Cape High grads celebrate 2022 commencement
As light rain fell on the crowd at Legends Stadium, just over 400 seniors took their last walk as students June 7 to become the 53rd graduating class of Cape Henlopen High School.
Addressing the student body and assembled guests, Class President Carson Kammerer said his voice was raspy from yelling at the state championship baseball game the night before.
“You best believe I was on the fence screaming as loud as I could while my boys were running around the bases,” he said, adding he hoped he’d make it through his speech without Principal Nikki Miller or his mother dragging him offstage by his ear.
“I just want to encourage or at least inspire the undergraduate and underclassmen here at Cape to live your four years in high school like you're never gonna get them back, because you’re not,” he said.
Carson encouraged younger students to go to school games and dances.
“And most importantly, go to school,” Carson said. “Even if you’re just walking around the hallways or hanging out in your favorite teacher's classroom. I know it sounds funny coming from me, but go to school.”
Carson said he recently heard a quote about kids that bothers him because it’s not true.
“It says, ‘We’re a sad generation with happy pictures,’” Carson said. “But through all the state championships ... all the house parties, and just going to class every day, I don't have many pictures; I just have memories, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.”
“So before I step off this stage, I’m gonna leave you all with a quote from ‘Ferris Bueller,’” Carson said to laughter from the audience. “It says, ‘Life moves by pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you might miss it.’”
Valedictorian Madison Costello said she received a 43% on her first English assignment.
“I was terrified I was going to fail out,” she said. “But after I took a few deep breaths, I tried to put things into perspective. I reminded myself this one grade doesn't have to be catastrophic.”
All students have experienced setbacks in academics, athletics and the arts over the last four years, as COVID interrupted their high school careers. As sophomores, she said, they were sent home to finish the school year; and as juniors, they learned in a hybrid or remote fashion. Only this year has returned to normal.
“Working through these difficulties, we learned to overcome adversity,” she said. “We became state champions; we became all state musicians; we put on plays and concerts; we ran various clubs; we started businesses; and we supported our community. These experiences have prepared us for the next stage of our lives.”
In addition to becoming Zoom experts, she said, students learned how to adapt, how to learn independently and how to be resilient.
“We could not have done this alone,” she said. “I would like to thank all of our parents for providing us with support as we went through this, our teachers for being nimble enough to adapt to new teaching methods and our administrators for having the courage to keep our school open when many others closed. You have all helped us prepare for the future.”
Class Treasurer Hank D’Ambrogi presented the class gift, a 280-gallon custom-built cylindrical tank for the school library that will hold a shark and a variety of fish.
“It was very hard to resist giving a classic bench or a water fountain, but we decided to think outside the box,” D’Ambrogi said.
Principal Miller said the Class of 2022 is the largest to graduate from Cape High, and would be followed by even larger classes in the future.
“We hope you can reflect upon your years at Cape and recall those memories that made school fun,” Miller said. “Beyond the content you learned in your classes, be sure to hold onto those memories of school dances, spirit days, pep rallies, field trips, maybe even pretending to carry a hall pass that you found on the floor instead of getting from your teacher, not that any of you would do that,” she said as families laughed.
“Keep those positive memories alive and surround yourself with people who look at the bright side of things instead of focusing on the negative,” Miller continued. “When you leave here tonight, do not care about the one person who judges you because of what you wear, how you look or the car you drive. This evening, as you walk off the field, promise to continue being true to yourself and being kind to others. If you can do those two things, not much else really matters.”
Superintendent Bob Fulton said he was proud and amazed by students’ accomplishments.
“They range from academic excellence, the arts, athletics, and countless hours of community service,” Fulton said. “You have accomplished all these things because you are leaders, not followers, because you care about others, not always about yourself, and because you understand you can accomplish so much more in life as a team, a group or together rather than alone.”
Fulton offered students four pieces of advice his own father shared with him years ago. Life doesn't owe you anything, Fulton said, everything worth having is earned. Every moment counts, he said, so enjoy your time with family, friends and loved ones, because you never know the last time you'll see someone. Actions speak louder than words, and your actions will be the basis for how others perceive you.
“And lastly, how you or someone reacts to adversity in life is so much more important and says so much more about one's character than how you or someone reacts to success in life,” Fulton said.
The Class of 2022 earned more than $3.5 million in scholarships and financial awards. Among the institutions of higher learning Cape graduates will attend are Harvard, Clemson, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke and Tulane.
This year’s ceremony also marks the 143rd anniversary of the awarding of public school diplomas in the Cape Region.
See more coverage in Cape Gazette’s commemorative graduation booklet in the Friday, June 17 edition.
