A little gratitude.
Some rocket science.
They both played a big role in sending the Tolland Class of 2013 out into the world on Friday.
The school awarded diplomas to 244 seniors on Friday. Both Valedictorian Garrett Tirrell and Salutatorian Mary Trainor made it a point to thank the THS faculty for making them think critically and work hard - skills they charged each member of the Class of 2013 to take with them.
NASA Astronaut Daniel Burbank, who graduated from THS 34 years ago and has since flown numerous Space Shuttle Missions and spent months in the International Space Station, delivered a congratulatory address. He reflected back on watching the Apollo 11 lunar landing as a young kid and then having a chance to speak to Neil Armstrong, who said it is part of the human experience to feel ecstatic in one fleeting moment and then scared immediately after.
Burbank said he experienced that before he met Armstrong as a Coast Guard rescue helicopter pilot and then in space flights with Armstrong as a colleague.
He told the graduates that life is full of potential, yet full of uncertainty. The right patch, he said, was to, "believe in yourself and not give up."
The class gift, among others, was a new podium for public events.
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