The Class of 2007 (Printed June 15, 2007)
Posted by Sentry Editor at 6/21/2007 9:29 AM 
Categories: Happenings, Cape schools, Ward Peck, So Po Schools
Categories: Happenings, Cape schools, Ward Peck, So Po Schools
By Ward Peck
Editor
With the flip of a tassel and diplomas firmly in hand and proud parents, smartly dressed siblings and envious underclassmen the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth high schools’ Class of 2007 made the transformation from high school student to high school graduate on Sunday. The graduation ceremonies took place under dry skies and an unfamiliarly blazing sun– Cape Elizabeth’s at Fort Williams Park and South Portland’s at the football field behind the school. While the venues and programs differed, the revelry and excitement buzzing among the graduates and spectators was universal.
At Fort Williams, speeches and honors bestowed were regularly punctuated by whoops and cheers from the soon-to-be graduates seated on the crumbling concrete bleachers facing officer’s row. In South Portland the men and women clad in red and white, respectively sat largely silent as inflatable balls and toys mischievously bounced from side to side and front to back, the scene framed by the large petroleum storage tanks some distance behind them.
In Cape Elizabeth the graduating class was both congratulated and admonished by Principal Jeff Shedd for being smart at times and immature at others. Valedictorian Katherine Yousa implored them to recognize their gifts and use them wisely; generously pointing out that she was not alone in achieving success. Class speaker Matthew Oakes provided lighthearted anecdotes about his classmates, reflecting the intimacy only possible among a group pf people who have spent the past four or eight or 12 years in the same schools. But the ceremony had its serious moments as well. Faculty speaker Dwight Ely recounted his painfully personal, sometimes gruesome, experiences as a combat solider in Vietnam and placed that experience in a larger geopolitical timeline marked by lies, double crosses and secret agreements. Although Ely did not make a direct connection to the current conflict in Iraq, the curious Class of 2007, as Ely described them, must have wondered if that connection was implied.
In South Portland, it was the Class of 2007’s day and they did not share the stage with anyone else. From the welcoming address delivered by Class President Brianna Jaro to the four essays written and recited by the classes top scholars Emily Libby, Angela Giordano Salutatorian Kyle Hemes and Valedictorian Alexander Latendresse, the focus did not waiver from the graduates’ past accomplishments and the promises of the future– which for more than 80 percent of the 221 graduates, include continuing their education.
Editor
With the flip of a tassel and diplomas firmly in hand and proud parents, smartly dressed siblings and envious underclassmen the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth high schools’ Class of 2007 made the transformation from high school student to high school graduate on Sunday. The graduation ceremonies took place under dry skies and an unfamiliarly blazing sun– Cape Elizabeth’s at Fort Williams Park and South Portland’s at the football field behind the school. While the venues and programs differed, the revelry and excitement buzzing among the graduates and spectators was universal.
At Fort Williams, speeches and honors bestowed were regularly punctuated by whoops and cheers from the soon-to-be graduates seated on the crumbling concrete bleachers facing officer’s row. In South Portland the men and women clad in red and white, respectively sat largely silent as inflatable balls and toys mischievously bounced from side to side and front to back, the scene framed by the large petroleum storage tanks some distance behind them.
In Cape Elizabeth the graduating class was both congratulated and admonished by Principal Jeff Shedd for being smart at times and immature at others. Valedictorian Katherine Yousa implored them to recognize their gifts and use them wisely; generously pointing out that she was not alone in achieving success. Class speaker Matthew Oakes provided lighthearted anecdotes about his classmates, reflecting the intimacy only possible among a group pf people who have spent the past four or eight or 12 years in the same schools. But the ceremony had its serious moments as well. Faculty speaker Dwight Ely recounted his painfully personal, sometimes gruesome, experiences as a combat solider in Vietnam and placed that experience in a larger geopolitical timeline marked by lies, double crosses and secret agreements. Although Ely did not make a direct connection to the current conflict in Iraq, the curious Class of 2007, as Ely described them, must have wondered if that connection was implied.
In South Portland, it was the Class of 2007’s day and they did not share the stage with anyone else. From the welcoming address delivered by Class President Brianna Jaro to the four essays written and recited by the classes top scholars Emily Libby, Angela Giordano Salutatorian Kyle Hemes and Valedictorian Alexander Latendresse, the focus did not waiver from the graduates’ past accomplishments and the promises of the future– which for more than 80 percent of the 221 graduates, include continuing their education.
Comments