Seniors celebrate uniqueness as CHS graduates Class of 2010 indoors
By Jay Turner
Members of the CHS Class of 2010 toss their caps at the conclusion of Thursday night’s commencement. (Barry Okun photo)
The sun refused to cooperate but the 196 seniors in the Canton High School Class of 2010 shined anyway in a moving commencement ceremony held in the CHS Morse Auditorium — an initially disappointing but ultimately memorable, and “rather unique,” end to their four-year high school careers.
Thursday’s graduation was the first since 2006 to be held indoors; it was also a fitting change of venue on a night when the two student speakers, class president and salutatorian Andrea Konopka and valedictorian Ethan Winchell, delivered speeches around themes of individuality and uniqueness.
Konopka spoke first and began by comparing her class to a Halloween costume her mother had made called the Konopka Banana Split, which involved her and her sisters wearing “puffy ice cream jumpers in different colors” and walking together within a “yellow banana shell.”
“Each one of my classmates is a unique individual just as strawberry, vanilla and chocolate are unique ice cream flavors,” Konopka told the crowd of more than 800.
Describing her class as a rich assortment of “brilliant minds, motivated athletes, talented performers and artists, and positive role models,” Konopka said each and every one of them made a mark on their school and community over the past four years — a journey in which they went from being “itty bitty freshmen” to “super super seniors.”
But she also pointed out that the Class of 2010, like a banana split, was “greater than the sum of its parts.”
“When we came together as a class, it was truly something special,” she said. “We had many achievements as individuals, but many more when we worked together as one.”
For Winchell, it wasn’t a costume or a frozen dairy treat, but the lyrical stylings of Brooklyn rapper A.Z. that inspired his message to the graduates: “Destiny and me finally meet, so how can I be weak? I’m rather unique.”
“Rather unique. Think about that for a moment,” said the Harvard-bound Winchell. “We are living in rather unique times that demand each of us to be unique individuals.”
He urged his fellow classmates to shed the masks they wore as adolescents and to take the time to find their unique talents and gifts, then apply them to the wider world.
Winchell warned that “some may criticize and challenge us if we do not fit into their definition of what is right or wrong or what is normal in society.”
“All that we need if we are to be rather unique is inner strength and belief in ourselves,” he said, “belief in ourselves that the talents we have can and will make an impact on society in a way no one can predict.”
The adults who spoke also had words of wisdom for the graduates, beginning with Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio, who offered up a David Letterman-style “Top Ten” list he called “Graduation Pearls of Wisdom.”
Del Vecchio’s list featured quotations from literary, political and cultural figures — everyone from Benjamin Franklin and John F. Kennedy to William Shakespeare and James Baldwin. His final quote came from the rock band the Rolling Stones: “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”
“Don’t worry about necessarily winning the race,” Del Vecchio advised. “Just make sure you make it to the finish line. After all is said and done, you ‘just might find’ that the trip itself was the prize — and not the brass ring you initially sought.”
Like Del Vecchio, outgoing Superintendent of Schools Dr. John D’Auria chose to put a clever spin on the standard graduation speech, delivering his advice in the form of a 140-character Twitter message, or “Graduation Tweet.”
D’Auria said he chose the form in the spirit of the rapidly advancing technology that will continue to shape and reshape the young graduates’ lives, yet he also tried to compose a message that would stand the test of time:
Marry your heart to your brain. Don’t fear mistakes; learn from them. The critical work we must do is nurture relationships with others.
School Committee Chairman Reuki Schutt opted for a more conventional approach, but her message was a poignant one as she asked that the graduates “practice tolerance and respect toward others.”
“We are all on the same journey,” she said, “just going about it in the way that we believe is best, based upon our experiences, our individual differences and our learning as we grew up.”
High School Principal Dr. Doug Dias geared his remarks toward the parents of the graduates, recounting a time when his son Charlie collided with a defender during a lacrosse game, fell to the ground, and “didn’t get up.”
Dias said he felt powerless and had to fight off every urge to run onto the field and tend to his son, who, it turned out, had just gotten the wind knocked out of him. “But each hit is a learning opportunity,” he told the parents, “even if it hurts or scares them and you.”
“You have provided your sons and daughters with the best safety equipment possible,” he said. “Each one of them has an invisible equipment bag brimming with things they need to play the game: your values, your love, and a wonderful education.”
In addition to the speeches, the commencement featured performances by the CHS chorus, which sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Stand Together” by Jim Papoulis under the direction of Sarah Collmer, and the CHS band, which played “The Quest” by William Hines under the direction of Brian Thomas. The ceremony also included a moving invocation delivered by Reverend Philip C. Jacobs III of Trinity Episcopal Church, as well as the second annual presentation of the Paul Matthews Senior Cup, which went to Colleen Healey and David Corcoran.
The night concluded with the conferral of diplomas — the end of one chapter but the exciting start of another, according to Konopka.
“Graduates, we have left a legacy here, but it is time to be influential elsewhere,” she said in her speech. “As Malcolm X, a civil rights activist, once said, ‘Education is the passport to our future.’ May we take our diplomas — our passports — and travel to new lands of opportunity.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=2877
Posted by Jay Turner
on Jun 17 2010. Filed under News, Schools.
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