PEABODY — Thursday afternoon’s clouds parted and the sun shone down on Bishop Fenwick’s Donaldson Field as the high school celebrated its graduating class.
The 108 graduates marched onto the turf to their seats as a band composed of both alumni and current students played “Pomp and Circumstance.”
After an invocation by Fr. Michele Benetti, Class President Helene Phelan took to the podium. Phelan thanked all of Fenwick’s staff, from administration to facilities. She reminded her fellow graduates to be thankful for the people in their lives who helped them reach this milestone.
“Let’s have a grateful graduation, Fenwick,” Phelan said. “We’ve come a long way, and let’s not forget to take a step back and remember the people who got us here.”
Salutatorian James Missett described the mixed emotions the commencement gave him. He said that while he is eager for the next chapter of his life, he knows he will miss his high-school experience.
“On one hand, it’s sad to move on from a place where we have spent the past four years, but at the same time, it’s time to leave and we can feel happy about what we have accomplished,” Missett said.
Following a rendition of Billy Joel’s “Vienna” by the Fenwick Concert Choir, the John J. Meehan Service Award and Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick Awards were presented. Teacher Shelley Schmeck received the Meehan Service Award for her exemplary service to Bishop Fenwick. Phelan and fellow graduate Luke Connolly were presented with the Fenwick Awards for being good examples of the virtues the school represents.
Valedictorian Cecilia Kay then took the stage to address her peers. Kay took the opportunity to recognize and thank her many family members in attendance. She also thanked Fenwick teachers and staff by telling anecdotes about her fondest memories of them.
“Mr. (David) Dugan, you taught me the importance of community with your constant involvement in the lives of the students… Your loyalty to the dress code is unwavering, yet very frustrating,” Kay joked. “Don’t worry, I promise I am not wearing a hoodie under this gown.”
Kay alluded to her relationship with God on multiple occasions, and credited Bishop Fenwick with solidifying her religious beliefs. She named the COVID-19 pandemic and the MIAA disciplinary sanctions on the school as challenges her class persevered through.
Each student then took to the stage to receive their diplomas, but they were also given something else. As a Fenwick tradition, every graduate takes a sunflower to honor St. Julie Billiart, the founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
“St. Julie encouraged her sisters to be always turned toward the good God, just as the sunflower turns toward the sun,” the commencement’s pamphlet reads.
Once Dugan gave his final address to the graduates, which centered around gratitude, familiar routines and far-off realities, and promise, the seniors gathered in a circle and joyfully threw their caps.
