PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
From left, Corinne Mayle, Jared Kokinos and Katherine Rodger listen to valedictorian Christopher Colcord deliver a speech during the Marblehead High School graduation ceremony
By GAYLA CAWLEY
MARBLEHEAD — The Class of 2016 were encouraged to think of Marblehead High School as a second family.
“Home is the place that welcomes you no matter what,” said Superintendent Maryann Perry.
The 257 graduates included 34 members of the National Honor Society. Fifty-nine departing seniors finished with high honors, denoting a 3.8 GPA or higher.
Class President Justyn Needel said high school has taught her six important lessons. They included: everyone is a little weird, fake it until you make it, procrastination is the enemy, take selfies like it’s your job, push your limits and relationships matter.
Needel demonstrated one of her lessons by pulling out her phone and selfie stick to capture herself and the graduating class in a picture before imparting some advice of her own.
“Keep going out,” she said. “Keep trying. Even if it’s hard, remember you’re not alone.”
Henry Power read the senior essay, telling the graduates that they have entered a world full of problems that need fixing.
“It’s still up to us to use our education to participate in the world we live in,” Power said.
Valedictorian Christopher Colcord titled his speech “All The Small Things,” but provided a disclaimer that it wasn’t referring to the 2000 hit love song by Blink 182 that Rolling Stone magazine declared one of the “100 Greatest Pop Songs.”
Try as he might, Colcord said he could not think of anything big enough that happened in his young life to write a speech about. Instead, he put together phrases he collected throughout his K-12 schooling.
One phrase was from Melissa Humphrey, his high school history teacher, who could not get one point in particular across.
“Two presidents have been impeached,” Colcord recalled his teacher asking. “How many times do I have to tell you?”
Colcord apologized to his teacher, promising he and his classmates would do better in the future.
Salutatorian Michael Kaminsky told graduates to reflect on their first days at the high school.
“We got through it and we got through it together,” Kaminsky said.
Life does not get easier after high school, he added. Because of the struggles so far, even through dark times, their futures are bright, he added.
Principal Layne Millington said his hope was that the Class of 2016 never forget who they are or where they came from.
“I look forward to hearing about your successes as the years pass,” Millington said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley
