Lynnfield High graduates set sail into the future

LYNNFIELD – As the sun set on Friday evening, 172 Lynnfield High Pioneers set out into unknown territory – diplomas in hand – ready to begin their journey to adulthood.Hundreds of proud parents, family members, friends and supporters gathered in the bleachers at the Lynnfield Middle School football stadium to wish the Class of 2011 farewell at their graduation ceremony. By 5 p.m., the bleachers overflowed with people patiently waiting with cameras and camcorders in hand.Inside the hot middle school gymnasium, the soon-to-be graduates dressed in their robes – the boys in royal blue and the girls in white – took photographs with faculty and mingled with their fellow classmates while they waited for commencement to begin.One group of friends – Joanna Samson, Lauren Johnson and Tammy Vo – were full of anticipation, but also disbelief.”It came and passed so quickly,” explained Johnson, who is attending Assumption College in Worcester. “I remember this winter when we were planning senior week and now everything is over.”Vo reminisced about the day that Johnson moved into the house next door to hers and said that going on to college at Bentley University will be exciting, but scary.”Lynnfield is so small and everyone is so close. We’ve all grown up together,” she explained.As for fond memories of Lynnfield High, Johnson and Samson said they loved their French class, which they said was very small and close-knit.”We put our handprints on the wall in the French classroom so they’ll always remember us,” Johnson explained.Best friends since the first grade, Julien DellaPorta and Chelsea Flordeliza stepped out into the hallway for some air prior to lining up. DellaPorta said he felt nervous, yet excited, and called graduation “bittersweet.””High school was shaping,” he explained. “It most definitely changed who I am.”Flordeliza agreed and said she was “happy, relieved, but also sad.”Both DellaPorta and Flordeliza said they have fond memories of the Lynnfield High Music Department, and performing with the chorus and in the school’s production of “Grease.” As their last Lynnfield High performance, both sang “World’s Greatest,” by Arr. Hodgkins with the Senior Chorus during the graduation ceremony.Come this fall, Flordeliza will attend Salem State University, where she will major in nursing. DellaPorta plans to study psychology at Adelphi University in New York, and is looking forward to “a change of scenery, meeting new people and going new places.”Members of the Class of 2011 made their way into the stadium and onto the field at 6 p.m. to the traditional tune of “Pomp and Circumstance,” played by the Lynnfield High Concert Band under the direction of Thomas Westmoreland.In her welcome address, Student Council President Meghan Goodwin greeted the crowd with a chronology of the lessons she and her classmates learned from elementary school up to graduation, like the importance of being responsible and keeping a positive attitude. Goodwin called her time in Lynnfield Schools a “journey to discover ourselves,” and said each student wouldn’t be who he or she is today without all the faculty, teachers, coaches and parents in Lynnfield “cheering us on for 18 years.”Lynnfield High Principal Robert S. Cleary followed with his opening remarks, which he kept short, yet sentimental. Cleary instantly got a chuckle out of the audience when he said he was sad, but also glad to see the Class of 2011 go.”But not for the reasons you think,” Cleary added. “I’m glad because they’re ready.”He closed by thanking the Class of 2011 and said each student has made his job as principal “extremely enjoyable.”After the Senior Chorus’ performance of “World’s Greatest,” Michael Dillon gave his valedictory address, which began with a special thanks to the retiring Superintendent of Schools, Robert Hassett. He then quoted the classical Roman poet Virgil by stating, “They can because they think they can” and called his words “not only powerful, but true.”Citing Lynnfield’s