The masks came off. The sun came out. And members of the Morristown High School Class of ’21 began putting the pandemic behind them.
“COVID tried its best to ruin our spirits. But, in spite of its malicious efforts, we are graduating right now, right here, today. And that’s what matters,” Valedictorian Natasha Thussu Dhar told 446 fellow graduates under blue skies on the football field Thursday morning.
Many say high school is the best four years of one’s life. For this class, “it was a solid 2.5 years, max,” Dhar said, to laughter.
Students had been on alternating virtual/in person schedules since March 2020, only coming together again for five-days-per-week class time last month. Dhar thanked teachers for making things as normal as possible, and praised her classmates as the most resilient group in MHS history.
But she urged them not to let a virus define them.
Movingly, Dhar recounted emigrating from Australia at age 3. Her single mother took a huge risk, and they struggled financially. “My childhood was spent sleeping on floors, and foregoing luxuries” and, early on, vexing teachers. “My kindergarten report cards all had the same comment: ‘Natasha has problems following directions.'”
Video: Snapshots of a graduation unlike any other:
She turned things around by middle school. For her mother. “I had the best role model all 18 years of my life, and everything that I do, it’s for her,” Dhar said after the ceremony.
The point of her story:
“You are not who you are today just because of a pandemic,” Dhar, who will study computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, told the class.
“The hurdle that lies in front of you is not the obstacle that defines your character. Rather, it is the ways in which you overcome your personal challenges and continue to persevere that are of the utmost importance.”
Principal Mark Manning shared intimate reflections, too, of his pandemic struggle to buffer students from the “ever-changing, vague, contradictory directives from the state Department of Education.”
Paraphrasing Mr. Rogers on the value of helpers, Manning spoke of the world’s “desperate need” for people who tap their “best selves,” by giving more than taking during times of crisis. He challenged the Class of ’21 to continue demonstrating generosity, patience, empathy and resilience.
The principal said one of his greatest regrets was not getting to know this class better. Face time was scarce, a fact that seemed to be mirrored by fewer hugs than usual for him in the diploma line.
Still, Manning, the faculty, and Morris School District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast earned high marks from Tracey Eck, mother of graduate Lorelei Eck.
“I thought they handled COVID with such grace. I don’t know what I could possibly say, but thank you. They made it work,” she said. “Everybody just rallied and did the best they could–and it showed in each and every one of these kids.”
Despite everything, Lorelei defined her senior year as “amazing.”
“I wouldn’t change anything,” said the new graduate.
‘GRAND MASTERS’
MHS has “taught us all how to to be Grand Masters in life,” said Salutatorian Benson Hen Yi Liu, in an extended chess analogy. The key, he said, is to persevere until you get your lucky break.
In a crescendo of optimism, Bobbi Baitey and the Concert Choir imagined the dawning of a new age, singing Aquarius/ Let the Sunshine In from the musical Hair.
Noah Richardson, who will pursue pre-law courses at Ithaca College, echoed the upbeat vibe.
“With everything we had thrown against us, it just proves the ambition and strive that we have as classmates. Not to go against any other class, but nobody could do it like we did it. I’m so proud to be a part of this class,” Richardson said.
Katelyn Nagy said the pandemic taught her “to just keep pushing forward.” For Jamil Jones, the secret was “staying focused, and keeping a clear head.”
“It was a roller coaster, being at home most of the time,” acknowledged Angelina Exile-Keith, who grew very close to her dad’s Boston terrier, Princess.
“Stuff’s going to happen, bad or good. You just have to keep going,” Exile-Keith said.
“Getting rid of the negative and the toxicity before is way better in the long run. Because if you keep it next to you, it’s just going to make things harder–especially when you need to get back up at the end of the day.”
Isabel Gringeri and Sarah Barber learned self motivation, and how to work independently. Their internet skills are sharper since COVID.
But the next time someone invites them to a Zoom session…
“I’m going to say, ‘No thank you!” Gringeri said, laughing hard.
