In weather fitting the Scottish Highlands, Harwood graduates 128 seniors
June 14, 2023 | By Lisa ScagliottiAs marshals for Harwood Union’s 2023 commencement, school Internship Coordinator Rachael Potts (left) and Art Teacher Krista Verriotto (right) lead the senior procession to the large tent on the front lawn on Saturday, June 10. Photo by Sarah Milligan
Sticking with plans for an outdoor commencement despite intermittent heavy showers paid off for Harwood Union High School’s class of 2023 on Saturday when sunshine broke through the clouds just in time for their cap toss and photos with family and friends with their school as a backdrop.
Piper Ben Montross plays inside the gazebo as people arrive for graduation. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Led by teachers in the role of marshalls carrying folded umbrellas in the school’s black-and-gold colors, the 128 seniors marched from the school building to the large white tent pitched on the front lawn for the morning ceremony.
In school tradition, given its Highlander mascot, bagpiper Ben Montross played traditional Scottish tunes under cover of the nearby gazebo as family and friends took their seats.
Under the tent, the Harwood concert band played “Pomp and Circumstance” as the class filed. Once seated, the chorus performed “The Irish Blessing,” inviting any chorus alumni in the audience to join them.
Showers resumed as the gathering settled in for a little over an hour of ceremony.
Retiring English teacher Kate Youngdahl-Stauss provided the main address for the day. She teased the class by using popular slang terms that she said students advised her not to put in her speech such as “slap” as in, “Wow, those mortarboards and gowns really slap,” she said to groans of laughter from those in caps and gowns. “Nor am I to use the ‘f’ word ‘fire,’ like, I think the class of 2023 is fire.”
She said she promised not to use the ‘c’ word. “Not ChatGPT,” she said, foreshadowing a later student speaker. “Even though this class's entire high school career has been impacted by the dreaded c-word, they refused to be defined by it. I salute that because they are so much more than a global pandemic,” she said.
English teacher and department head Kate Youngdahl-Stauss delivers a commencement address. Photo by Michaela Millilgan
The class of 2023 is “talented and courageous,” Youngdahl-Stauss said. “Arts, athletics, academics – they’re the whole package. And they are impressive with their prodigious use of student voice.”
Reflecting on the era when she graduated high school 47 years ago, Youngdahl-Stauss said her generation vowed to break ranks with their parents’ generation that they believed was at the root of conflict and division. “We went our separate ways and kept going,” she said.
Today, “we don’t need rugged individualists. We need to pull together,” she told the audience. “We need to understand the sources of our differences, listen to people we don't agree with and find a way to heal the rift. This is where the class of 2023 shines. They are the most collaborative class I have ever known.”
To the seniors, she said, “You are good. Be good. Do good. Do it together.”
Youngdahl-Stauss noted that she is one of five retiring teachers at Harwood this year along with longtime math teacher, Nordic and track coach Tom Strasser; paraeducator Ellen Bruneau; and “musical maestros,” Chris Rivers and Bruce Sklar, Harwood’s band and jazz band teachers. According to the school yearbook, the five combined have 140 years of service to the Harwood community.
Harwood Assistant Principal Duane Pierson read off the seniors’ names as they each crossed the platform to receive their diplomas, a sunflower, and congratulations from the school co-principals, their class advisor, the district superintendent and school board chair. Each paused briefly before descending the platform stairs as a teacher snapped a photo that will be shared with families later.
Two senior speeches on the program were delivered by Adam Porterfield of Waterbury and Maisie Franke of Duxbury. As the seniors took the podium, rain clouds parted and sunshine broke through the morning gloom.
Porterfield made just a brief reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he wouldn’t dwell on “the elephant in the room that has already taken so much of our high school experience.”
Instead, he acknowledged the tenacity of his class to look out for each other on many fronts, and speak their minds. “Something never taken from us was our ability to adapt and overcome and most importantly, to advocate. If something was happening that we did not like, it was known. The class of 2023 was never afraid to call out school policies, teaching styles, or other practices that we did not support,” he said. “I hope that these graduates carry this energy into their lives beyond high school to make change, to challenge and strengthen our world.”
Seniors Adam Porterfield (front) and Maisie Franke deliver student addresses. Photo by Michaela Milligan
Porterfield got a reaction of surprise from the audience and school leaders on the platform when he reminded the class not to forget how “we embraced the introduction of artificial intelligence into our academic lives” and welcomed change.
“We seamlessly incorporated AI into the realm of essay-writing allowing it to take the reins and generate compelling content for us,” he said to laughter from the crowd and some raised eyebrows from school leaders behind him. A moment later he confessed, “Case in point, those past few sentences were all written by ChatGPT.”
Franke agreed that seniors were graduating having learned “to be independent and speak for ourselves” while “we also learned to take care of ourselves while still having fun.”
She reflected on the makeup of the senior class and how its members by this year were charting individual paths in various directions such as at the high school, Central Vermont Career Center, or in early college courses. Classmates were dedicated to their passions from music to athletics to leadership, Franke said.
“Our grade was so involved that when we tried to find a day to collectively skip school as part of a senior tradition, we couldn’t find a day that worked, she said.
Harwood Co-Principal Laurie Greenberg moves floral arrangements back to the school building. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Seniors Owen Duffy and Miranda Rayfield announced the class gift to Harwood: the students have designated that their class fundraising be used to purchase Adirondack chairs that can be placed in a grassy area near the school’s front entrance to create a comfortable gathering spot “so everyone may sit and enjoy the beauty that surrounds the school,” Rayfield said.
The students didn’t say how much the class fund was. Co-Principal Megan McDonough said administrators would look to make the purchase to maximize the students’ efforts. The campus already has several outdoor areas where students can congregate during both class time and down time. The spot for the chairs is a good choice for another where, she noted, “we’ll continue building community.”
Both co-principals made brief remarks from the podium. Co-Principal Laurie Greenberg used a recent class experience hiking at Mad River Glen as an image for graduates to remember. It was a “grinding journey” to the top with a spectacular view at the top, she recalled.
“Let life be that way for you: hard work, painful at times but always with a beautiful summit, waiting to take your breath away,” Greenberg told the class.
McDonough gave the closing remarks in the ceremony in which she praised the class for their spirit and energy, for their “great and fierce advocacy” that strengthened the relationship between students and adults at school.
“You’ve modeled phenomenal humility as you passed the torch and challenged your peers to carry forward the care and curiosity and connection that you have embodied during your tenure here,” she said.
Quoting a sentiment by Fred (“Mr. Rogers”) Rogers, McDonough ended with: “Often, when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re actually at the beginning of something else.”
In their final number together, the Harwood Assembly Band played the Tedeschi Trucks Band tune, “Bound for Glory.”
The class walked out of the tent in sunshine to the band American Authors’ tune, “Best Day of My Life.”
The 2023 Harwood Assembly Band plays its final number, ‘Bound For Glory’ by Tedeschi Trucks Band, as graduation comes to a close. L to R: Seniors Gabe Frankel and Jonah Halter on guitars, senior vocalists Mia Lapointe and Abby Holter, Josh McHugh on drums, Nate Conyers on bass, and senior Astrid Kahn on keys. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The commencement livestream recording is online on YouTube by Harwood Media Lab.
See the senior class portraits, the commencement program, and the list of senior awards and scholarships in this June 9 Waterbury Roundabout post.
Newly minted Harwood Union HS graduates exit the tent at the conclusion of their commencement ceremony. Video by Lisa Scagliotti
Class of 2023 post-graduation plans
According to the Harwood Guidance Office, Harwood graduates from the Class of 2023 will be attending the following schools next year. Students also will be participating in post-graduate gap years in addition to joining the workforce.
Bennington College
Boston College
Champlain College
Clemson University
Colorado College
Community College of Vermont
Dartmouth College
Elon University
Emmanuel College
Endicott College
Fordham University
Green Mountain Valley School
Hawaii Pacific University
James Madison University
Job Corps
Loyola University Maryland
Merrimack College
Montana State University
Mount Holyoke College
Northwoods School
Norwich University
O'Brien's Aveda Institute
Quinnipiac University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Saint Michael's College
Seton Hall University
Simmons University
Skidmore College
Southeast Lineman Training Center
St. Lawrence University
Suffolk University
The American International University in London
The George Washington University
The New School
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Union College (NY)
United States Air Force
Universal Training Institute
University of Denver
University of Massachusetts-Boston
University of New England
University of Rhode Island
University of San Francisco
University of Southern Maine
University of Vermont
Utica University
Vermont State University
Villanova University
Wellesley College
Western Michigan University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute