Melrose Class of 2011 Celebrates Triumph Over Adversity as Sun Sets on High School

Editor's note: Check back on Monday for video highlights and more photos from Friday night's graduation ceremonies.

Class of 2011 hasn't always had it easy, as they reminded everyone on Friday night.

They missed out on both a brand new middle school and brand new athletic fields by one year, as Benjamin Ouellette and Athena Ziavras both noted.

They were the last class to "experience the leaking ceilings and obsolete chalkboards" of the old middle school, Valedictorian Ellen Cintolo said, while enduring milk carton crates as locker substitutes in the Franklin School for seventh grade, and then for eighth grade, given two hallways in the high school "and advised not to interact with the high school students."

Those shared experiences compounded the personal trials and tribulations they all faced, such as Jazmine Dixon's example: Trying out for the basketball team sophomore year, having an asthma attacking and throwing up. "Now that was an epic fail," she said with a chuckle.

As Ouellette said: "No other class has learned the same lessons we have."

Despite all those hurdles, on Friday night 234 students strode across the stage, receiving their diplomas and turning their tassels from right to left, as a familiar theme—in both whimsical and poignant ways—resonated in the graduates' remarks: triumph over adversity.

And under blue skies and fading sunlight, the Class of 2011 celebrated, together, one more triumph over adversity: An outdoor graduation ceremony on a beautiful late spring day.

With the ongoing construction at Fred Green Field making the traditional graduation site unavailable and a ceremony inside Marcoux Gym—along with a two-family member limit—looming, the class fought for and finally secured a ceremony on the "Cabbage Patch" field in front of the middle school.

"The lesson that we learned was as a class, you have to continue to strive for what you want for and overcome obstacles, and something positive is bound to come," Ouelette said.

Class makes dream a reality

When Superintendent Joe Casey took the stage, he said he had one question for the Class of 2011: Is this the graduation they dreamed of?

"You deserve it," Casey said after the whoops and cheers.

The superintendent told the graduates that they can make their dreams their reality.

"Be open to the wonder of life and remember as someone once said: 'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,'" Casey said. "I know all of you will leave us breathless in the years to come."

Melrose School Committee Chairwoman reminded the graduates of the words of Albus Dumbledore—Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series—who said that "it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

"We as members of the Melrose School Committee encourage you to be thoughtful and deliberate in the choices you make, and know that wherever those choices lead you, we will choose to be proud of the kind, and brave, and talented and honorable people you are," Driscoll said.

Principal Joe Dillon first recognized retiring teachers Gale Babin, Richard Tice, Sue Eason and Stella Cocchiara. The retiring educator then said because he started at Melrose High School with this graduating class, and is now retiring as they're graduating, he feels like a member of the Class of 2011, which makes him both proud and humbled.

"Although you demonstrated singular accomplishments in academics; on the stage and on athletics fields; during your amazing internships; and a myriad of other experiences, I will remember you most for your kindness, your decency and your class," Dillon said.

Remembering friends and family

Ouelette said in his welcoming address that "it's the small things" about Melrose High School that he won't forget.

"Like the days where I'm sitting in class and think it's a good time to get up and go look out the window, and then I remember, this is Melrose High School—there are no windows," he said to laughs from the family and friends assembled. "Like Ms. Litchman's library raps; waiting 45 minutes to go to the restroom because someone felt it was a good time to wander the halls; and knowing what it's like to sit at the bottom of the lunchroom, and eventually sit at the top.

"Ten years from now, we'll sit back, reminisce, and it'll be you, the students, that cross my mind," he said.

In an emotional speech, Cintolo paid tribute to her late mother—who died from cancer as Cintolo just started high school—her voice quivering with emotion at times, but ultimately staying steady, strong and clear.

"I can honestly that I never expected any of this to happen to me," Cintolo said. "It never crossed my mind that I would be here making this speech. But really, what I never imagined is that the most important person in my life would not be here to listen to it."

Cintolo lauded her classmates for their compassion, from volunteering for the Melrose Alliance Against Violence's annual candlelight vigil and walk; to commemorating the life of the late Danny Williams; to raising money for victim of natural disasters; to simply supporting the fundraisers of their classmates' groups and teams. She implored the graduates to use that compassion and to lean on one another, family and friends in times of need.

"Each one of us has something to offer to the world, whether small or monumental, and all of us have experienced adversity in our lives," she said. "Maybe we have lost someone important to us, maybe we have had a difficult home life, or we have suffered a different kind of setback, but we all know hardship. Losing someone important is a struggle we will all face one day, but I must reassure everyone not to be afraid to open to up to others and rely on them to help restore your lives, like my family and friends have done for me."

Being challenged—and challenging yourself

Dixon spoke about encountering racism early in her career as a METCO student in Melrose Schools, but viewed the situation as "more of an advantage than a disadvantage," as she learned how to overcome those types of situations. She spoke about how the METCO program and Melrose METCO Director Doreen Ward—who "wracked my nerves like every day"—challenged her to seek all the opportunities available to her. Those opportunities included Students Against Destructive Decisions, a black college tour, youth conferences, and a scholarship program through national sorority Delta Sigma Theta.

They even included challenges that didn't work out exactly as planned, such as Dixon taking an AP Advanced Placement course this past year.

"Even though I dropped down to an honors course due to the complexity of the AP workload, I'm proud I pushed myself and took the opportunity to take a class I knew would be challenging," she said. "I am still graduating with one of the highest GPAs in the METCO program."

In her farewell address, Ziavras mentioned the various accomplishments of the Class of 2011, ranging from a boys basketball team returning to the state tournament for the first time in a decade; a girls hockey team making the tournament for the firs time; the Community Alliance Club building houses in Buffalo; the MHS Band winning regional competitions; and artists winning their way in the Globe art show.

"Maybe you found your niche through doing these activities, or maybe it was just something to do," she said. "Either way, the persistence and determination that we have earned through accomplsihing those goals will travel with us in all of our future endeavors."

Ziavras encouraged her classmates to remember and find time to thank the people who helped them get to this point and who "molded who we grew up to be," before a sly grin spread on her face as she closed out her remarks.

"I can now say with a bittersweet smile—Deuces, MHS!"