Fond goodbye
Published on June 13th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - Under a bright blue sky, the Stoneham High Class of 2007 celebrated their high school commencement exercises Friday night with a bit more of an emphasis on the melancholy of goodbye and transition motifs always readily present at graduation celebrations.
The fact that change is in store for the leadership at Stoneham High as well as the graduates was lost on any of the thousand plus people in attendance.
Though the early evening ceremony on the SHS football field was largely devoted to the 221 seniors moving into the “real world”, much of the applause and emotion was devoted toward Stoneham High Principal Dr. Thomas Ryan, who announced several months prior that he was “resigning to retirement” after 24 years at Stoneham High.
The Class of 2007 announced that their gift to the school would be an SHS scholarship in the name of Thomas Ryan to be added to the National Honor Society Scholarship Fund.
Stoneham Class President Rachel Cail delivered a welcome address about the beloved memories that each SHS grad takes with them: tagging the rocks, double session introductions to sports as a freshman, teachers that left indelible marks on the grads, and – of course – skipping class to hang out with Mr. Carino in his computer resource room.
“Through all of the turmoil this year the teachers still managed to make our senior year one of the best ever. For that we owe you our gratitude for not only teaching us about the curriculum, but for teaching us about life itself,” said Cail. “Life it would seem is just a journey of hellos and goodbyes during different scenes of a movie that has multiple endings. For the past 18 years I have heard the word welcome always before I start something new, As my speech is the welcome address for a ceremony that welcomes us into the real word.
“Whether it be prom pictures, varsity letters, telephone numbers or even our own yearbooks. It doesn’t mean we will lose each other. Memories aren’t pieces of paper or digits or anything of that sort,” added Cail in her address. “They are times stored in your mind forever. You may never see your ninth grade math teacher again, but you will never forget skipping second period to go hang out in Carino’s room. Every minute in this school we were learning and creating memories to get us through the rest of our lives. They may not have all been good, but in the end all of those perfections may lead to the perfect ending to a story that we wish we could never leave.”
Senior Class Speaker Divya Kanneganti spoke of how the SHS students were like a bed of flowering plants with each member of the class now ready to bloom and show off their colors to the world.
“Every teacher here in the soil of Stoneham High School has inspired me: Inspired me to learn, achieve and become. Their dedication to the students is unbelievable,” said Kanneganti. “I will never forget staying after for two hours to finish the earth science midterm and coming into school at five or six for help with physics. And they are not only there for schoolwork. If I needed help making a college decision or had a problem I couldn't handle, I never hesitated to ask a teacher for help. I can honestly say that I will miss school over the summer.”
After a very heart-felt version of “The Times They Are a Changin” by SHS senior Eric Melkonian, the McDonald Awards for Academic Excellence were awarded by Stephen Jackson, Chairperson of Science, and Rosemarie Vecchio, Chairperson of English at SHS, to Jonathan Berkman and Kelly Landers respectively.
“He is a student of keen intellect, impressive achievement and personal integrity,” said Jackson. “Jonathan is one of the best and brightest, and in all facets of his academic career he strives for excellence.”
“This young lady has most definitely sought learning with ardor and diligence,” said Vecchio. “I first met her during the junior books club in Middle School…she is truly an extraordinary human being.
“As a person she possess the most character and ability of any student I’ve ever taught,” added Vecchio of Landers. “She might be the most well-meaning student that I’ve ever met.”
After a performance of “Some Things Are Meant To Be” by Emily DiPietro and Kelly Landers, the Senior Scholarships were announced and a commemorative clock was awarded to Dr. Ryan for his service as SHS Principal from 1984-2007. Class of 2007 Vice-President Marissa Tuccelli came to the podium and announced that the class gift was a check for $1000 be added to the National Honor Society Scholarship Fund that will be named the Dr. Thomas Ryan Scholarship given to a student “that has outstanding character as well as outstanding dedication to scholarship, leadership and service.”
“It’s only fitting that we reward a student that has the same fine qualities as our principal,” said Tuccelli.
School Committee member and former Robin Hood School Principal Maureen Soley gave an address
“Always try to do the right thing in your life,” said Soley. “If you do you won’t necessarily do it to gratify or astonish anybody else, but you’ll be doing it for yourself because at the end of the day you’ll know you did the best in any possible situation.
“You’ll know the right thing by reflecting on your own experiences, and from what you learned from your parents, grand-parents and teachers,” added Soley, who then paid tribute to Ryan.
The Principal addressed the crowd after a long standing ovation which speaks volumes to the respect and admiration earned through years of hard work at the high school.
“I’ve known about 6,000 grads, 12,000 parents, 138 dances, 1500 faculty members and I would honestly say that 99.9 percent of it was positive,” said Ryan. “It gives me great pleasure to be with the class of 2007 and a great honor to have a scholarship named in my honor.”
The William Nadeau and Wendell Horton Memorial Awards which are awarded for the male and female members of the senior class that display “character, citizenship, concern for others and service to the community”, and went to Colin P. O’Brien and Katelynn Conlon.
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