Delaney Connors is congratulated by staff after receiving her diploma. Conard High School graduation. June 19, 2018. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
Conard High School’s Class of 2018 celebrated their graduation with words of wisdom, advice, and encouragement for their future endeavors.
Conard High School graduation. June 19, 2018. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
By Maddie Geerlof. Photos by Ronni Newton
Students, faculty, and family gathered to celebrate the 61st Commencement ceremony of West Hartford’s Conard High School’s 360 Class of 2018 graduates on Tuesday evening.
Class President Charlotte Novak opened the ceremony with remarks that the superseding speakers would soon echo in agreement – words of thanks to the parents’ continuous support and well wishes for fellow classmates’ future successes.
“Those who have helped us along the way … we could not have done it without your support,” said Novak graciously as she reflected on her high school career. Novak added that she could not be more grateful for the friendships and memories that she has had while at Conard, and said to her class, “I cannot wait to see where life takes us.”
“Your diploma is much more than a piece of paper,” said Conard Principal Julio Duarte. Duarte, during his address to the graduates, told the students that a diploma is a symbol of the students’ hard work and perseverance.
Duarte said that through musicals, artwork, sports, and random acts of kindness, the Class of 2018 is a well-rounded class and has set a new precedent for future classes. He also challenged each of the graduates, as they embark on their new beginnings, to stop and listen to people’s stories before casting judgment on them.
For many of the seniors, their graduation “symbolizes the end of a story and start of a new one,” said commencement speaker and math teacher Douglas Serkoski. As a testament to this, the Senior Choir sang “Hello, Goodbye” to commemorate not just the end of their high school careers, but the start of their new, exciting journeys.
Superintendent of Schools Tom Moore, who was not only a commencement speaker but also the proud parent of a graduate, shared a special testament with the graduates as he spoke from a parent’s perspective. Moore congratulated the students and thanked them for helping him, as well as all of the parents in attendance, to grow.
“Go and do miraculous things,” said Moore as his final challenge to the class of 2018.
Moore was not the only speaker to leave the graduates with final charges just moments before they would graduate. Serkoski, who was selected by the graduating seniors to speak, challenged the students with the following tasks: he encouraged the graduates to practice compassion, set realistic goals for themselves and plan for the future, and he advised the students to know when to pick up their cellphones and use them and when to put them down and live in the moment.
In a similar manner, one of the class speakers, Annie Bugos, advised her classmates to “Be kind … it’s as simple as that,” she said. Bugos reminisced about the valuable lessons she learned during her career as a Conard student and emphasized to her peers the importance of cherishing those lessons and remembering their roots. “Once a Chieftain, always a Chieftain,” she said with pride as she concluded her remarks.
It was evident that for the students graduating, a Chieftain is more than just their high school mascot. Instead, it is a term that exemplifies an extraordinary community and a family. “A Conard Chieftain is someone who follows their own path and chooses to be unique,” said Serkoski, and he added that the class persevered even through the toughest challenges as a Conard family.
Alex Held, who also spoke on behalf of the class, said that the Conard Chieftain camaraderie is one that is rooted deep within the student body.
After the students walked across the stage to receive their diplomas, they gathered one final time and moved their tassels from right to left.
The ceremony concluded and mortarboards flew into the air as Moore presented the crowd with the Conard High School Class of 2018.
A complete list of graduates from the Conard High School Class of 2018, provided by Conard, follows the photos.