Sound School Graduates A ​“Family”

A family shared tearful goodbyes by the water Thursday evening: a family consisting of the 78 members of Sound School’s 2022 graduating class. 

The family theme came up again and again as teachers, relatives and friends gathered underneath a tent by the Sound for the school’s commencement.

In his opening remarks, Principal Marc Potocsky spoke of how this class has bonded in the face of the unique challenges they had to endure over the past three pandemic-marked years.

“You’ve persisted. You’ve adjusted,” he said.

Jacquelyn Palaguachi paused with a mix of tears of joy and good-bye during her salutatorian address; Potocsky comforted her to help her continue.

Palaguachi, who will attend the University of Hartford to study architecture, shared that her experience at the aquaculture-themed regional magnet school has been like no other: ​“The people are amazing; that’s what’s hard.” Palaguachi said that while she is sad to leave her Sound School family behind, she is also excited to move forward with what school has taught her.

“Don’t just dream about what you can achieve,” she urged her classmates.

Valedictorian Anne Brasseaux (pictured) spoke, as well, about how grateful she is to have found family in her classmates at Sound. Originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, Brasseaux used to tell everyone her nearest family member was over 1,500 miles away. Now, she noted, ​“I can’t say that anymore, because my family’s sitting right in front of me.”

Brasseaux will attend Louisiana State University in the fall. She will be studying biological sciences, with hopes of being the first in her family to attend medical school. She said that graduation was especially hard because she is the only one of her classmates moving so far from the East Coast. Still she said, ​“it’s a good kind of sad.” 

Jalina Secchiaroli said leaving Sound feels ​“surreal” because ​“I grew up here.” Secchiaroli’s mother, who used to teach at the Sound School back in 2013 shared a similar sentiment. Secchiaroli will be attending Gateway Community College in the fall to study creative arts before pursuing a career in musical theater.

Nicholas Adinolfi, who will be studying vessel operations and technology at the Maine Maritime Academy, said his father used to work as a custodian at the Sound School, inspiring Adinolfi to apply. Graduating, Adinolfi said, ​“feels amazing — a whole ​‘nother four years of life coming”.

Student Anthony Joseph Cirello was proud Thursday about one particular element of the graduation: the flag being flown.

During his sophomore year, Cirello worked with fellow classmates to get two-thirds of his class to sign a petition about changing the school burgee (sailing flag). They wanted to update the flag to make it stand out. After rallying students and meeting with administration, Cirello and his friends got the burgee updated to include a bright red border.

Since the pandemic, this graduation was the first time the new flag has flown.

Cirello, who will study marine transportation at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the fall, noted how the flag’s design mimics the mast of a ship. He called the flag ​“our legacy to the school.”