By Melanie Graham
WEST NEWBURY — With camera-wielding family members crammed into bleachers, the hazy Saturday morning commencement began at Pentucket Regional High School.
As the Class of 2008 slowly marched toward their seats on the football field, the anxious crowd before them could feel the heat settling in. It was a big day for the graduates, a transition into a new life.
"It's the beginning of an adventure," said Amanda Quinn, treasurer of the Class of 2008.
Following the invocation from Quinn, the Class of 2008 president, Cecily Bigham, welcomed the sun-covered crowd with a smile and some laughter "despite the lack of air conditioning." Bigham encouraged her classmates to remember their times at Pentucket and to keep in mind the words of the ever-popular source of graduation quotes, Dr. Seuss.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose," quoted Bigham.
Graduate Jonathan Brenner had the honor of directing the school concert band's performance of "In the Shining of the Stars." Another musical selection for the morning included Paul McCartney and John Lennon's "In My Life" performed by Chantal Desjardins, Allison Pearsall, Kayla Piscatelli and Alex Kowalewski.
When the music ended, Salutatorian Colleen Treado addressed her friends and fellow graduates, punctuated with sets of giggling as a beach ball bounced through the student crowd. As she admitted the difficulty and fear of the high school journey coming to an end, Treado likened her high school career to the finale of her favorite book series, Harry Potter. She explained that the date of the release of the final book, as well as commencement day, symbolized a similar time in her and her classmates' lives.
"That date represented a frightening moment," said Treado, "the end of a series, an era, a childhood."
Treado encouraged her classmates to remember their past and look forward to the future. Although she criticized J.K. Rowlings' inclusion of an epilogue, one day, they would be able to write their own epilogue.
"Remember who you were," Treado said, "so that you will better know who you want to be."
Next, Valedictorian Aalin Bellinger approached the podium to face the "final challenge" of summing up her four years of high school to her classmates.
Bellinger explained her past as a procrastinator and her future as a student of philosophy and literature. But what she aimed to emphasize were the variety of options she and her classmates have after Pentucket.
"We have the freedom to pursue what we like and what we choose," Bellinger said.
As she adjusted and readjusted her awkward-fitting graduation cap, Bellinger recollected her theater memories at the school and related them to the final day of high school before them.
"We have been through a lot together," Bellinger said. "I bet we never imagined the full implications of this moment."
Following Bellinger's address, Terrance Beaton from the Pentucket Regional Scholarship Foundation presented $70,000 worth of scholarships to 49 graduates. Two new scholarships were added this year.
The Jean M. Connor Memorial Scholarship, given in honor of Jean M. Connor, a second-grade teacher at the Sweetsir School in Merrimac, was awarded to Cecily Bingham.
The Edward S. and Winifred G. Moseley Memorial Scholarship, established by the Moseley Foundation in memory of the Moseleys, who felt that education was extremely important, was awarded to William Shipps.
Once the round of applause quieted in the sea of green and white, Pentucket graduate, Groveland native and Fox 25 news anchor Maria Stephanos addressed the Class of 2008.
Stephanos joked about her high school appearance, her hair and her title of "class clown," recollecting menus from the high school cafeteria and her favorite "pizza Fridays." Most of all, the Boston news anchor seemed to encourage and support the new graduates with laughter and experience.
"You don't ever forget the things you forge here," Stephanos said.
Moreover, she explained that fear before college is only natural, relating her own reservations about her first year at UMass-Amherst, but insisted that if one works hard and listens to criticism, success can be created.
As she joked about finishing up her speech, hinting at the anxiety and sunburns spread across the crowd, Stephanos explained that her success as a journalist came from hard work and endless education. In addition to quoting the same Dr. Seuss rhyme from earlier in the ceremony and joining in the beach ball fun, she encouraged students to remain true to themselves and their dreams, and to never stop their own education.
"Learning happens every moment of your life," Stephanos said, "not just in the classroom."
