Wesmor High School graduates were told to remove their hats at the end of the ceremony rather than throwing them in the air due to COVID reasons. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW staff)

By Ian Gustafson

The Next Chapter

Wesmor Public High School celebrates class of 2021

Jun 24, 2021 | 7:00 AM

Wesmor Public High School said farewell to the class of 2021 on Wednesday as they held their first grad ceremony since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, graduates were visited by teachers and staff at their homes to celebrate the big day.

Twenty-one students walked across the stage yesterday afternoon to accept their high school diploma to start the next chapter of their lives.

Principal of the school Gina Sinoski told paNOW this class is unique because they survived a pandemic.

“They graduated, they earned their credits through a pandemic,” she said. “They didn’t know from one day to the next if they were working remotely or working in class, and they were so flexible and they persevered through all of that.”

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She explained having the ceremony was wonderful because the students got to be together and “they want to say goodbye to each other, and they want to have those milestones that every other graduating class has.”

All 21 students walked across the stage to accept their diploma during the ceremony on Wednesday. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW staff)

Her message to the class is simple. Go out and find your future, be proud of yourself, know that you can make a difference in a community, know that they’re there to support you if you need and be confident in yourself.

Valedictorian Naven Wolfe said this year was challenging for the class. He explained some classmates didn’t want to come back after all the remote learning, which he said was a hard way to learn.

“Especially for me because I kept not going to my classes on google classroom, always kept falling asleep, which worried my mom a lot,” Wolfe said. “But we always persevered no matter what and like people said, ‘if you work hard, you can always get stuff done and if you just believe you always succeed no matter what.’”

Valedictorian Naven Wolfe presents his speech to the class of 2021 and those in attendance at Wesmor Public High School Wednesday afternoon. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW staff)

He plans to get a postsecondary education in carpentry and in the future have his own business so he can build his family members their own homes.

“It’s always been a dream. I’ve always wanted to work in carpentry,” he said adding he likes to work hands on rather than at a desk.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12