Canton High Class of 2022 soaks it all in after steep climb to graduation

Graham Stemm accepts the 2022 Paul Matthews Award. (Mike Barucci photo)

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The weather and the atmosphere was picture-perfect and the mood was triumphant yet bittersweet, as the 248 members of the CHS Class of 2022 celebrated their arrival at the mountaintop — and the long and winding climb it took to get there — during last weekend’s commencement at Memorial Field.

Pushed back to Saturday for a second consecutive year due to the threat of rain on Friday, the event featured all of the usual CHS commencement traditions with barely a hint of the pandemic restrictions that had cost the graduates, as Class President Avery Piantedosi noted in her remarks, “two years of normal high school.”

“The past few years have been hard,” Piantedosi emphasized. “However, think of how much we’ve all grown collectively as a class. We may have missed out on a normal high school career, but don’t forget the good times we had.”

Drawing on her passion for music, Piantedosi found inspiration in some of her favorite songs as she advised her classmates to “slow down you crazy child” while reminding them, “We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.”

Looking ahead to the future, Piantedosi drew inspiration from the Beatles and their 1969 hit “Here Comes the Sun.”

“I want to let that quote sink in for a second,” she said, referring to the title lyric. “Yes, we’ve had lots and lots of really, really bad days … We have been climbing a mountain that seems to just get steeper and steeper with every step. [But] through the trek up the mountain, we’ve viewed plenty of sunsets and the higher we get, the prettier the view when we take a second to look.”

Class salutatorian Suraj Ramanathan also reflected on his own arduous climb — as well as the many rewarding sunsets he has witnessed — during an 18-year journey that took him from Mylapore, South India, to his ‘final’ destination in Canton, Massachusetts.

Facing a whirlwind of “inexpressible” emotions in the closing weeks of senior year, Ramanathan said he found his release by penning a poem titled “Dear Senior Year,” which he read to his classmates. Noting that it “wasn’t all roses,” Ramanathan said his final year of high school still met a “version of [his] lofty aspirations” as he became a chess master, was invited to play tennis for a college team, and got the “next best thing” after valedictorian.

At the same time, he faced incomprehensible grief when his grandfather passed away in October and was rocked by his father’s cancer diagnosis a few months later. But he ended on an optimistic note and the promise of “better days” ahead.

“Dad’s resiliency after surgery means he’s on the way back to normal

Grandma is smiling again, turning all of our heads towards the hope of the future

And just like that, Senior Year, you’re deserting me, becoming a relic of the past

I guess I’ve got to turn to life after you

So, I ask you: where will the lessons you taught me come up anew?”

Much like Ramanathan, class valedictorian Lauren Hernon was reflective in her speech as she shared the most important lesson she learned from her time at Canton High — that “finding the right people is vital for success.”

Hernon began by thanking her brother Jack — the CHS Class of 2021 salutatorian and now a West Point cadet — for pushing her to be the best version of herself. Her gratitude extended to the teachers at CHS, who taught valuable lessons and inspired future career choices, and to the parents whose “endless support has been a lifeline,” particularly during a time of “cancelations and disappointments” brought on by COVID-19.

She concluded with acknowledgments for her fellow graduates, peers and friends, who she urged, in the words of Misty Copeland, to “be strong, be fearless [and] be beautiful … and believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.”

Also reflecting on the influence and impact of others during his commencement remarks was Superintendent Derek Folan, who shared some of the lessons he learned from his favorite teacher, and later a colleague and important mentor, the late Elaine Bedard. “My message today is grounded in her legacy and her values,” Folan said. “Ms. Bedard believed that every special moment in life is based on being connected, being a community and cherishing relationships. Look at us here today. There is no more connected moment — as a class or a community — than graduation day.”

CHS Principal Jeff Sperling emphasized this connectedness as well in his first ever CHS commencement. “Whether it resonates with you now or not,” he said, “you have grown together, grieved together, and achieved together. Each of you has developed your own personality and spirit, but the collective contributions your class has made to our school and community are certainly a sum greater than its parts.”

Saturday’s ceremony also featured remarks by School Committee Chairman Kristian Merenda and Select Board member Lisa Lopez, who advised the graduates to step outside of their comfort zones, to experience life outside of Canton, and to work hard, talk to people, and “remember your soul.”

The ceremony also featured a performance of “Feeling Good” by senior Caleb Wolf, performances by the Canton High School band, and the annual presentation of the Paul Matthews Cup, which went to Avery Piantedosi and Graham Stemm in recognition of their excellence in the areas of scholarship, athletics and community service.

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