SWAMPSCOTT — The bleachers of Blocksidge Field were filled Friday evening with the proud families of students in Swampscott High School’s Class of 2024.
The 160 graduates marched to their seats accompanied by “Pomp and Circumstance” played by the high school’s band. After an introduction by Superintendent of Schools Pamela Angelakis, Class Secretary Coco Clopton welcomed guest speaker Jamie Denbo to the podium.
Denbo, a member of Swampscott High’s Class of 1991, has made a career as a television producer for shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy.” She encouraged the students to “plan less” and find their vocation more naturally, as she herself did not expect to have the job she has today when she was graduating more than 30 years before.
“Here we are now, me with a cool job in entertainment… If I had known too much in advance, I don’t think that any of it would have happened,” Denbo said.
Class President Celia Gordon addressed not only her fellow graduates, but also their families in attendance. Her speech centered around how children tend to ask their parents a lot of questions when they are young. Now, however, she said the roles might be reversed as parents ask the graduates what the next steps in their lives will be.
A rendition of “Mr. Blue Sky” by the high school’s chorus was followed by Valedictorian Sofia Comfort, who spoke about how every relationship she made during her high-school experience had an impact on her life, no matter how small it might have been.
“Most people don’t stay in our lives forever,” Comfort said. “No matter how we might feel about the characters of the past, we must thank them for the good times spent together and for teaching us how to tackle the next chapters in our lives.”
Principal Dennis Kohut used professional sports figures such as Kobe Bryant, Bill Belichick, and Diana Taurasi in an analogy about how failure is a necessary step in order to achieve success. Bryant and Taurasi lead their basketball leagues with the most missed shots of all time, however they are also some of the winningest players. Belichick has the most losses of a head coach in NFL history, but has also won six Super Bowl championships.
Kohut was joined by Angelakis, Assistant Principal Colleen Finn, School Committee Chair Suzanne Wright, Director of Guidance Rachel Sturma, and School Counselors Julie Mazzola and Julie O’Neil for the presentation of diplomas. All of the graduates were applauded by their loved ones in attendance as they crossed the stage.
Class Vice President Luca Croft concluded the ceremony with a comedic speech that ended with an instruction to his peers to turn their tassels and throw their caps in celebration of being officially recognized as high-school graduates.
