Somers High School Bids Farewell to Class of 2012 [With Video]

On Friday evening, 137 happy seniors received their diplomas and began the next chapter of their lives.

Principal Gary Cotzin opened the evening by commending this class on its camaraderie, academic achievement, and school spirit. He also noted how these students were committed to bettering the experiences of all students at Somers High School.

Cotzin said that his hope for this class is that when the students look back at their time together, that they will be happier for the friendships they have made, and will be kinder, gentler people because of the people they have encountered during their years at the school.

“More importantly, (I hope) that you will have the inspiration and determination to give back to your community and be the person a friend can count on when the chips are down, and to always try to bring honor and pride to your families,” he said. “Where is the hope for a better future? I’m looking at it.”

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Superintendent of Schools Maynard Suffredini told the graduates that hopefully the foundation that has been formed during the years of public education, and the morals and ethical values they have developed through this process, have rooted and will carry them on their lifelong pursuit of personal happiness and professional success.

“Consider it the beginning of a lifetime of learning and personal growth which will carry you to great, unimaginable heights,” he said.

Class president Jake Alvaro said that these past years have flown by in the blink of an eye and that most of the graduates will remember the more memorable moments of high school while most of the experiences will fade into a blur of memories.

He asked if that is true of life in general and then told the class that each of them is living a story and that each story is unique.

Alvaro said that he started to reflect on life in this way after reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, which centers around realizations that Miller made while editing his memoir.

“Today, this chapter ends,” he said. “How has your story been so far? Tomorrow, another chapter begins. Do you know what you want? Is it good for you? Is it good for others? Have you anticipated the conflict you may need to overcome to achieve this? If you have answered yes to these questions, then I suspect that when we gather in our years to come for reunions, we will all have fantastic stories to tell.”

In his salutatory address, Ryan Geib thanked everyone who has helped the graduates along the way, including the teachers who not only taught the material, but life lessons and values – whether the students wanted to hear them or not.

“I know that I have been personally shaped by some of the teachers that I have had and will remember their influences as I move ahead in life,” he said.

He told his classmates that their success is a combination of their hard work and the support and guidance they have received. He encouraged his classmates to, no matter what they’re doing, always give it everything they’ve got, and inevitably, others will notice it and appreciate their work.

He closed by saying, “Thank you all for the memories and experiences.”

noted that for her – and many of her classmates – the educational complex in Somers has been home for the past 12 years, and how many hours have been spent there.

She said that she feels blessed to have grown up in this world, amongst these people, and that she feels lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

“Thank you for making me the person I am today, as classmates, as peers, as friends,” she said. “It is because of all these wonderful people that it is so surreal that this is all coming to an end. I cannot imagine my life without you.”

She also noted how not having to wake up to her alarm, hurry to get ready for school, and run into first period, will be as bittersweet as it will be liberating.

Loughrey told the graduates that there is still so much for them out there beyond this world.

“This is only stage one, in which we have been protected in a cocoon so that we might be formed and nourished so one day, we might be ready to break free and fly,” she said. “It’s a whole new world of adventures and possibility. Today, we begin our journey on to college, to careers, to life.” 

Class of 2012 Somers High School Graduates

A-G: Lindsey R. Aguiar, Jake Vincent Alvaro, Mackenzie Taylor Anderson, Tyler J. Anderson, Amanda George Kathleen Archambault, Alicia Arentz, Brooke Connor Ballard, Anthony C. Baumann, Renee Catherine Beaulieu, Raina Helene Bedard, Brian M. Belcher, Victoria Amber Berube, Emma Theresa Blauvelt, Kaitlyn Ashley Boggio, Benjamin T. Bugden, Amy L. Burnham, Kaley Lynn Cammilleri, Angel Luis Caraballo, John Patrick Cardwell, Danielle Lyn Chokas, Lucas H. Conley, Kristopher Steven Connor, Sean Richard Coverdill, Sara Anne Crisafi, Nathan Edward Czelazewicz, Brianna Damon, Jennifer Alyse DaSilva, Angela Faris DiLorenzo, Allison Dubanoski, Chelsey Tamara Dunn, Brandon Eastwood, Kelly Elizabeth Egan, Joseph Felix, Marissa Marie Fragomeni, Mette Simone Gaardsvig, William Charles Gallagher, Teresa Rose Garlick, Alex Fotios Geas, Ryan Timothy Geib, Marissa K. Gentile, Laurie Glybin, Cody Gneiting, Josmavelin Gomez, Emily Jean Goodenow, Adam J. Goodman, Thomas N. Gorski, Kaylee Nicole Gosselin, Brianna Renee Guite’

H-O: Christopher M. Hamilton, Emma-Kate Gonia Hannan, Colin Joseph Hassett, Jayce Javon Haynes, Evan Anthony Hayowyk, Ryan C. Higgins, Nicholas Jacobsen, Jack Kapino, Joseph Killoh, Jason A. Kim, Melissa Ingrid Kloter, Andrea Meghan Kopec, Magdalena J. Kruzel, Niko Krzynowek, Kyle Santos Laires, Amanda Louise Latif, Victoria Lynn LaVallee, Taylor Paige Leaska, David Michael Lesniak, Ian Lewis, Connor R. Lockyer, Katie Ann Loughrey, Heather Lynn MacLauchlan, Jamie Nicole Mailhot, Ryan Mailhot, Nicholle Linda Maille, Michael Ryan Marsters, Timothy Mathewson, Christopher Gabriel Mendez, Krista Michelle Morello, Caitlin Lee Moriarty, Kerisa May Morin, Katherine Elizabeth Morton, Samuel C. Moser, Nicholas J. Mottolese, Kayla Lynn Mountford, Jason Moustafa, Kevin Patrick Moylan, Allyssa Louise Norton, Connor M. O’Grady, Sabrina Dawn Okun

P-Z: Joshua Thomas Patsun, Joseph F. Pellegrini, Michelle Helene Pellissier, Rene’ Elise Pellissier, Alana Rose Petkis, Ryan Pettee, Kelsey-Ann Pomeroy, Nathaniel T. Pozzi, Bruce Patrick Rafferty, Stephen James Reilly, Ashley Marie Ricard, Kevin M. Roberts, Lorenzo Alessandro Rolocut, Tyler Austin Russell, Gabrielle Elizabeth Samson, Rebecca J. Scheuer, Zachary Alan Seagrave, Luke Patrick Shannon, Yuan yuan Shi, Marta Skibild Stenz, Melissa Ann Stewart, Abigail E. Stone, Kyle Sullivan, Shannon Rose Sullivan, Wen Ai Sin Sun, Sylvia Szleszynski, Haiden Christine Terrill, Autumn Rose Thon, Christopher Joseph Tolisano, Paul Turco-Dalmolin, Brandon M. Ulitsch, Samantha A. Urbon, Emily A. Vanasse, Richard D. Vanasse, Emily Margaret Vecchiarelli, Nicholas Edward Vecchio, Victoria Alexandra Vendetta, Christopher Michael Vesce, Kenneth H. Vollaro, Arianna Watson, Karisa Rose Welch, Donald Timothy Whittle, Joshua Anthony Wielock, Ainsley Elise Wilson, Rachael Leigh Wilson, Theosha Sarah Wilson, Kiernan Patrick Wyllie, Dion Jamal Yard