Southington High Seniors Take First Steps Into Wide World

By Dean Wright, The Bristol Press

June 21, 2021

The American Legion led students onto Fontana Field before they sat in front of friends and loved ones. The Senior Concert Choir led the National Anthem. And then there were the speakers for a year that was so historic many didn’t know what to expect.

Valedictorian Gabriel LeBlanc had some uplifting words for his classmates who survived a global pandemic that had them learning remotely and missing many of the trappings of a high school life.

“I offer my sincere congratulations, not only for the effort and dedication that brought you to today’s ceremony, but for accomplishing all you did in the middle of a global pandemic,” said LeBlanc. “This past year has been anything but easy. I know we all had moments where we felt alone, doubted ourselves and struggled with balancing our current lives with the magnitude of our current crisis. But we persevered through it all, navigating remote learning, social distancing, on top of an already challenging academic year. We are not just graduating seniors. We are resilient young adults and we are all here today for a reason.”

LeBlanc noted the reason was different for everyone and that they were all one component of different lives and beliefs set to start new journeys.

“Altogether, we’re so vital to the future of our world,” he continued. “That future could mean a number of things too as there is no pressure to follow any specific path in life or to achieve any external standard of greatness because that’s not something for others to set. Wherever life takes you, there will be opportunities to cement your own legacy for generations to come. Of course, we can’t predict the future, but we can hold it in our hands and shape it.”

Class Salutatorian Kevin Le remembered the precious social gatherings he enjoyed with his classmates prior to and after the pandemic. “Graduation, the final event in our high school career,” said Le. “As I reflect, the last four years have been a blur until recently. I mostly only remember my academics and all the stress that went along with it.

Only in the last few months with the absences of academic pressures do I remember something different. I remember something that is valuable. Prom with the girls and my favorite junior. Class Day. Class Night. Rides around town with my friends singing to Olivia Rodrigo...I knew I was enjoying myself without worrying about my grades. Due to these carefree experiences, I regret my academic ambitions. I ask myself what have I given up trying to achieve my goals. I’m afraid of my ambition and losing the appreciation for everything around me.”

Class President and Essayist Matthew Luponio served as the first featured speaker of the evening.

“Allow me to continue by congratulating the graduating Class of 2021 which sits in front of me as we speak,” said Luponio. “On top of school already being a series of chaotic trials for even the most normal teenagers, this year proved itself to be different from anything we could have ever expected. Our junior year and junior events were brought to a screeching halt by a global pandemic… Truly, if graduating represents that first walk into the real world, then graduating in 2021 was like walking away from an explosion in slow motion.”

Luponio quoted a passage about the character Aeneas from the Aenead trying to “bolster the hopes of his men following a horrifying journey,” he said. The quote was in Latin, but translates to “Perhaps it will be a joy one day to remember even these things.”

“Even now, nine months since first hearing them, these words continue to echo in my mind. This quote about celebrating the chaos looking back on our most troubling moments and being able to laugh because we’ve beaten them and come out the other side breathing,” he continued