100 percent of the St. Mary Class of 2011 is headed to college.
German Felix presses a noisemaker in line with Mariah Finnerty at the 2011 Westfield High School graduation at Bullens Field.
Donald Orlando gets a group hug at the 2011 St. Mary High School graduation at St. Mary's Church.WESTFIELD – “You need to remember to be good people” was the standard set Friday for Westfield High School’s Class of 2011 by English teacher Emily Mead.
The commencement speaker told the 355 graduates at Bullens Field “Strive for perfection but if you make a mistake admit it.”
Also Friday at St. Mary’s Church on Bartlett Street, 33 graduates from St. Mary High School received their diplomas following a Baccalaureate Mass before the Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.
St. Mary Valedictorian Audrey Guyott and salutatorian Laura Ziter led the class that will send 100 percent on to colleges or universities in September.
Westfield High graduates kept with tradition and at various times during commencement at least a dozen multi-colored beach balls were swatted back and forth.
Valedictorian Christopher Hart, headed to George Washington University, told classmates “Life is a lot like an episode of ‘Scooby Doo’. Every new experience is bound to be terrifying. The beauty of life from this point on is that you will be faced with an infinite number of challenges, so go out there, find them, succeed and show the world what your are made of.”
Salutatorian Lauren Olinski boldly proclaimed “We are not just some seniors in oversized caps and gowns. We are the superb, the fantastic, Westfield High School graduating class of 2011.”
A retiring Shirley Alvira, superintendent of schools, reminded WHS graduates that their diploma is “not a gift. You are getting a reward that you have earned.”
Of the 355 graduates from Westfield High School, about 85 percent will attend two or four-year colleges in September.
