maria Chahine, Patrick Chahine, Lucas Chaney, Anthony Choukas, Lilah Christopher, Patience Christopher, Jacqueline Clark, Eion Cloutier, Katherine Colodino-Fernandez, Andrew Conley, Liam Conneely, Olivia Connelly, Brendan Connolly, Liam Connolly, Meghan Connolly, Nolan Connolly.

Aaron Cornell Jr., Matthew Correa, Daniel Cronin, Mya Cunningham, Daniel Curran, Jocelyn Cushing, Anna Da Silva De Manasses, Daniel Daley, Ryan Daley, Thomas Daley, Colin Davis, Haylee Davis, Samantha Dawson, Victor DeAlcantara, Ava Dearden, Zachary DelGrosso, William DenHerder, Giovanni DeOliveira, Aniya Depina-Wheeler, Jason Depina, John Depina, Katheryn Deschenes, Emma Desmond, Larkin DesRoches, Mia DiBona, Ezra Dionne, Jason Doherty, Sara Doherty, Rugved Doke, Kaitlyn Dolan, Andrew Donahue, Roniely Dos Santos, Anthony Dragone, Zachary Dragone, Perrin Drueding, Sean Drury, Shayla Duong, Devon Duran, Ryan Durkin, Paige Dwyer, Christo El-Hachem, Sean Fahie, Caitlyn Faiella, Scarlett Familia, Megan Farley, Veronica Farren, Mary Farrow, Andrew Ferguson, Peter Feroli, Diego Ferreira, Octavio Ferreira, Victor Ferreira, Cassidy Ferron, Alexandria Fidler, James Fitzgerald, Samantha Fitzgerald, Cameron Flaherty, Shannon Flaherty, Ryan Flanagan, Justin Flannery, Dylan Fleming, Seamus Foley, Sarah Fondaw, Tyler Francoeur, Olivia Franklin, Dominic Freeman, Liam Gallagher, Alexis Galvin, Victoria Garcia-Riz, Lawrence Garside.

Danyllo Gatto, Ryan Gaudiano, Devon Getz, Sophia Giannandrea, Larissa Gilberto, Kaylyn Gillespie, Philip Glendye, Brendan Godfrey, Esther Gomes, Henrique Gomes, Leahrose Gonzales, Olivia Goodick, Devin Grady, Erin Graham, Hassaun Green, Brielle Griffin, Gianna Guerra, Nicole Hall, Luke Hammerquist, Olivia Hanlon, Catrina Hans, Ronan Hardiman, Ariana Harris, Patrick Haughey, Sophia Hayduk, Gregory Healy, Aiden Henderson, Tiah Henderson, Molly Higgins, Samantha Holmes, Elana Jipson, Samantha Johnson, Emily Kane, Kirstyn Kane, Ryan Kane, Cloe Kapetankaos, Aidan Keaveny, Camille Keefe, Valerie-Anne Keenan, Tammy Kelley, Una Kenneally, Sean Kilban, Christina Kilsby, Natalie Kohler, Addison Kunz, Aaliyah Lambe-Inkiala, Tiphenne Lame Djomo, Braeden LaMothe, Aidan Lamoureux, Kerran Langley, Nicole LaRosa, Katherine Lavin, Madeline Ledwell, Jaiden Lee-Andrews, Ryan Lema-Malloy, Kiora Lip, Emma Litwinczuk, Kadu Lope, Connor Lovely, Anthony Lucas, Andrew Luosey, Nevaeh Lynch, Madison Lyons, Alec MacGillivray, Kelly MacKenzie, Joshua MacNeill, Aliyah Madden, Dermot Mahoney, Joseph Malone III, Aidan Maloney.

David Manfredi, Klarisa Marku, Gavin Marsden, La Ziyah Mason-Moreland, MIchael Mastrocola, Elias Matta, Jason Matta, Faith McAuliffe, Mary McCarthy, Rachel McCarthy, Ryan McCarthy, William McCarty, Ava McCray, Grace McCulley, Christopher McKenna, Grace McLain, Sean McLaughlin, Rebecca McNaught, Colin McPherson, Tessa McWalter, Sebastian Mehrman, Hugh Meighan, Marin Melanson, Nicholas Merlin, Ella Mirowski, Bronson Molnar, Inesmarie Montero, Brendan Mullen, Jaime-Lynn Murphy, Joshua Murphy, Keith Murphy, Adam Nagle Jr., Michel Nantel, Nicholas Neary, Michael Ng, Dung Nguyen, Johnny Nguyen, Kayla Nguyen, Lien Nguyen, Thuan Nguyen, Timea Nguyen, Gianna Nicholas, Fay Nikos, Elizabeth Noonan, Molly Noone, Cameron Nordstrom, Olivia Norton, Hannah Norve, Aleksander Nowicki, Cormac O'Brien, Julia O'Brien, Aidan O'Connor, Dominick O'Herron, Michael O'Malley, Vanessa Oreadi, Snaider Vasquez, Damien O'Sullivan, Gage Parrilla, Elijah Pasquale, Meredith Peacock, Brooke Pelley, Maria Pequeno, Ana Pereira, Nathaniel Perkins, Ruby Perriello, Shay Perry, Laney Phillips, Shyanne Pica-Hurld.

Micaela Picard, Rocco Piccadaci, Kelly Pimentel, Thalyson Pimentel, Alexander Pineiro, Dallas Pinto, Mercedes Pishkin, Allison Pomerleau, Luke Poulin, Summa Precourt, Xander Precourt, Alicia Principe, Anthony Prioli, Juiahna Pruitt, Sabian Pulinario, Caleb Purcell, Meghan Rabideau, Brady Rafferty, MaryJane Ramos, Shawn Reed, Cameron Reid, Kaitlyn Ridder, Brandon Riley, Justin Riley, Samuel Riley, Danyel Rios, Gianna Rocchio, Jerard Roche, Joavannie Rodriguez, Lucas Romano, Neva Romano, Siobhan Romano, Alexis Rouse, Caitlyn Rouzaut, Antony Ruan, Jancel Ruiz, Ashlyn Rush, Marina Russell.

Elio Saliba, Miladio Saliba, Vanessa Saliba, Keshon Sampson, Domenic Sances, Michael Sanders Jr., Elleanna Santos, Sophia Scalisi, Fernando Serrano Jr., Ashley Settle, Emma Shanahan, Korey Shea, Samantha Sheehan, Lucas Da Fonseca, Mateus Silva, Braylon Smith, Margaret Smith, Queren Soares, David Stevens, Michael Stevenson, Molly Stockton, Emma Stryjewski, Danyaliz Suarez, William Sullivan, Emily Sutherland, Nicholas Swan, Arianna Sylvester, Djeliza Teixera, Rebecca Tier, Michael Toler, Benjamin Travers, Cameron Traylor, Kayla Tucker, Nathan Tucker, Iliana Tzetzo.

Dylan Umano, Alexander Valentin, Emilio Valentin, Alexis Amburgh, Emma Amburgh, Andre Vergara, Nikollas Viana da Silva, Victoria Viglas, Richard Ward III, Riley Ward, Larry Washington II, Ryan Waters, Cierra West, Taylor Whipple, Abigail Wieden, Ella Willett, Jamie Williams, Dinah Wilson, Kady Wong, Jason Yeo, Anya Younie, Lea Youn-Mines, Amelia Yusam, Sean Zaslaw.

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Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth High celebrates Class of 2023 commencement