160 Xavier students graduate in virtual ceremonies

MIDDLETOWN — For the first time in school history, Xavier High School was unable to hold its weekend graduation ceremonies in the Arthur Kohs Gymnasium.

The coronavirus pandemic prevented the traditional in-person baccalaureate Mass and commencement proceedings from happening, but Xavier did not let it hamper its enthusiasm, according to a press release.

From May 22 to 24, the Xavier community sent its 160-member graduating class into the world in style, the release added.

The events were scripted the same as if they were held in the gym. Seniors and their immediate families were invited to the school for a special conferral of diplomas ceremony on the front steps that Sunday, following social distancing guidelines with families coming through in a fourhour block and organized by their last names.

A few of the major awards and presentations from the weekend are:

⏩ The valedictorian speech was given by Alex Pralea, who finished with a perfect grade-point average for all four years. Pralea will attend

Brown University. The salutatorian was Akshay Khunte, who will attend Yale University.

⏩ The Xavier Loyalty and Service Award, the highest honor granted to a graduating senior, was awarded to Mark Grasso. The recipient of the Falcon Achievement Award, given to a student-athlete who represents the best Xavier athletics stands for, was Ryan Miner.

⏩ Retiring guidance director Rich Magner, ’69, and retiring fine arts teacher Jayne Vitale were honored for their many years of service. Magner had been a student-athlete, coach, teacher, guidance counselor, then guidance director in a distinguished career at Xavier that started in 1979. Vitale, at Xavier for 34 years, founded the fine arts program, and, for many years, was in charge of the National Honor Society.

⏩ Basketball coach and math teacher Mike Kohs, ‘84, was honored in a few ways. He reached 25 years of service at the school, and also became part of a special group of father-son graduates, including Kohs’ son Stephen. Part of that legacy is Artie Kohs, Xavier’s first basketball coach and athletic director, who worked at the school from 1963 to 1997. The three gathered on the front steps, as did 12 other father-son recipients of the Legacy Award.

⏩ Religion teacher Bill Garrity also was honored for 25 years at Xavier, during which time he also had served as dean of students, principal and football coach.

Leading up to graduation weekend, there were a number of ways Xavier reached out to its seniors during these unusual circumstances. Among them, graduation lawn signs were handed out at the school by faculty and staff, caps and gowns were delivered to the homes of seniors, and special video tributes appeared on social media, the release concluded.

Contributed photo Xavier High School held its graduation ceremonies virtually May 22 to 24. Shown here is Shreyas Vasireddy, who had just received his diploma in Middletown.