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'Great people, awesome friends' Whittier graduates 221 as school's leader retires

By Mike LaBella
Staff Writer
Published: May 30, 2008

HAVERHILL — As he waited in line to receive his diploma, valedictorian Jonathan Cloutier of Amesbury summed up his four years at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in just a few words: "Great people, awesome friends and a quality education."

Last night, 221 Whittier seniors said goodbye to their school while their superintendent, Karen Sarkisian, did the same. After 18 years leading the school, Sarkisian is retiring.

"I came here in 1990, the year this class was born," Sarkisian announced. "You've been in high school four years, I've been in high school since 1967. It's about time I graduated."

In her address at last night's commencement, Sarkisian talked about opportunities in the workplace that were blocked to women years ago and reminded the Class of 2008 that it was the first to have every member pass the state MCAS test by its junior year.

"This class has raised the bar for all classes to follow," Sarkisian said.

Senior class President Kerri Legros of Methuen reminded her classmates of how special each of them is.

"I hope wherever your life may take you, you will remember where you came from and the beautiful person you have grown to be," she said. "As that famous doctor, Dr. Seuss, said, 'Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.'"

This graduating class racked up its share of accomplishments.

It had the largest percentage (68 percent) of students going on to college in the school's history. Armed with $150,000 in scholarships, they are headed to technical schools and colleges across New England and beyond.

"This school was a life-changing experience," said Amanda Tracy of Haverhill, who studied health at Whittier and has been accepted to the Salem State College nursing program. "This school opened doors for me."

Cloutier and salutatorian Kevin Clark of Merrimac both received full scholarships to UMass Lowell.

"I studied graphics at Whittier, and I plan to study fine art design at UMass," Cloutier said.

It was a culturally and economically diverse class originating from 11 different communities and included Camilla Santos, formerly of Haverhill and who is now living in Newburyport. A native of Brazil, Santos came to America when she was an eighth-grader and unable to speak English. She attended Whittier, learned English and studied fashion and interior design.

"This was an experience I'll never forget," Santos said while waiting for her diploma.

Senior Michael Young was the first Whittier student in 20 years to win the prestigious Walter J. Markham Award and its $500 prize. He also won one of the most whimsical scholarships handed out: The Rube Goldberg Award. Goldberg is known for his overengineered apparatus. Young reveled in creative robotic devices for his school's SkillsUSA team.

"I guess I won it because I'm an engineer," Young said while waiting for his diploma.

In sports, Whittier's athletes excelled. Among their accomplishments were: The cross country team winning the Cape Ann Conference title for the second year in a row; the boys cross country and boys track team breaking seven school records; the boys track team scoring for the first time ever in the Boston Track Meet; varsity baseball players Austin Brodie and Andrew DeRoche being named to the Cape Ann Conference All-Star team; and the softball team qualifying for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament for the first time in about 10 years.

The school's SkillsUSA team captured 20 medals in vocational state competitions this year and will send nine state gold medalists to the national competition in Kansas City this summer. Community outreach efforts included Whittier's service clubs, including the Key Club, Multicultural Club and Peer to Peer Club, donating thousands of hours to help less fortunate people.

Whittier serves Haverhill, Newburyport, Amesbury, Georgetown, Ipswich, Groveland, Merrimac, West Newbury, Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury.

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Whittier's Class of 2008

Number of students: 221

Going to college: 68 percent

Employment: 29 percent

Military: 3 percent

Scholarships received: More than $150,000

Valedictorian: Jonathan Cloutier of Amesbury

Salutatorian: Kevin Clark of Merrimac

Class president: Kerri Legros of Methuen

Vice president: Matt Miles of Groveland

Secretary: Sarah Williams of Lawrence

Treasurer: Brittany Bradwell of Haverhill

Photos