MARBLEHEAD — Marblehead High School graduated 247 students Friday night at Piper Field, a senior class that Superintendent Dr. John Buckey described as “exceptional.”
While this wasn’t the senior year that anybody had in mind, Buckey said that being able to cap off a difficult year with a traditional graduation ceremony for such an exceptional class was something to appreciate.
“I am blessed to be able to have seen the uniqueness and specialness of the MHS Class of 2021,” Buckey said. “I am impressed by your flexibility and patience in the face of the disappointments and frustrations (over the pandemic).”
Buckey described the graduates as bright and accomplished, advising them to never underestimate the difference they can make to others.
Class President Daniel Walter Howells told his class to hold onto their positive memories from their last four years, and even the challenging times of the pandemic, because the “negative ones will only hold you back.”
In his remarks, Howells thanked his fellow graduates for being a patient, understanding and resilient group of people.
Salutatorian Jack Norman Dalton thanked Marblehead High for the lifelong friends and memories he made there, telling his classmates to be proud of how much they have accomplished and thankful for what the school has given them.
Valedictorian Theodore James Chemel said that when everyone’s lives were put on hold because of the pandemic, the Class of 2021 didn’t “sit back and wait for someone to come along and give us the push we needed to get moving once again.
“We sacrificed, we stood together, and we figured out how to make this cruel situation work for us,” Chemel said. “When the world stopped for the Class of 2021, we rose above the day-to-day uncertainty of quarantine, and instead, decided for ourselves what comes next.”
Chemel urged his fellow graduates to move forward comfortably because they are all “perfectly capable of turning any obstacle into an opportunity.”
Principal Daniel Bauer praised the Class of 2021 for getting through a year that he said was tough and challenging in many ways. He thanked the parents, guardians, faculty and custodians for helping the students get through this past year.
He also thanked the support of the community, acknowledging the more than $200,000 in scholarships that were donated to assist over 100 students with their next steps.
Bauer said it has been humbling to watch such an “impressive” class give back to their community and persevere through their senior year.
“You are the future and we are so proud of you,” Bauer said.
He said this class has lived through the biggest lesson of all, which has provided the graduates with resilience and mental toughness. He told them that life will have setbacks and rejections, but “no matter what happens, you can do it.
“Wherever you go in your life and journey, MHS is always your home,” Bauer said.
