www.spotlightnews.com 6 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 1 www.spotlightnews.com
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School
SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE:
It gives me great pleasure to have the honor and the privilege to address the graduating class of 2021! It is hard for me to admit, but I graduated from high school in June 1969. That summer of 1969 is one I remember well. The Moon landing was particularly significant for me because the space race with the then Soviet Union had defined much of my public schooling life from the intermediate elementary grades to high school graduation. I vividly remembered the night of July 20, 1969. My father, mother, sister, brother-in-law, and my three slumbering, young nieces and nephews, two twin boys and a girl, all under two years of age, were huddled together in the living room around the black and white TV. We were moved to tears as Neil Armstrong at 10:56 p.m. EDT descended down the ladder of the vehicle and proclaimed the immortal: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” We were amazed and awestruck as we watched the shadowy, ghostlike figure of Neil Armstrong seem to skate across the surface of the Moon for the next three hours. It was one of the defining moments of my generation. One of your defining moments began on March 13, 2020 with the pandemic lockdown and continued in various forms until your graduation. Like the Moon landing was for me, the pandemic will be one of your defining moments. It is highly likely that historians will refer to you as the Pandemic Generation. However, while some may choose to refer to this time as your defining moment, you did not let it define you. Isolation, despair, anger, fear, anxiety, and hardship were felt by all during these challenging times. But through it all, you persevered. You overcame these troubles by being present for each
other, by building relationships, and supporting each other as a true community. The coronavirus pandemic may have pulled us apart physically, but there were countless times where I saw our school community, under your senior leadership, come together stronger than ever. Compassion, caring, understanding, scholarship and goodwill are the words which define your time at Shaker High School. To say we are proud of all you accomplished this year would be an understatement. You choose to share the joys of music, song, poetry, literature, painting, and sculpture and the creative life. You choose to dream big, think beyond the confines of tradition, design and create for the future, and use science and technology to create a better world. You choose to focus on improving conditions for all of humanity and directing those efforts toward those who suffer: the poor, the sick, and disenfranchised. You choose to define yourself not by what you have but by who you are and by what you can give to others. You choose to pursue not only what gives you joy but what also graces others with your kind and generous spirit. You choose to forge forward. We are comforted by the fact that you, the Pandemic Generation, represent the best of our hopes and dreams and the vision of a bright future. Congratulations on arriving at this important milestone in your life. You are to be commended and honored, and I want to thank your families, our faculty, staff and the community for helping achieve your defining moment. It is an outstanding accomplishment. Congratulations Shaker High School Class of 2021!
Sincerely, D. Joseph Corr Superintendent of Schools
Shaker High Half page ad
114935_4
June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 7 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com 2 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Karim Abouzeid
Victoria Adediran
Aaminah Afzal
Atharv Agashe
William Ahl
Taha Ahmad
Temiloluwa Ajijola
Meghan Alaxanian
Muhammad Ali
KayLee Alix
Isabella Allen
Jolianis Alvarado-Reyes
Ethan Andrews
Ashritha Annam
Fahad Ansar
Alisa Anufrieva
Katherine Arpey
Gabriella Audino
Tyler Avery
Amy Awad
Maliyka Aziz
Caroline Bae
Nathaniel Bancroft
Sean Barao
Julia Barker
Rogelio Bautista-Zacarias
Elizabeth Bazinet
Alexah Bedard
Emily Beretvas
Lauren Beshaw
Dani Bhashyam
Dolly Bhashyam
Sarah Blake
Emory Blanchet
Logan Blind
Dylan Bogart
Jackson Bogert
Lily Bonds
Riley Borst
Victor Botti
Mackenzie Bouchard
Adam Bouleris
Davia Boutros
Annabella Britt
Yaaseen Brown
Kendall Brownell
Nia Browning
Rashay Browning
Mikayla Brunell
Talya Bruso
Kate Bunkoff
William Buono
Adam Buresh
Joshua Burke
CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS
Happiness, Success, and Adventures Await You!
We are so proud of the creative, witty and kind person you’ve grown up to be. We love you!!
KAYLEE!
Love, Mom, Scott, Taylor, Ashley, Brianna and Zachary
S0011_4
TAHA!
Mama, Baba, Sami, Zaki, Magic and the whole family! S0010_4
CONGRATULATIONS
BRYN FECKO! We are so proud of you and the difference you make just with your smile!
We know you will continue to change the world at Boston College!
S0021_4
8 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 3
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Jake Burleski
Taylor Calacone
Zachary Caldwell
Matthew Calicchia
Ophelia Campell
Isabella Canavally
Amanda Carey
Alaric Carknard
Sole Carrington
Benjamin Casler
Sharon Charles
Ashley Cheffolway
Ghassan Chehade
Walter Chenette
Carl Christian
Kaleb Christiansen
David Clemenzi
Tess Cody
Ava Connery
Brynn Connors
Dylan Conroy
Jacob Contois
Joseph Conway
Hailey Cook
Domingo Cowan
Isabella Cowan
Amaya Cozzy
Half page ad
SO CAN YOU.
June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 9 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com 4 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Amber Crain
Taylor Crain
Devin Cuthbert
Gozde Dagci
Aislinn Dailey
Jacob Daniels
Caroline Darby
Connor Darby
Ryan Darby
Dylan Dayter
Ryan DeConno
Kelley Degan
Jasmin Cate Dela Rosa
Gage DeLair
Ronak Dhiman
Zackery Diehl
Connor Doherty
Ethan Donovan
Owen Doorey
Alyssa Dortch
Fatima Dosso
Sofia Dota
Kayla Dragon
Logan Drake
Jesse Duke
Sienna Dunham
Laura Durocher
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2021! FromYour Friends and Family at Lanie’s Cafe Half page ad
471 Albany Shaker Road laniescafe.com
(518) 438-5005
114922_4
10 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 5
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Sophie Dvorak
Ethan Ehrlich
Myxael Encarnacion
Katherine Endler
Diana Euceda
Nolan Farrigan
Thomas Farrigan
Abby Fay
Bryn Fecko
Alexandra Felt
Grace Ferris
Mackenzie Ferris
Matthew Ferris
Alexandra Feurer
Ian Fitzgerald
Allie Fletcher
Joshua Foglia
Liana Folmsbee
Emma Forcucci
Michael Ford
Julissa Forde
Ethan Fowler
Robert Fratangelo
Myriam Gall
Sheldon Gallagher
Elizabella Gamache
Aham Gao
Henry Gao
Shashank Garg
Brian Garrity
Nicholas Garrow
Jared Garvey
Leah Geel
Michael Genito
Madeline Gentile
Aiva Geracitano
Kathryn Gifford
Alexander Gildersleeve
Haley Glassburn
David Glasser
Reese Glazebrook
Patricia Gomez
Kathleenjoy Gordon
Vanessa Granato
John Graney
Isaiah Greene
Aidan Grimmell
Christian Grimmick
Anna Hallock
Alexis Halpin
Sarah Hamilton
Ben Hanrahan
Jordan Hansen
Emmitt Harris
JACOB
Love, Mom and Dad
S0007_4
YOU DID IT!!!
S0003_4
We are so proud of your accomplishments and the person you have become! Keep shining your bright light! The best is yet to come! Congratulations Y
MY ZARIA!!!
I’m so proud of you and all the hard work you done to get to this beautiful milestone in life. I know Grandpa is beyond excited!
LUCA,
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!
Toutes nos felicitations sur un travail bein fait! Love, Mom S0006_4
6 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 11
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Nolan Harris
Dean Hartl
Aidan Hartwich
Brennan Hedderman
Riley Hegarty
John Heinze
Nicholas Hennessy
Yazmin Hernandez-Merino
Mary Hessinger
Elizabeth Hodson
Andrew Huang
Ashley Hudy
Olivia Hudy
Troy Hunt
Mackenzie Hyde
Eva Hymes
Sriya Ilipilla
Alexis Insero
Grace Isernia
Daniel Iyok
Sarah Jacob
Pranav Jagannath
Sarah Jamil
Lane Jenkins
Maya Jenkins
Christian Jeram
Baylee Johnson
Jack Johnson
Jole Johnson
Sathvika Jothivenkatesan
Lilianah Jourdanais
Micah Juman
Naomi Jurman
Sara Jurnak
Elizabeth Kaercher
Yifan Kao
Jacob Karpen
Eliza Kayembe
Rhianna Kester
Ishita Khambete
Habiba Khan
Nimra Khan
Numa Khan
Zahra Khan
Shaheer Khawaja
Colin Kilmer
Sunmin Kim
Tasia King
Julian Kintz
Kelly Kirker
Thomas Kita
Livia Koehler
Drew Kolaya
Ananya Kothapally
YOU DID IT CALISTA!
I am so proud of you. Keep shining bright. Skies the limit for you my beautiful girl. Love, Mom xo
S0004_4
We are so proud of the compassionate, hardworking, and wonderful young man you’ve become.
EMMA RILEY!
ZACH!
We Love you! Mom, Dad, Tessa, Muddy and Jolly
CONGRATULATIONS, S0005_4
We are so proud of you
On to UCONN and your next amazing chapter
S0002_4
12 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
www.spotlightnews.com
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Taylor Kraft
Surya Krishnakumar
Kelsey Krissel
Shruti Kunadia
Bria Labella
Emma LaChapelle
Toutai Lafitani
Man I Felicia Lai
Matthew Lammon
Christopher Lane
James Timothy Langdon
Jamie Lau
Julie Laurent
Mason Layman
Kaylee Leavitt
Amyah-Lee Leca
Jethro Ronald Lee
Juha Lee
Emily Leece
Mackenzie Lehr
Jordan Lev
Renee Liburdi
Shannon Lipscomb
Frankie Liu
Emma Loffredo
Reth Lopes
Mariana Luna
Congratulations Graduates!
s n o i t a l u t a r g n Co Graduates!
Celebrate With Cakes
1/4 page ad
1/4 page ad
It’s A Party!
• Graduations • Showers • Communion • • Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s • • All Occasions • Holidays • Birthdays •
You’re invited to enjoy great cakes at: Latham (518)783-0196 troy (518)274-8277
bellanapolibakery.com
114925_4
114921_4
Selection to bring you in… Taste to bring you back.
June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 13 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com 8 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Shana Machnick
Alyssa Mackey
Alysa Mahoney
Maddisyn Mahoney
Nathan-Andrew Makoyi
Shahwaiz Malik
Sneha Malneedi
Anna Maple
Joseph Mariano
Frances Marino
Braden Martell
Abbey Martin
Kara Martin
Christopher Martuscello
Dominic Martuscello
Olivia Martuscello
Nathan Mattison
Daniel Mattox
Kianna McCalmon
Nazaria McCarthy
Kierstyn McClements
Michele McCormick
Riley McGovern
Tra’Cee McLean
Zachary Mein
Shiny Melhiraj
Francisco Mendonca
Yolanda Mendonca
Wesley Mercer
Itzel Merino-Lopez
Riley Micheli
Anna Miller
Joseph Mirabile
Connor Moffre
Maram Mohamed
Charles Mooney
Sean Morales
Hailey Moroskey
Peter Mostert
Geena Motto
Bridget Munro
Sana Murphy
Dashawn Murray
Kate Musser
Salema Nabi
Veda Nandikam
Ammara Nazir
Matthew Newton
Sadika Neyazy
Elijah Nguyen
Nghia Nguyen
Zitao Nie
Zachary Niemi
Zachary Novkov-Bloom
MEG,
Life got messy, you got tough! Even a Global Pandemic couldn’t stop you.
You are my sun, moon and stars...my heart and soul. I love you moreY S0022_4
CONGRATULATIONS
We are so proud of you!
You are a brilliant student and a wonderful daughter. We are so proud of you!
GO GET’EM!
KATHERINE!
With love from Mom and Kevin (and Sunshine) S0008_4
Can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Herkimer here he comes! Love, Mom, Dad & Brandan
S0009_4
14 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 9
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Michael O’Connor
Ogechukwu Ogbonna
Francisco Oh
Calista Orlyk
Alex Page
Michael Palladino III
Anavi Parikh
Mansi Patel
Daniel Pavelec
Sabrina Pervaiz
Lilith Phelps
Alexander Phillips
Dylan Pollay
Rohit Ponnada
Lauren Powers
Anna Pustay
Jahyra Quarshie
Liamell Quezada
Ava Renda
Giannina Resciniti
Nicole Resnick
Salwah Riaz
Armando Ricci
Jonathan Richardson
Michaela Ridley
Fox Rifenberg-Stempel
Ava Rigney
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs
1/8 page ad
1/4 page ad
Your Local Chamber Serving Businesses Since 1985
115173_4
Congratulations graduates! Continue shining and never stop fighting for what you believe in. I look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish! — Councilwoman Melissa Jeffers
COLONIE & LOUDONVILLE RESIDENTS:
SHOP SMART SHOP LOCAL
Congratulations to ALL the Graduates!
Keep dollars here in our local economy.
For more information visit
1/8 page ad
www.coloniechamber.org
(518) 785-6995
114928_4
or call the Chamber at
By doing business locally, you not only get personal service and real value, you also help strengthen our local community and economy. Compared to national chains, locally owned businesses recycle a A reminder from: much larger share of their revenue back into our local economy, supporting a wide range of jobs and enriching our
whole community.
10 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 15
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Jaicha Rivera-Leal
Kayla Robbins
Alexei Robin
Adam Roczniak
Mia Rodriguez-Hardy
Lauren Rogers
Laura Romania
John Rosekrans
John Ross
Taylor Ross
Augustine Roumier
Casey Royce
Shruthi Rozario
Connor Ruberti
Austin Rumph
Jennifer Russo
Olivia Rust
Robyn Rymanowski
Anna Ryu
Ahmad Sameer
Christopher Sanchez-Adamez
Madeline Santore
Scout Santoro
Aayan Sayed
Nicholas Scattareggia
Angelina Schaefer
Frank Schaefer
Half page ad #Dadication
fatherhood.gov
16 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 11
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Gabriella Schaefer
Isabella Schaffer
Max Schaffer
Kendall Schilling
John Schneider
Cameron See
Theko Sekhobo
Jae Young Seo
Darby Shaw
Madison Shea
Samuel Shurin
Ariel Siegfeld
Jeremy Siji
Michael Simkulet
Soniya Singh
Istan Slamet
Clare Smith
Davlon Smith
Emma Smith
Jonathan Smith
Lydia Smith
Brandon Sodergren
Luca Spadinger
Nathaniel Spence
Andrew Sprague
Emily Sprague
Elise St. Pierre
Connor Strand
Emily Sullivan
Jessica Sweet
Cindy Sze
Kilah Tabatsky
Jewel Tanksley
Iyanna Taylor
Brian Tenney
Henry Tetteh
Zainab Thaleb-Al Sallami
John Thayer
Saikalyan Thimirisetty
Justin Thomas
Whitney Thomas
Vivian Tidd
Owen Tobias-Wallingford
Victoria Travis
Zamariah Traynham
Hunter Trifaro
Isabella Tronco
Tiffany Truong
Estreja Turner
Noah Tutunjian
Alvira Tyagi
Emma Valente
Isabella Valenti
Jack VanDenburgh
CONGRATULATIONS
LAURA
JESSICA SWEET!
Love, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Caitlin & George
S0012_4
We wish you all the best for your future! We are excited for you & so proud of you!
We are very proud of the young woman you have become. Follow your passions and always be true to yourself. Love, Mom, Dad, Grace, Brooke and Claire
S0017_4
Congratulations to our Shaker Graduate!
SHANNON,
Your Leadership and Kindness will bring you Success! We are so proud of You! Go Irish! Love, Mom & Dad
S0023_4
June 9 - 15, 2021 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 17 www.spotlightnews.com
www.spotlightnews.com 12 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | June 9 - 15, 2021
CLASS OF 2021
Shaker high School Abby Vara
Catalina Varela
Aarohi Vasavada
Katherine Vasquez-Celestino
Are’Jhana Verdi
Maya Villanueva
Raymond Vincelette
Madison Vitas
Alexandra Volynsky-Lauzon
Anna Volynsky-Lauzon
Madalynn Walsh
Sunny Wang
Mackenzie Ward
Jared Warren
Chase Washington
Aiden Waugh
John Weatherwax
Jeremy Wernick
Maya Wescott
Thomas Wessels
Za’Liah White
Hayley Whitsett
Jovani Wiggs
Demetri Williams
Kevis Wilson
Della Wirfel
Hunter Witzenburg
Jacob Woodcock
Ethan Wright
Jalen Wu
Tsegaab Wubshet
Luke Wyrshyhora
Sinthia Xhabej
Il Young Yang
Daniel Wissenbach
Shahd Yasin
CONGRATULATIONS
MIKAYLA!
You’re our shining star! We’re so proud of you. Kirari Yokoyama
Runa Yokoyama
Lara Yusuf
Thomas Zaloga
CONGRATULATIONS
SHRUTHI BIANCA
ASHLEY & OLIVIA HUDY S0015_4
We’re so proud of you!!!!
Love Shreya, Mom and Dad!!!
CONGRATULATIONS
We are so proud of you both! The sky’s the limit! All Our Love, Mom, Dad, John, Tom, Betto, Pookie, Skye, Delilah, & George
S0019_4
KENZ
KENZIE WARD!
Congratulations on your graduation! We are so proud of you! Work hard, play hard and make your dreams become reality!
Keep your heart and mind open to all the opportunities that lay ahead waiting for you to fulfill. Remember, it’s the beginning of your future. Love, GramCracker
All our love always, Mom and Dad
Ethan Zhang
Nick Zeller
S0020_4
Love, Mom and Dad
S0014_4
S0016_4
JOHN
It has been such a joy to watch you grow up with your sisters. We are so proud of you.Y Mom & Dad
S0013_4
MADELINE GENTILE Great Job, Madeline!
Your hard work has finally paid off during this year to remember. You will make a fantastic nurse someday!
We are so proud! Love, Dad and Carey
S0018_4