Written by: Samantha Simons, Katie Hurwitz
Photos by: Breanna Andreassi
The Walpole High School National Honor Society (NHS) hosted an induction for the junior class of 2018 at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8.
NHS is a group of chosen students who do service in their school and community. Elizabeth Doran said, “They give back to the community, whether it’s food drive, or volunteering at the elementary schools, or yard cleanups. There are so many different community service projects that the kids participate in. They contribute to a lot of different areas of the community, both the high school and outside of the school too.”
The new board was introduced for the junior class: historian Ryan Conlon replacing Mikaela McSharry, secretaries Elizabeth Foley and Dana Demartino replacing Meghan Foley, vice presidents Annie Dolan and Conor Macmahon replacing Devin McKinney and Andrea Traietti, and President Jessica Fitzgerald replacing Michaela Donato.
Before the ceremony commenced, pictures of the seniors’ college choices were projected in a slideshow.
The class of 2017 dressed in blue graduation gowns processed one-by-one into the dark auditorium across both aisles with white candles. NHS president Michaela Donato took the flame from her candle to light a blue candle that sat between four white candles.
Donato began the ceremony by thanking everybody that makes NHS possible, including coordinators Laura Kay and Elizabeth Doran.
The vice presidents, Andrea Traietti and Devin McKinney, then took the podiums and read a poem by William Hough. They introduced each senior member of NHS to present his or her heartfelt speech to educators, including teachers from elementary school to high school, coaches, siblings, and principals.
After each senior on stage had a chance to thank their special educator, Laura Kay introduced the class of 2018 by referring to the passing of the torch. The members of the NHS board took this expression literally as they lit each of the four white candles surrounding the original, blue candle. The board then reinforced the important tenets of this society: scholarship, leadership, service, character.
The seniors then metaphorically passed the torch. The juniors, who originally sat in the front rows of the auditorium, each came up to the stage and exchanged seats with the seniors. A junior and a senior were paired together: some had connections with each other such as being siblings, friends, or teammates.
“It’s awesome to have an opportunity to have a better, more active part in the community, and also to be passionate about learning,” said Jess Fitzgerald, “It’s a really cool organization that’s kind of unique in that pathway.”
Principal Stephen Imbusch followed up with a brief speech about how successful the students in NHS are despite the hardships of being a kid during this era. By quoting Ayn Rand he said, “Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.” Gardiner Fiske then led the juniors and seniors in the pledge.
As the last act of the evening, Donato gave one last thank you, and the vice presidents presented flowers to Kay and Doran.
Laura Kay said, “The students are so wonderful. They are so accomplished at such a young age. They work so hard in school, but they also play sports or are involved in clubs and extracurriculars, and it’s amazing how well they balance everything that they do.”
Below is a list of seniors and their special educators:
Alison Foley: Ms. Stacey Freda
Lauren Bean: Mrs. Maryellen O’Malley
Gregory Bond: Mrs. Willa McKee
Sarah Bredy: Mrs. Vanessa Hackett
Alexander Cerqueira: Mr. Joe Braccini
Jeffery Clapp: Ms. Karen Wolff
Aileen Coen: Mr. Michael Donahue
Padraic Curran: Ms. Robin Stuart
Haley DiMartino: Mrs. Anne Grilli
Michaela Donato: Mr. Philip Balkus
Ashley Drummey: Mrs. Engasser
Gabrielle Eisenberg: Mr. Dustin Scott
Emma Flynn: Mr. Rob Dowd
Kelly Fogarty: Ms. Chandler Sullivan
Meghan Foley: Ms. Erin Kearney
Erika Golden: Mr. William Wallace
Katherine Griffin: Ms. Mannix and Mrs. Robinson
Paul Heffernan: Ms. Elizabeth Doran
Madeline Herlihy: Mrs. Wendy Thornton
Abigail Hile: Mrs. Lisa Cyr
Emily Hurwitz: Mr. James Holmes
Gregory Langenhorst: Mr. Gabriel Bakale
Alexander Bjornsen: Mr. Timothy Giblin
Luke Berardinelli: Mr. Corey Coogan
Andrea Traietti: Mr. Stephen Imbusch
Stephanie Forester: Mr. Conor Cashman
Meredith LoRusso: Mr. Dan Mullaney
Audrey Lynch: Mrs. Christina Rockwood
Craig MacDonald: Mr. Rocky Morrison
Emily Martin: Ms. Stephie Baer
Robert Massarelli: Coach Barry Greener
Gayle McAdams: Mr. James Connolly
Mikaela McSharry: Mrs. Christine Potsis
Daniel Mullen: Mrs. Katherine Richards
Sophie Nemec: Mr. Chris Brady
Abigail O’Sullivan: Ms. Jen Quinn
Karishma Patel: Ms. Lindsey Reichheld
Taylor Petrucci: Ms. Kerry McMenimen
Olivia Pratt: Mr. Charlie Ferro
Michael Roche: Mr. Matthew Kowalski
Henry Rose: Mrs. Kathleen Milne
Daanya Salmanullah: Mrs. Kathryn Bacon
Mia Straccia: Mrs. Kathleen Lyons
Jillian Sweeney: Ms. Lara Walleston
Michael Timson: Mr. Billy Timson
Justin Walsh: Mr. Peter O’Ferrell
Melanie Weber: Mr. Mike Tosone
David Xia: Mrs. Lee Tobey
Devin McKinney: Ms. Lisa Grasso
