On Sunday evening at the Agricultural Society fairgrounds, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2020 stood together for the first time since the school was shut down in early March. In lieu of a traditional graduation processional, the students stood by their chairs, a sea of white robes, while listening to Pomp and Circumstance.
The ceremony was conducted in a socially distant manner—the graduates sat six feet apart on the venue’s lawn, while family members looked on from their cars and trucks.
“I’m so grateful we are able to have an in-person celebration,” said high school principal Sara Dingledy, in her opening remarks to the crowd. “It feels good and right to be together.”
The ceremony included speeches from seven class speakers this year, including one speech delivered entirely in Portuguese. The speeches centered on the themes of change, the pursuit of happiness and, above all, the power of resilience.
Master of ceremonies Julia Gomes spoke about the ways that adversity and hardship have shaped the class of 2020 into the cohesive group they are today. Quoting activist Malala Yousafzai, she said: “The class of 2020 won’t be defined by what we lost to this virus, but how we responded to it.”
Jackson Pachico echoed this sentiment in his speech. “Our class was born in the shadow of 9/11 and now we graduate during a worldwide pandemic. This class of 2020 has seen a lot. Creativity, capability and perseverance is what this class represents.”
In their speeches, faculty and administrators alike remarked on the unity of the group and the grace with which they rose to the challenges of their senior year.
“From the start of it all back in 2016…they looked out for each other and supported one another,” Ms. Dingledy said in her tribute to the class. “So what does it mean to be a part of the class of 2020? It means honing optimism and deepening resilience.”
Ms. Dingledy also touched on the group’s commitment to climate justice and social activism, describing them as a class that “stands apart” and “finishes what they start.”
Looking out at the graduates, she concluded: “Class of 2020, please change the world. It can happen, it must happen and you are the ones to do it.”
The ceremony also included a moment of reflection for integral members of the class who could not be present at the ceremony. Ms. Dingledy awarded the evening’s first diploma to Wayne Tackabury in honor of his son, Davin, a member of the class who died earlier this year. The audience erupted into a symphony of applause and a standing ovation in their classmate’s honor.
Then, while family members cheered and honked horns, the 155 graduating seniors walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas, marking the conclusion of their time at the high school and a hard-earned victory for the class.
At the close of the evening, as the students filed out of the seating area to the tune of the class song, Stand By Me sung by John Lennon, Amy Lilavois, one of the class’ two advisors, remarked on how special the class of 2020 is.
“They’ve been through a lot,” she said. “They’ve done a lot and they’re going to do a lot.”
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