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‘Another First Step’ for the Old Saybrook High School Class of 2022

Given what the Old Saybrook High School Class of 2022 had endured on its way to graduation, an evening that looked like rain could break out at any moment wasn’t going to deter its members (or their families) from celebrating commencement on June 16.

Class speaker Ashlyn Korpak asked those in attendance to recall the milestones that they had witnessed the Class of 2022 take.

“You are now witnesses to another first step,” said Korpak, asking her classmates to remember all the small moments, not just the big event.

In a joint speech from Principal Sheila Riffle and Associate Principal Joseph Anastasio, Anastasio told those gathered “Every year it gets tougher and tougher to say goodbye to the seniors and this year is no exception.”

Meanwhile Riffle told the class to focus on making small changes that add up.

“It’s the little things that change the world,” said Riffle.

In her speech, Salutatorian Libby Stuart reminded her classmates to cherish all the moments they had together from happy moments of laughter to times of struggle when they needed someone to support them and found them—“Friends we will have for life,” said Stuart.

Stuart asked that her fellow graduates, as they make their own way into the world, continue to support each other.

“I implore you to continue to be there for each other inside and outside the classroom just like you have been for the last four years,” said Stuart.

In his valedictory speech, Noah Grace asked the graduates to “master the uncomfortable” and “embrace the unfamiliar.”

“We have successfully navigated the tumult of adolescence and are ready to offer our gifts and talents to a world that frankly needs us,” said Grace.

In their speech, class speakers Lily Cody and Carson Brown cracked a few jokes and reminisced on all the memories that the class shared from kindergarten to the last day of senior year.

“Ending high school is just another chapter for us,” said Cody.

Guest speaker English teacher Michael Flegar said advised the class that, “If you’re not taking risks you’re not learning” and that “shift happens.”

“Find the magic and beauty in each moment,” said Flegar.

Superintendant of Schools Jan Perruccio said the Class of 2022 was “the right generation for the time we find ourselves in.”

She borrowed a line from FDR and advised, “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself in the form of self doubt and pessimism.”