SAUGUS — The class of 2023 streamed into the Lemoine Mitchell Auditorium at the Saugus Middle-High School complex Tuesday night, decked out in Sachem red gowns, as they prepared to receive a bevy of awards and scholarships honoring them for the work they accomplished over the past four years — a rocky period defined by the challenges of learning during a pandemic.
The awards ceremony Tuesday drew a large crowd that included a handful of local and state officials including state Reps. Donald Wong (R-Saugus) and Jessica Giannino (D-Revere), four of the five members of the town’s Board of Selectmen, and three members of the School Committee. Dozens upon dozens of awards and scholarships were handed out — and Middle-High School Principal Brendon Sullivan unveiled the names of the class valedictorian and salutatorian.
Sullivan began the night with brief remarks thanking those who attended the ceremony and those who helped make it happen, including members of his administrative team, the donors who helped fund the event, and the parents and families of students who supported them along the way.
“The awards night is a wonderful program that acknowledges the achievements of our students both in and out of the classroom,” Sullivan said. “The class of 2023 is a remarkable class of young adults, who have worked hard to achieve great things.”
The first set of awards presented during the ceremony were the departmental awards, with a faculty member from the department reading a brief statement explaining why they chose the student. Sullivan read several statements on behalf of faculty who did not attend.
The science and math awards went to Jay Patel, the social-studies award went to Yasmin Nunes, the English department award went to Afnan Tuffaha, the world-language award was given to Fletcher Martin, Wiktoria Biegun was recognized by the IT department for excellence and dedication to media production, the fine-arts award was given to Rachel Rivas, Grace Antonelli took home the performing-arts award, the performing-arts award for achievement in band went to Sophia Jabir, the performing-arts award for chorus went to Damien Ear, and the wellness-department award went to Jose Diaz Mejia.
Sullivan then handed out the athletic awards on behalf of Athletic Director Terri Pillsbury. The Knights of Columbus Kasabuski award for the most outstanding male and female scholar-athletes went to Isaiah Garcia and Marissa Patterson, the Michael J. Spinosa award for sportsmanship went to Justin Da Silva and Maeva Kembo, the Unsung Hero award was given to Justin Belluscio and Lindsey Tammaro, the Bill MacNeill award for the most competitive athlete went to Dante Mouro and Lexi Rais, and the Chief Drew award for best all-around athlete went to Max Anajjar and Maria Ferraro.
The graduates of the Saugus High School Academy for the Advanced Program of Studies and the class’s National Honor Society graduates were also recognized during the ceremony.
The final three awards given out Tuesday evening were special scholarships according to the faculty. Those awards — for most improved student, unsung hero, and all-around student — went to Chelsea Settipare-Moore, Biegun, and Kembo, respectively, with Settipare-Moore and Biegun receiving $1,500 scholarships and Kembo receiving a $5,000 scholarship.
With those three awards handed out, Sullivan announced the graduation marshals, salutatorian, and valedictorian for this year’s class. Jabir and Nunes were selected as marshals, Tuffaha was announced as the salutatorian, and Patel was announced as the valedictorian. Patel’s announcement in particular drew huge applause from the crowd, with some of his classmates yelling out, “Yeah JP!”
