PEABODY — The skies cleared over Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday evening as Peabody Veterans Memorial High School’s Class of 2024 marched onto the field.
The 320 graduates were met with thunderous applause and cheers from their families and friends as their entrance was complemented with the school concert band’s rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Class of 2024 Co-Presidents Kathryn Amico and Ryan Faltera began the ceremony with a brief greeting, in which they honored classmates Ella O’Donnell and Jackson Frechette, who died before they were able to graduate.
“We miss you so much, Ella and Jackson,” Faltera said. “Not a day goes by where we don’t.”
Principal Brooke Randall then took to the microphone as the first of many speakers to congratulate the graduates. Having assumed her role in 2022, Randall spent two school years as the Class of 2024’s principal. She encouraged the graduates to remain confident in themselves as they enter the next phase of their lives.
“When your family drops you off at college, or the first time you step into that job on a full-time basis, or about to board the flight taking you to basic training, let yourself recognize and feel each emotion,” Randall said. “But, also remind yourself that you are prepared for this. You are ready.”
Mayor Ted Bettencourt alluded to the success of previous graduating classes and said that he is confident the Class of 2024 will be no different.
“You stayed focused on your goals and accomplished something truly special,” Bettencourt said. “We are all rooting for you to make a positive difference in our world.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala introduced the Class of 2024’s commencement speaker, Lauren Blodgett. Blodgett graduated from Veterans Memorial High School in 2007 and has gone on to have a successful career as a human-rights and immigration attorney. She is the founder of the Brave House, a nonprofit that supports immigrant and refugee children.
Blodgett gave colorful tips to the graduates, including to not take it too personally if it appears that people do not like them.
“You can be the juiciest peach on the farm, and honey, some people just don’t like peaches,” Blodgett said.
She also said the graduates should seek to be “cockroaches,” which she defined as people who stay committed to their goals and maintain connections with those who can help advance their careers.
After the top eight scholars of the graduating class were awarded with George Peabody Medals, Abigail Bettencourt, the senior essayist, described how she feels ready and prepared for the next phase of her life thanks to the resources high school has given her.
Salutatorian Vanessa Kolani spoke on the strong bond her class formed throughout its four years, using humorous examples.
“We functioned as a conjoined unit, like when we tried to distract Mr. Picanso by talking about mathematicians,” Kolani said. “The unique quirks of our school that we always complained about was what bonded us so deeply.”
Valedictorian Theodosia Kourtelidis quoted Charles Dickens’ 19th-century novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” as she felt one of its most well-known phrases summed up her and her peers’ high-school experience.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Kourtelidis said. “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.”
After each student received their diploma, the tassels were turned and the caps were thrown.
