PEABODY — A crowd gathered on Bishop Fenwick High School’s Donaldson Field to celebrate the class of 2023 Thursday night. A full section of reserved family seats was followed by rows of extended-family members and tailgaters in the parking lot to honor the 122 graduates. President Thomas Nunan Jr. led a commencement ceremony that included words from students, staff, and alumni.
Class President Chloe Swartz took the podium first to discuss her peers’ resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the pandemic struck in the concluding months of our freshman year, we began to realize our time inside Fenwick was being taken away,” said Swartz. “Although challenging, the situation did not bring our class down… Each and every person here is stronger than when they first came through the doors.”
Then, Fenwick Alumni Board President Scott Wentzell urged the graduates to stay close to their alma mater. He ended his speech with a quote from “The Golden Girls.”
“The bottom line is, in life, sometimes good things happen, and sometimes bad things happen. But honey, if you don’t take a chance, nothing happens,” Wentzell said.
After the “Golden Girls” theme continued with the Fenwick Concert Choir’s performance of “Thank You For Being A Friend,” Salutatorian Andrew Cahill stepped up to expand on what friendship has meant to him during his high-school experience.
“My friends are one of the most important parts of my life, and my friends in school are the reason to be happy every time I step into the building,” said Cahill.
Cahill went on to discuss how the “Fenwick family” will be a part of his life forever.
The crowd later heard from Valedictorian Aoife DeClercq, who talked about some of the physical possessions that will forever remind her of her time at Fenwick.
“A picture from a photo booth at a dance freshman year, a varsity letter, a lei from a charity walk I did with the tennis team, and a ticket to Spain,” DeClercq recalled. “We have left our mark on Fenwick, and Fenwick has left its mark on us.”
Each student then took to the stage one-by-one to receive their diplomas, but they also were given something else. As a Fenwick tradition, every graduate takes a sunflower to honor Saint Julie Billiart, the founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
“Saint Julie encouraged her Sisters to be always turned toward the good God, just as the sunflower turns toward the sun,” the commencement brochure explained.
After a final word from Nunan, the seniors gathered in a circle and joyfully threw their caps.
Afterward, newly-minted graduate Allen Karabina gave a recap of his early high-school experience.
“Within two months of going here I made a group of friends… the Fenwick family means a lot, its been a really good four years here,” Karabina said.
