These graduates overcame pandemic obstacles

The graduation of the King Philip Regional High School Class of 2022 took place June 5 at Stonehill College in Easton. Like all of the graduations that took place in the Attleboro area over the last few weeks, the speakers all discussed the many obstacles that they had to overcome after their classroom education was abruptly shut down in March of 2020.
That’s a lesson that school and government officials should heed before they ever decide to opt for an all-virtual education again.
Here's the link to this story in The Sun Chronicle as it appeared on Monday, June 6, 2022:
https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/kp-grads-praised-for-deep-resilience/article_341ba018-e595-532f-95b5-4707b0bdd107.html

The pandemic’s effect on the 316 members of the Class of 2022 was the focus of the speakers at Sunday’s King Philip Regional High School graduation held at a packed Sally Blair Ames Athletic Center at Stonehill College in Easton.
Surrounded by hundreds of family and friends --- who cheered enthusiastically for their favorite graduates when diplomas were given out --- the graduates heard their class repeatedly praised for being a deeply resilient one in the face of the pandemic, which abruptly interrupted their traditional school experiences a little more than halfway through their sophomore year.
Setting the tone was Senior Class President Flynn Duffy. “It was all fun and games until our sophomore year … and it all dissolved into something alien,” he said at the outset of his senior speech.
As hope for a quick return to school lapsed into despair and uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic, Duffy said “most of us discovered we missed” high school as they had known it.
Although they returned partially to the classroom for their junior year, they found themselves struggling to deal with the challenges provided by trying to balance virtual learning with the hybrid model, when students would attend smaller classes, usually twice a week.
But those hardships, he said, ultimately paid off as seniors. “We returned to school for our senior year stronger than we were. The entire school year was a blast,” he said, praising the students’ ability to come together.
Before introducing Salutatorian Matthew Lanford Joy, King Philip Regional High School Principal Lisa Mobley elaborated on just how close knit these graduates are. “This class has been the most connected class in my 11 years” as principal, she said.
Joy continued the theme of resiliency in his remarks, noting that “not having to leave our bedrooms” to go to school in the early days of the pandemic got old fast. He said he welcomed the ability to return to school, saying being forced to learn virtually taught him that going to school “was something not to be taken for granted.”
He left the graduates with this advice: embrace “the value of trying new things.”
Valedictorian Adam Chrisler Gousie began his speech by remembering “the first time I found out I was No. 1 in the class. I was overjoyed, but now the pressure was on,” he said of that moment he recalled from his freshman year.
That made the students determined to do what it takes to maintain their rankings. “We were working hard for our first year and a half until the world ended” in the second half of his sophomore year, he said.
But he added, when the students were able to return for a relatively normal senior year, the class “found its collective joy” in being back at school.
“Seniors, you went out of your way to make the most of your last year,” he said. “We spent the time enjoying those around us.”
Looking ahead, Gousie urged the graduates to “capture this sense of joy.”
Before the students spoke, King Philip Regional School District Committee Chairman Trevor Knott, in his welcome address, congratulated the graduates and urged the parents to do three things: get involved in the school district, find a way to serve the schools and discover a sense of community.
Graduation notebook
Mobley presented the prestigious King Philip Cup to graduate Emma Murphy. The principal also announced that the Class of 2022 had voted high school teacher Shawn Geary Teacher of the Year. … King Philip Regional School District Committee member James Lehan made a bit of personal history at Sunday’s ceremony, when 29 years after presenting his daughter her diploma (he also was on the board in 1993), he repeated the honor, handing his granddaughter Sarah Jane Lehan-Allen her diploma. … King Philip Superintendent Paul Zinni, in his brief remarks to the graduates, pointed out that his first four years at the helm of the district mirrored the Class of 2022, as his first year on the job was the graduates’ freshman year. … The King Philip Regional Band played “Pomp and Circumstance” during the processional and “The Washington Post” and the “National Emblem” during the recessional. … The national anthem was sung by senior members of the King Philip Chorus, the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Student Council President Molly Piller, which was followed by the King Philip band’s rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com.