For most students at Newton North High School, Monday would prove as ordinary a day as ever. But for the seniors, it meant freedom, recognition, and celebration. The Class of 2023 graduated on that day, and the seniors were received by a football field of adoring friends and relatives.
For the graduating students and their families, Monday was a time of triumph.
Despite every hurdle in their way – COVID, anxiety, homework – the seniors graduated. With the experience and know-how gained from four years of high school education, they can now go on to fulfilling careers.
“The pressure was intense,” said Interim Superintendent Kathleen Smith to the stu dents, “and you proved that you were up to the challenge.” But, Smith said, the former seniors’ success “didn’t happen in a vacuum.”
She urged those assembled to go out and thank all those that made the graduation possible – and that includes just about everyone, not just the seniors. As principal Henry Turner said earlier, NPS, the Mayor, and the School Committee all contributed heartily to the success underlying Monday’s ceremony.
Interim Superintendent Smith was one of four speakers for the evening, along with a member of the faculty and two student speakers – the 2023 Class President and one senior chosen for their excellent speech.
Where Smith described the students as persistent and hardworking, student speaker Ava Lyons interestingly compared the graduating Tigers to shrimp.
“When shrimp are by themselves, they are one of the smallest creatures in one giant ocean,” she said, “but shrimp in a large pack can move an entire ocean.”
According to Lyons, the Class of 2023, though separated physically through many career paths, “are all connected by the thread of Newton North no matter the distance.” And all in all, the young people graduating from NNHS are, in her words, “shrimply the best”– a speech in one sentence.
Class President Clara Lake and English teacher Thomas Fabian also commended the graduates for their strength in the face of adversity. President Lake specifically, recalled being reminded “of the students’ broad talents and the impact they have made on each other as they go out into the world.”
But what did individual students think?
Said 2023 graduating senior Madi McCarthy, “I think it was amazing.”
“When I look back, I’m just happy that I went to NNHS— I got really lucky with all my teachers, and it’s been very fun.” McCarthy lamented that the first two years were a bit difficult and said that high school generally makes for a lot of growth among students.
Her classmate, Kyle Goodwin, seemed to agree. For Goodwin, high school sports in particular created an excellent point of learning.
“As far as my school experience, my best friends and my most positive high school memories all come from sports. I think more valuable than actually developing any athletic skills are the relationships and the supportive community I was lucky enough to be a part of in my four years at North. I’m not sure what my life would’ve looked like without them.”
Goodwin said that sports at NNHS helped to instill in him a good work ethic as well as an appreciation for the needs of other people. “It’s a unique skill set that I use day-to-day at work, in the classroom, and when interacting with my friends,” he said.”
Also graduating was Ivan Zlatev, who hopes to become a personal trainer after attending college in New York, where he plans to eventually start a business. He said that high school showed him how to navigate among different groups of people, but he’s “more than ecstatic to get out of here.”
Of the 501 graduates, five members will go on to serve in the military, and the rest will look forward to careers in all industries, in places all over the world. Culture-wise, the former students themselves hail from many countries in addition to the U.S., including Bangladesh, China, Turkey, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Germany, and Italy – just to name a few.
Said Turner, “Newton, this is the Class of 2023!”
Andrey Sarkanich is a sophomore at Newton North High School.
