Following storm, Class of 2023 sets sail

By Nicole Zappone The Citizen

Thanks to a rain storm passing through, they had to wait a bit longer than expected to receive their diplomas, but eventually, the 232 members of the Berlin High School Class of 2023 were able to toss their caps into the air together at Sage Park on Friday, June 9.

Class president Kailee DeMaio told her fellow graduates that after 523 days at BHS – many of those spent learning via Zoom due to COVID-19 – commencement was the event they had been working towards.

“Each and every one of us has been put under similar conditions throughout our years of high school,” DeMaio said, “while we also faced personal, unique challenges; whether they were individually, socially, mentally or academically.”

DeMaio recalled freshman year, back before the pandemic. “We began to have the full high school experience, enjoying football games, Homecoming, Spirit Week, band performances, and everything else,” she said. “Then, all of a sudden, this changed, and our socalled ‘perfect’ high school experience turned into having class on Zoom, where we prayed that our teachers wouldn’t make us turn on our cameras. ”

DeMaio indicated that it didn’t take long before students could identify their classmates by bedroom decor or ceiling fans. After a break in the action due to rain, commencement exercises carried on. See Graduates, A2

From A1

In his commencement speech, class valedictorian Michael Lanteri said, “I can stand up here and lie that I’m overjoyed to share excessively personal anecdotes, give unsolicited advice for which I have no credentials for, and joke about our class experiences in a monotone voice.”

Instead, Lanteri focused his speech on the concept of doubt. “The kind of doubt when we lie in bed thinking about the time we got cut from tryouts. The kind of doubt when we shout the wrong answer in confidence. The kind of doubt we have today, wondering if our grad caps look right or if we’re ready to take on life beyond high school,” he said.

Lanteri said doubt can become exhausting, and advised his classmates to not let it consume them.