Volume 19, Number 17
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Class of 2015 urged to take risks By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
After four years of navigating “ever-shifting floor plans,” as the valedictorian described it, the Berlin High School Class of 2015 officially graduated June 21 with a ceremony at Central Connecticut State University. Class President Suleyman Bozal delivered opening remarks, comparing the time the students spent at BHS to “working as a pizza delivery guy,” with which he has firsthand experience. Freshman year, he said, is filled with “twists and turns” as students get to know the street-like hallways. In sophomore year, students “had more courage. We signal left and finally merge onto the highway.” Bozal said that this class’s journey has not always been smooth. “The road we drove on was not freshly paved, riddled with pot holes and ceiling tiles,” he quipped, but as the years went on students came to realize that although they were all driving different cars, they were moving together in the same direction, every student, from “athletes” to “class clowns.” Bozal said that now that the
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Valedictorian, salutatorian both headed to Northeastern By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
spoke next, addressing the challenges the Class of 2015 faces. “All of you have talent, raw talent,” he said, and while “BHS has been a great place for us to investigate these talents,” the grads now
This year’s Berlin High School valedictorian, Daniel Paszkowski, and salutatorian, Allie Schulz, are both headed to the honors program at Northeastern University this fall. At the graduation ceremony at Central Connecticut State University June 21, the valedictorian told students “we can’t afford to be complacent” with the challenges this generation faces. BHS principal Francis Kennedy praised both students at the Board of Education’s annual student awards meeting held earlier this month at McGee Middle School. Kennedy said Paszkowski “year after year… demonstrated his ability to rise to new challenges … his valedictorian status was well earned.” Paszkowski took 10 advanced placement courses, with extracurricular participation in athletics and the UpBeat program. He reportedly plans to study engineering. Schulz has played lead roles in school plays
See Graduation / Page 3
See Northeastern / Page 3
BHS graduates had much to smile about June 21. See more photos at www.berlincitizen.com. | Christine Huskes / For The Citizen Class of 2015 has “reached the exit” the graduates may be reluctant to part with the “delicious aroma” of the pizza, just as the end of high school is a bittersweet moment. He finished his speech by taking a selfie before passing on the mike. Valedictorian Daniel Paszkowski
Teen anglers primed for national competition By Charles Kreutzkamp
We knock out
The Berlin Citizen
Two Berlin High School students are headed to a national fishing competition to compete for “tens of thousands of dollars of scholarship money” at the High School National Championship on Kentucky Lake in Tennessee, according to Ron Frisk, high school director of CT BASS Nation. Those who perform well in the tournament may even See Anglers / Page 4
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