PEABODY — The bleachers were completely filled at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium as the Veterans Memorial High School’s class of 2023 filed onto the field. The 347 graduates cycled around the track to thunderous applause before taking their seats. Then, the ceremony was underway.
Class of 2023 Co-Presidents Dante Martiniello and Paul Dominic Drilon began the commencement by welcoming everyone. After that, Principal Brooke Randall took the microphone. Randall was new to the school this past year, and said this senior class lived up to the great things she was told about them. She commended the members of the class on their resiliency in overcoming challenges during their four years.
“You entered PVMHS as ninth-graders in the fall of 2019, eager and excited to take on high school,” said Randall. “Before 2019 could conclude, you were faced with the challenge of suddenly losing your superintendent and dedicated assistant principal. Early 2020 saw the arrival of the COVID pandemic, and just like that, your freshman year was intensely disrupted once again.”
Randall said she was proud the students rose to meet every challenge and change so early in their high-school careers.
After a brief congratulations from Mayor Edward Bettencourt Jr., Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala took over to introduce the commencement speaker. Jess Sims, a Peabody High alumna of the class of 2006, was a three-sport athlete and captain at the school. After graduating from Trinity College , she spent time as a teacher and principal before transitioning into fitness, and has been a well-known Peloton fitness instructor since 2018. She urged the graduates to pursue what makes them truly happy and keep their minds open to more than one career path.
“When I was teaching I should have been happy. But I wasn’t,” Sims acknowledged. “In order to truly live the life that we want, we have to stop shoulding on ourselves.”
“In my opinion goals can be limiting if we don’t allow for flexibility,” she added. “The true joy and learning is in the process, not the destination. Staying on one rigid path might close you off to experiences that are actually meant for you.”
The Veterans Memorial Concert Band played “Summer Song” before the top eight scholars in the class of 2023 were awarded George Peabody Medals. The top three then addressed their classmates, starting with Senior Essayist Isabella Turco. Turco shared eight lessons she learned during her time at Veterans Memorial from multiple different people. One lesson came from a childhood friend, Ella O’Donnell, who died in 2016 after battling brain cancer.
“Ella O’Donnell was full of life and laughter,” said Turco. “It was she who taught me how important it is to laugh. Even during her hardest moments, treatments, and procedures, Ella never failed to show up to school the next day.”
Salutatorian Samuel Oliveri was next and, after lamenting that he had no intentions of giving a lengthy speech, proceeded to highlight his high-school career in humorous fashion.
Finally, Valedictorian Jessica Richards advised the graduates to stay authentic to themselves as they enter the next chapters of their lives.
“We will have the chance to introduce ourselves to people who don’t know us, or our families, or where we came from,” said Richards. “No one is going to know what you can or can’t do. By being honest about your interests, you may surprise yourself.”
Randall and Bettencourt then handed out each diploma, and once that concluded, 347 tassels were turned and the next phase of the graduates’ lives began.
