Upper Darby High School graduates over 800 students
Upper Darby High School held its 123rd Commencement at the high school Performing Arts Center on June 11.
Senior Class Treasurer Nikola Gjidede told the assembled students and their families watching on the livestream that Upper Darby is the oldest high school in the county, opening its doors in 1895, The first graduating class in 1896 had five students, far different from the over 800 students that graduated in 2021.
Dan McGarry said as superintendent of schools graduation is a day that makes him feel almost the same way as every parent, guardian, or grandparent whose child or grandchild has made it to this point in their life.
“I am looking at close to 900 fulfilled dreams, and it is a responsibility and relationship that I never take for granted. As an educator or educational leader, we share in the worries, the setbacks, the difficult decisions and discussions as well as the successful moments like today,” McGarry said. “Remember, we have almost equally shared in the trials and tribulations of your journey to this moment as your own families because we consider ourselves part of your family. For these reasons, today is just as emotional for all of us as it is for you.”
McGarry told the students to recognize that no matter the circumstances, “listen to your heart, believe and trust that the anxiety we experience along our life’s journey should not paralyze our ability to make decisions or stop us from being creative and becoming the solution in the face of adversity.”
A speaking role at Upper Darby is offered to the entire class to apply. Three seniors were chosen to speak at graduation this year
Evon Series noted how far the class has come and how it has helped build character.
“For a plant to gas row there has to be both sun and rain and at times when it rains it pours, yet the rain either a drizzle or a thunderstorm is needed for the growth process,” Series said. “The pandemic we faced amid our junior year and that we are currently still enduring pushed ups beyond what we thought we could ever handle.”
Series noted the pandemic made students ask questions and question their faith while others embraced their faith but nothing they have done is in vain.
She told students their worth is not defined by the things of this world and they should love themselves.
“They say the children are the future, well we are the children and this is our future, let’s make the most of it,” she said.
Class speaker Skye Lawrence said she and her classmates will continue to move forward.
“Since the day of freshman orientation I knew great things were going to happen at this school; maybe it was seeing so many faces and identities but I knew I was free to explore my own identity and I felt comfortable doing that here,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot and I’ve seen a lot … I remember crying on the first day of school because I was so overwhelmed at lunch with all the people. Someone saw me struggling, let me sit with them and introduced me to their friends. That is when I knew exactly what it meant to be a Royal.”
Lawrence said being a Royal breed’s excellence, loyalty and opportunity. She called on her fellow classmates to take those qualities into their future endeavors and to take the world by storm and show them what Upper Darby can do.
The final class speaker was Jack DiPrimio who noted that graduation marks the start of a new chapter and said the graduates were stepping out of the long night of the pandemic that pulled them apart and tested their resolve.
“So today we recognize and remember all the students from the Class of 2021 who kept up hope in the darkest days of the pandemic, who might have lost a family member or even who had to take up two minimum wage jobs to support their family,” he said. “They dared to find the light.”
He noted students who marched through the streets during civil protests last summer “dared to find the light. “
“The students who embraced their true identity, to find love and acceptance, dared to find the light,” DiPrimio said.
He also noted students who planned their futures, applying to college or by enrolling in the military dared to find the light and said hope itself is an act of courage.
He ended by reminding his classmates to “always dare to find the light.”
Administrators held a moment of silence for all teachers and classmates that they have lost.
Assistant Principal Stephanie R. Sitek noted the 540 of cups of coffee needed to get her to school over the past two years in which she has worked with the Class of 2021 and told them to remember while the staff was only a small part of the students’ lives they were
“(They) are a huge part of our lives and why we do what we do,” Sitek said. “We will go with you wherever the world takes you, please remember to be kind and thank those who helped you get there-just like we did.”