With Permission
Branford High Principal Lee Panagoulias and Board of Education Chairman Michael Krause had a story to tell, one that ties the Branford High graduating class together in a unique way. They shared the story with hundreds of graduates, their parents and friends as they gathered on the town Green as the class of 2014 for the last time.
The story centers on Chris Frione (pictured above with his family), who suffered a devastating head injury during a middle school baseball game when a line drive hit him in the left temple. He was in eighth grade at the Walsh Intermediate School when his brain injury occurred.
He spent time in the ICU and the following months and years dealing with the long-term repercussions of the trauma. After emergency brain surgery, Frione had to learn to walk and talk again.
According to Frione, while he was in the hospital, he had almost 200 visitors a day. Students sent their messages electronically as well.
“I feel like my head injury made us come much closer together because you might’ve heard that we weren’t that great of a class … but at the end of the day we are all family,” Frione said.
He became the glue that tied the class together.
Panagoulias told the Eagle in an interview that Frione is representative of the entire Class of 2014. “This class in particular showed tremendous growth and will leave a positive imprint on the community,” he said. “[Chris] is a great example of this class, of overcoming and really prospering.”
Last Thursday night Frione received his Branford High School diploma along with the rest of this year’s graduates. During his senior year, he completed a capstone project entitled “Encourage the Purchase of American Products.” This past spring, he once again played baseball as an outfielder and catcher for Branford, earning one of the Baseball Booster Club athletic awards. Here he is in an earlier photo.
Next year, Frione plans to attend Sacred Heart University as a business marketing major.
At graduation, Panagoulias, Krause and Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez awarded over 300 diplomas to graduating seniors. The Class of 2014 is one of the largest classes Panagoulias has seen in his twenty years at BHS and in the foreseeable future of the school.
Four years ago, these students, then 13 and 14 year olds, joined together to help Frione. On a Facebook page entitled “Get Well Soon Chris Frione,” his family kept his peers updated on his status. Other students came together to send him notes and wore his baseball uniform number, 19, in his honor.
At the 2010 eighth grade graduation from Walsh, the major feeder school to BHS, Robin Goeler, the school’s principal, commended the students for their response to the tragedy. “You walked these last two months as a class in these hallways with a sense of purpose and a sense of pride.”
Teacher David Gruendel, who was chosen to address the students at graduation, reminded the class of their “shared experiences from Walsh.”
Gruendel remembers the trip students took to Washington D.C. in eighth grade. He recalls “faces filled with amazement” at landmarks and the “quiet and appropriate respect” shown at memorials.
He urged students to “affect change in the world and then come back and share with us…As you leave us for your tomorrows, hold your torches high and bright so we can always see them.”
The ceremony officially started at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, when the Class of 2014 and faculty processed to the stage to the sound of “Theme from Pomp and Circumstance March # 3” played by the BHS band.
Some families reserved their seats with homemade signs as early as 3:00 p.m.
Mary Johnson Photo
Soon the students arrived for the ceremony. They helped each other with their red gowns.
Mary Johnson Photo
Smart phones were never far away.
Mary Johnson Photo
There were hugs. Lots of hugs.
Mary Johnson Photo
Supt. Hernandez posed with many students before the ceremony began.
Throughout the service, the speakers addressed the highs and the lows of the students’ high school careers, much as Goeler referred to the “peaks and valleys” four years ago.
After the national anthem, Hernandez delivered the welcoming comments.
“Your high school experience is important, but should never define you,” Hernandez said. “It’s what you do tomorrow. Regardless of where your journey takes you, Branford is your home.”
Valleys
Krause then offered congratulatory remarks to the graduates. He encouraged them to applaud their family and friends for serving as their support team. He also fondly remembered their class as one with an “interesting reputation” at the beginning of high school and as posing “a challenge to the high school teachers.” He did not elaborate but other said the class had several run-ins with the administration.
Students, too, remember some of the trials they faced during their four years.
Taylor Mitchell says that multitasking all of her classes was one of the most demanding parts of high school. Similarly, Quinn Bohn sighed as he remembered difficult assessments in AP English.
Emma Zehner Photo
Griffin Sandler had a slightly different challenge. When Sandler arrived at Branford High School his freshman year, his mother, Lisa Sandler, welcomed him in her math classroom. “I felt very awkward at the time, but no one actually cared and it was fine.” Here they are pictured together.
Still different, Samantha Bailey-Loomis expressed frustration at dealing with an inconsistent administration.
Peaks
After the Concert Choir performed “You Light the Way,” Panagoulias presented the valedictorian and salutatorian. For the highest accumulated GPA, David Eaton was named valedictorian. Eaton also later received the Faculty Key Award, given to a student who “demonstrates personal growth overtime and a love of learning,” according to Panaogoulias.
Panagoulias then named Sandler the salutatorian, the student with the second highest accumulated GPA. Sandler recognized graduation as one of the “few times everyone is together and there is so much energy and excitement.”
Mitchell similarly harked back to the times when the Class was gathered together at the pep rallies. Bailey-Loomis also thinks that building her community of friends was one of the best parts of her experience at BHS. She also enjoyed the time she put into the pro-life club.
Pranay Limbu was happy this year when, for the first time, he had a solo in the choir at a showcase. His friends encouraged him to go out for the part and he is grateful to them.
Panagoulias also presented the PGR valedictorian and salutatorian, named for students who excelled in their capstone projects, a requirement of each BHS senior, and their 12 performance requirements. Amy Bachhuber and Bradley Roth received the PGR valedictorian honor and PGR salutatorian honor respectively. Phyllis Stackpole and Arlene Schwartz received the honorary diplomas awarded to faculty.
After a brief introduction by Senior Sophie Bysiewicz, Sandler addressed his classmates as the Class President. Sandler encouraged his classmates to live in the moment: “Don’t miss out on the spectacular here and now when you dedicate yourself to reaching the next.”
Future Plans
But students have put some thought into the future. Some plan to attend colleges and universities in the coming years, while others will attend vocational schools or enter the workforce.
To say a few, Sandler will attend Tulane University in the fall to study math, and Bohn will start at Rollins College.
“..[You] exceeded our expectations,” Panagoulias said to students before giving out diplomas. “The best part is watching you grow.”
He used the metaphor of different paths to explain each student’s journey. “Some take a straight path, others take a slightly curved path…and others take a path with hairpin curves…”
Mary Johnson Photo
In the end, they all marched to the stage to receive their diplomas. The Branford Hornet beamed.
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As a Branford High School student I can say that this is absolute crap. Chris Frione is not the "glue that held us together". Prior to graduation when rehearsing hours before Lee Panagulious lectured us and told us that this special day was not about one single person, it was about all of us as a unit. From the speech given from a member of the BOE and what was said by Panagulious above, you can see it's obviously not the case. I'm not bashing Chris, he's a good kid that went through a tough time, but the school system shouldn't be singling him out and saying that he showed us how we should persevere. No. My personal struggles showed me how to persevere, just like his struggles showed him how to. I just can't fathom how the school system thinks it's okay to re publicize a story that we already know and that has already passed. His story didn't affect how I felt towards my class, and I know many many other graduates felt this way. And many of us again did not appreciate how him and a few other well known kids in school were singled out in the graduation speeches.