Cohoes High School celebrates Class of 2022 graduation
COHOES, N.Y. » Saturday morning saw the celebration of Cohoes High School’s graduating Class of 2022. In total, 112 students received diplomas, cheered on by family and friends gathered for the first time in the school’s Alumni Gymnasium.
Principal Laura Tarlo explained that in the past, graduations were held at Hudson Valley Community College, but it had always been a goal of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization to bring it home. Unfortunately, the first year they had the opportunity to do so was when COVID had other plans. For the time being, the school pivoted to an outdoor celebration, under tents on the school’s athletic field. This year, with restrictions finally relaxed enough to return indoors, Cohoes High School was able to achieve its goal of a graduation ceremony in the Alumni Gymnasium.
Tarlo began the program with recognition for the school’s highest honor students, followed by recognition for the graduates’ families and teachers. Her speech to the graduates was something of a gardening allegory, noting that just like plants, it takes time, attention, and care to make good things grow.
“High school is prescribed. Most of your teenage life has been a series of state mandates,” Tarlo noted. “But now you have a choice, though there really are only two paths — growth or stagnation.”
Tarlo described how the path of growth was filled with possibilities for the graduates — college, trade study, the military, or the workforce — and told them “it’s all good as long as you con
tinue to grow.”
She concluded by telling the graduates “sow your seeds, water your garden, find your bounty, and life will give you joy.”
Superintendent Peggy O’Shea followed with an allegorical speech of her own, noting how much the graduates were like the butterflies they had raised back in elementary school. O’Shea described how during that second or third grade science project, students provided the best possible environment for butterflies to grow in, observed, took notes, and when the time was right found a good spot to let them go. Like the butterflies, the students had changed and grown and are now ready to fly on to the next stage of their lives.
“Students, it’s been our privilege to watch your metamorphosis,” O’Shea told the graduates. “I have no doubt that wherever your next steps take you, you will soar.”
Valedictorian Sara Thaqi advised her classmates to use everything that had been learned in school and face the future bravely.
“Many lessons were learned in this chapter of our lives, and it’s time to take those lessons and move forward,” she said. “It’s okay to be afraid. Use that fear to drive you.”
When it was time for the graduates to receive their diplomas, each name called was met with cheers and applause. The joyful noise filled the gymnasium as the graduates moved their tassels and celebrated officially becoming alumni of Cohoes High School.
“The class of 2022 is a resilient group of young adults who have made it through challenging times, but have made it out still smiling,” Tarlo remarked. “I’m so proud that they were able to rise above everything that was thrown their way and continue to achieve their goals and dreams.”