Mainland Regional grads gather – half and half – one last time for a pair of safe, socially distant commencement ceremonies
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
LINWOOD — Great plan, great execution.
Mainland Regional High School said goodbye to the Class of 2020 on Thursday, July 9, in two well-thought-out ceremonies that were at once both effectively socially distant and intimate.
As the students lined up in prenumbered spots along a shady path beside the school (it was still blistering hot and humid), parents and other loved ones took seats on the field at the Mustang Corral and waited for the ceremony to commence. The graduates entered the field, took a victory lap around the track and then joined them.
The class of about 300 students was broken into two sections, with those whose last name starts with A-K celebrating at 4 p.m. and those in the bottom half of the alphabet at 7 p.m.
Nathan Lichtenwalner was among the staff members directing students to their appointed locations.
“We’re just really happy that we have the opportunity to bring them out here and celebrate them and send them off to the next chapter in their life,” Lichtenwalner said. “They worked hard, they deserve it.”
The vice principal and director of guidance said he thought the ceremony would be more memorable than a standard commencement, even though it was divided into two sessions.
“At least they are out here with some of their classmates and their family,” he said.
The chairs were spread out on the field to adhere to social distancing guidelines but each graduate got a chance to sit with two family members. When their name was called, each proceeded to the podium with their loved ones, posed for a picture and received a diploma cover before leaving the field to pick up their real diploma near Mustang Way.
“That’s how we are able to exit following social distance guidelines,” Lichtenwalner said.
Graduates began arriving in twos and threes in the senior parking lot, greeting one another after a long separation. The last day of in-class instruction and group gatherings of any kind was March 13 before all state schools were closed due to the pandemic.
Linwood residents Brendan Bisirri, Daniel Baehner, Brian Bisirri, Michael Dale and Michael Erdman decided not to wait until after the ceremony for their celebratory cigar, lighting up and puffing clouds of accomplishment into the air.
“I haven’t seen everyone in a long time and now moving on to college,” said Erdman, who will be attending Millersville University in the fall, most likely remotely.
The twins’ mother Erin Bisirri said she didn’t think the ceremony was going to be held.
“I’m very excited to get to do this,” she said. “It’s nice to get them all together again. They worked a long time, it was a lot of challenges.”
Northfield resident Fawn Ireland, who arrived with daughter Jenna Bongiovanni, agreed with Bisirri.
“We didn’t think this was going to happen, so to actually have the opportunity to graduate with a bunch of my friends is amazing,” she said. Bongiovanni has enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to further her education.
JJ Booth, a 1987 graduate and father of Kyle Booth, said the ceremony was somewhat of a closing.”
The influx of graduates moved into the yard inside the Mustang Horseshoe, posing for pictures and making final adjustments.
Somers Point residents Kimberly Russell and Jason Gonzalez were helping place the mortarboard on the head of daughter Aaliyah Gonzalez, who said she was “a little nervous because we didn’t have rehearsal or anything. I trip on air.”
Her father said he was “a little disappointed about the time that we are in but I’m very excited that at least we are here.”
Marina Campbell, of Northfield, was among the many with elaborately decorated mortarboards.
“I wanted to incorporate the chains on there and the butterflies are a big part of our brand,” said Campbell, who started the online jewelry business Bedgybrand. She sells necklaces and earrings on Instagram and depop under the hashtag @bedgybrand.
Ilia Kheirkhah, one of two drum majors in the Tournament of Bands championship-winning Mainland Mustang Marching Band, will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall to study engineering and continue participating in marching band. He said he was pleased with the amount of effort that went into the ceremony.
Out on the field, Greg and Kelly Batz, parents of Brandon Batz, said she thought the students would have moved past graduation by now.
“I thought that too much time had gone on and they were over it, but they were excited getting ready today,” said Kelly Batz, a 1990 graduate. “I’m glad they were able to pull something together.”
Northfield residents Victor and Pia Aquim, decked out in “2020” eyeware and headpieces with tiny graduation caps and balloons, were there to celebrate the graduation of daughter Naomi Aquim.
Greg and Christine Arena, parents of Ben Arena, their third son to graduate from MRHS, said it was a “good way to end their school career, for us as much as for them.”
Before leading the pledge of allegiance, graduate Kara Cino said she was “glad to have the opportunity to graduate with you all tonight, although this might not be the graduation we expected or were hoping for.”
Student Sophie Barton sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” before the second speaker, Kelly Bretones, took the stage.
She noted that this graduation would be something participants would long remember.
“Graduation day itself is usually glanced over after it happens and the hourlong ceremony is often forgotten. This year I don’t think the ceremony will be as easy to forget, given our circumstances,” she said. “Rather than focusing on our past successes and our future plans, today I want to ironically focus on today. ‘Apparently anything can happen today,’” she said, quoting author Mark Twain.
She said it’s been months since they last “dragged ourselves up out of bed to get to school on time.”
“That is the beauty and the curse of today — we truly don’t know what it is going to bring. Despite all of the planning we may do ahead of time to ensure our lives are as perfect as possible, sometimes life doesn’t go according to plans,” she said. “It is unpredictable and this year is the perfect example of that.”
She lamented missed opportunities to live in the present and enjoy the moment, saying she and her fellow students were often looking to the future.
“Many of us took that time for granted and didn’t appreciate the memories we were making, looking at what we were going to do tomorrow instead of enjoying what we were doing in that moment,” she said. “We didn’t realize how important all of those days were and how many days we missed out on searching for better tomorrows.
“Now that everything has changed, I think I can speak for all of us graduates that the days we spent wandering down the wrong hallways, standing in the bleachers during football games and that feeling of excitement on the first day of school are all days that we wish we could go back to and relive, but we can’t. All we can do is reminisce and try to live our lives the best we can.
“In the words of Richard Bach, ‘cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, live for today.’”
“Wherever our paths are taking us, live in the moment. Don’t take anything for granted. Take new challenges and embrace them and live in the present, because you really don’t know what tomorrow brings.”
Quoting Twain again, she said “‘Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.’ All the adversity that has been thrown our way, Mainland has always come together, giving us their all in order for us to be able to achieve the greatness we can all reach. We have an amazing three and a half years to remember, but live for today.”
