The Fredonia High School Class of 2021 turn their tassels. Photo by Anthony Dolce

On Sunday afternoon at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds, the Fredonia High School class of 2021 received their diplomas amidst showers of applause, congratulations, and at a point, heavy rainfall.

The ceremony began with a pre-recorded piano performance of “The Lark” by Fredonia graduating senior Trevor Napoli, followed by a recording of Pomp and Circumstance and the National Anthem. Following the opening performances, High School Principal Darrin Paschke welcomed all the soon-to-be graduates to their outdoor ceremony and passed on his own words of advice to his students about what they’ve gone through in the last year.

“One of the best parts of having been through such a tumultuous year is that I do not feel the need to admonish you about facing diversity,” said Paschke. “You have certainly done so… My only caution is this: Do not leave here with any excuses. We have all been through the pandemic and we’ve all had very different experiences. Let’s call it what it was and move ahead.”

Following Paschke, Madonnina Gullo, the Student Council Vice President, welcomed her fellow students to the presentation, and found inspiration for her speech from some of her favorite movies, including “Twilight,” “High School Musical,” “The Amazing Spiderman” and “Legally Blonde.” Gullo then compared the last two years these students have gone through to something you’d see in a movie or play.

“There have been lots of plot twists,” Gullo said. “And we’ve even identified some heroes in our story, like the teachers and administrators who helped make sure the show went on. The theater lights of our high school lives are about to rise, and the credits will roll as we’re handed our diplomas. I wish to welcome you all again to the final act of the Fredonia Class of 2021. I’m excited to watch the credits roll today. It’s been quite a show.”

Following another pre-recorded performance, this one a cello duet performed by Amelia Harper and Adeliz Gottinger, the Michael P. DiPalma Memorial Scholarship, the Thomas M. Heary Memorial Scholarship, and the Roger L. Pacos Memorial Scholarship were each awarded to different members of the graduating class. The DiPalma Scholarship was awarded to Dominic Gullo, the Heary Scholarship went to Harper, and the Pacos Scholarship went to both Timothy Davis and Madonnina Gullo. Harper, the class salutatorian, used her time at the microphone following the awarded scholarships to remind her peers and everyone in attendance how important the environment is.

“It’s not every day a 17-year-old is handed a stage like this,” Harper said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t take advantage of it. We’re hearing a lot of proclamations from adults about how we’re going to change the world. To everyone listening, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, if we don’t do something about climate change now, we won’t have a planet on which to stand and debate these issues. To my fellow graduates, we will change the world, because the only alternative is to let it die.”

Between two other performances, one a flute solo by Grace Crino and one song performance by Gullo, Napoli, Timothy Davis, Maddy Marsh, was the class valedictorian’s speech, given by Jack Forster, who acknowledged how the things turned from ‘another day’ to ‘one last day.’

“The days wound down and soon only the daunting future laid ahead,” Forster said. “Your occupation doesn’t dictate your success. Success is about the people in your life and the happiness you surround yourself in.”

Daniel Pacos, supervisor of the town of Pomfret and Fredonia alumni from the class of 1980 served as the ceremony’s keynote speaker and instilled in the graduates to take advantage of every opportunity that life hands them, and echoed Forster’s comments about success.

“You don’t have to cure cancer to be a success,” Pacos said. “You just have to pick something you like and do it well. It helps a lot if you like what you do.”

To present the Class of 2021, prior to the handing out of diplomas, Senior Class President Jack Carlson, who used an example he learned in math class and took it as life advice.

“Absolute value isn’t about how far you’ll go, it’s about how far you’ve come,” Carlson said. “It’s really hard to not compare yourself to your peers. The person who learned the most is the person who raised their grade from a D to a B+. You’re not less worthy than someone else just because they have more than you. Base your self-worth on how much you’ve grown.”

The graduates were then given their diplomas, who came up on stage to be greeted by the Board of Education President Brian Aldrich, Fredonia Superintendent Dr. Bradley Zilliox, Paschke, Assistant Principal Ronal Tonelli, and School Counselors Gina Davis and Steven Romans right as the afternoon’s rainfall began. Once the diplomas were given out and the graduates returned to their seats, Aldrich conferred the graduation onto them, as the class moved their cap tassels from the right side to the left to emphasize their status as graduates. Student Council President Dominic Gullo delivered one final speech before the ceremony was over.

“You don’t have to wait for your birthday to celebrate life,” Gullo said. “You can celebrate life every day.”

The graduating members of the Fredonia High School Class of 2021 then got back together, threw their caps in the air, then went off to celebrate with their friends and family, bringing a close to the 2020-21 school year.