‘THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED’ Bellingham High School honors Class of 2020
BELLINGHAM – On a breezy, warm Friday evening, 143 Bellingham High School Blackhawks completed 13 years of formal schooling in a way no class before them had ever done.
“Graduates, what a senior year this has been. I’m sure this isn’t how you envisioned your senior year would be,” School Superintendent Peter D. Marano said at Friday’s 82nd annual commencement exercises to honor the Class of 2020 graduating seniors.
“This has probably been the most challenging year that you’ve ever experienced. I know it has been for me,” he said. “You’re living through unprecedented times, dare I say historic times, that have created unbelievable challenges not only for you, but to so many others in this community, in our country and throughout the world.”
The Class of 2020 was finally recognized at a live outdoor ceremony at the George T. Anderson football stadium that allowed the graduates, dressed in robes with the traditional school colors of black and white, to walk across a stage as parents and guests – seated six feet apart - looked on. As a precaution, all graduates and guests were required to wear masks throughout the ceremony and maintain a social distance of six feet at all times.
In his speech, Marano lauded the graduates for their resilience in the face of the worst global pandemic in more than 100 years.
“I hope that you’ve learned more about yourselves,” he said. “I hope that you have a deeper appreciation for your family and friends. This won’t be the last time you experience challenges in your life. There will be many more. And how you endure those difficult times is important. You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate. It belongs to you.”
“The lessons you’ve learned during his year will carry with you in life. Remember them during the tough times,” he said. “Be prepared
to take on the challenges that lie ahead and for the limitless possibilities that await you. We need you to carry that proverbial torch and lead us to a better future. I want to see a future where there is compassion, understanding, tolerance and hope. I want you to bring us to peace and prosperity ± not for the few, but for the many.”
“We are so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished under extremely difficult circumstances,” School Committee Chairman Michael J. Reed, Jr. told the graduates. “We know that these last few months were not what they were supposed to be. You and your families have robbed of many of the activities and experiences that you were supposed to have to make your senior year extra special. Even worse, you were deprived of being with your teachers, coaches, band mates, and friends. I am proud that you did not let these circumstances hold you back or
hold you down. You found a way to stay in touch and stick together and work through these challenging times.”
Reed also acknowledged the Class of 2020 for the way it adapted to the pandemic with resilience and courage.
“You worked hard alongside your teachers to complete your studies remotely, a concept that seemed so foreign to us in the beginning, but which our district was able to rally together Tuickly and make happen successfully in no small part due to your dedication and hard work,” he said. “You showed to yourselves and those around you what you are capable of when the going gets tough.”
“While this pandemic has taken away so many things from you, there is one thing that it has given to you ± a glimpse of who you are and how strong you are when challenged,” he said. “The strength and perseverance that you have developed will carry you through the challenges that lie ahead on your path.”
“Your senior year was like nothing anyone expected and your graduation is certainly a change from tradition,” Principal Megan M. Lafayette told the graduates. “Ten, twenty, fifty years from now, you will all remember this time. You will look back and tell younger generations what it was like to go to school during a pandemic. I think we all agree there were certainly challenges, issues with technology and learning curves, but sitting here tonight I could not be more proud of the Class of 2020.”
“I hope years from now you will look back and think about how you persevered and worked through each challenge you faced,” she said. “I hope you are able to recognize
that this crisis has forced us to cherish what’s most important in our lives. The Class of 2020 has shown me that despite our physical distance, our sense of community remains strong. While none of us here tonight knows what the future holds, I am confident that the Class of 2020 is strong and will continue to tackle each obstacle that comes your way.”
“It’s been an incredible journey filled with memories and moments, smiles and tears,” Class President .ayla S. Martinis said in her speech. “Tonight we sit together, six feet apart, but closer than ever and remembered forever. We’re here, but I say we definitely took the road less traveled. Through happiness, struggles and pain, we made it and I am so proud of everyone in the Class of 2020. When you look back on the past five years don’t let your memories focus on the last few months of your senior year. Remember the fun times and all of the moments that led you to here and now.”
Martinis said the challenges faced by the Class of 2020 has eTuipped them to be stronger individuals.
“We are the class that will never be forgotten ± but not just because of the pandemic, but for all the accomplishments over the past five years,” she said. “Class of 2020, you have made an incredible mark at BHS. We are resilient, determined, patient, compassionate, respectful and academically focused. We are not afraid to use our voice and speak our minds. Congratulations to all my classmates for your achievements and persevering through these difficult times. We will go down in history.”
In her speech, Salutatorian Joyce Rodriguez praised her
classmates for their courage in the face of a pandemic that dramatically altered their senior year.
“None of us imagined that we would be graduating in August or that we would not see a more traditional end to our senior year,” she said. “)inding out that we could not return to school back in May broke my heart as much as it probably broke all of yours. We all wished for one more day to take pictures with our friend, fool around in the cafeteria and to have one last goodbye. We all wanted to have a senior prom and a senior week to show off the school spirit our class is known to have. We wanted one last day to tell our teachers µthank you’ and to leave our mark on this school just like every other class has done in the past. But the thing is - we have.”
“This only proves how special our graduating year is as no other class has experienced things the way we have,” she said. “While this is the end of our high school chapter, it’s only the beginning of a brand new journey on he path of life. Accept every challenge with open arms. Do not let the hardships tear you down no matter how scary or demanding they may be. Chase your dreams and do not let anything get in the way of that. Even if you fall, just get back up, brush yourself off, and work even harder to achieve your goal. Most importantly, do not let failure be the end of your journey.”
“We do not know what will happen in the future and we cannot control everything that is coming our way. But one thing is clear ± we are the future,” she added. “We need to do everything we can to shape it into the future we want it to be. We cannot stay silent about current issues, because if we do, they will not be fixed for the future. We need to take a stand and speak up. We need to take action. We need to do whatever it takes to create a world where everyone feels eTual to each other because that is how it should be. Let us be the generation that changes things for the better.”
In her speech, 9aledictorian .imberly R. Rodriguez also noted the courage and resilience of her fellow graduates.
“Through all the stress, late-night studying and curve balls thrown our way, I am proud to say that we have finally made it,” she said. “Just when we felt we had mastered high school and were aware of everything that could possibly thrown at us during our final year, a global pandemic spread across the world, into our state and somehow found its way to our little town. Instead of experts, we Tuickly found ourselves completely and utterly lost again with new challenges of face masks, virtual learning and social distancing. The year we looked forward to ± the year of all years ± was gone in an instant.”
“2ur journey was not all butterflies and rainbows,” she said. “We didn’t go down the same path that every class before us went down. Instead, we had to finally figure out high school for ourselves. As the first class of seniors to go to school through a global pandemic, there is no class above us to reassure us that everything is going to be okay. We are a class of firsts and we have grown tremendously from our experience. The Class of 2020 is rooted in resilience.”
“There is something special about about finding your way through the unknown. It is definitely more arduous and taxing handling the the most unexpected and frightening changes firsthand but we fought through them,” she said. “We have gained a strength and resilience far greater than I could ever have imagined. )ar greater than any other class.”
“Your future hasn’t been written yet. None one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it,” she said. “So make it a good one. Don’t be afraid to face challenges head-on. Don’t stand back and allow your story to be written for you. Go out and create your own. Have fun and make memories to last a lifetime. I am positive that each and every one of us is destined for greatness and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us.”