SEYMOUR – Wildcat pride was on full display Wednesday (June 11) as Seymour High School’s Class of 2025 participated in the school’s 138th annual commencement.
Clad in vibrant blue caps and gowns, the seniors rounded the track and filed onto DeBarber Field to the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance,” as their friends and family cheered from the bleachers. Some of the seniors in the procession walked hand in hand with kindergarteners, known as the KinderCats, which partners seniors with Bungay School kindergarteners for a mentoring program.
Senior Hailey Spataro kicked off the 90-minute ceremony by singing the “Star Bangled Banner,” to rousing applause from the crowd.
School Principal Paul Lucke was the first of several to kick off the evening’s speeches, filled with well-wishes for the class. Longtime former principal James Freund joined the festivities and handed out the diplomas to close out the ceremony.
Lucke lauded the class and asked all to rise from their seats if they played a varsity sport, were members of the dance, debate or robotics teams, were in the art program, were a scholar athlete or cheerleader, attended Boys’ or Girls’ State, became certified EMT’s, broke a school athletic record or will be joining the military. Almost every senior stood up at some point to loud applause from the crowd.
Class Salutatorian Robert Carrafiello, who will attend George Washington University this fall, tapped into the classic 80s teen coming-of-age flick, “The Breakfast Club,” for part of his speech.
“What do you see when you look at us?” he asked. “To quote a great movie, ‘The Breakfast Club,’ I’m sure many of you saw us as you wanted to see us. You saw us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. You were brainwashed. We are so much more than these labels, and you will be amazed to see what we become.”
Class Valedictorian Shayan Khan, who will attend Harvard this fall, hails from a family of some super-smart siblings. His two older brothers also were SHS’ class valedictorians from the Class of 2017 and Class of 2019. Shayan knew there were some “fairly hefty expectations” for him to follow in his brothers’ formidable footsteps, taking 12 AP classes during his four years at SHS.
But Shayan said while taking all those AP classes was great, he developed an even greater passion for creating astronomy videos and regularly posting them on social media under his moniker “Shayan in Space.” He encouraged his fellow classmates to do what they love, as well, as they embrace the next chapter of their lives.
“If there’s one thing I want you to take from my speech, it’s to never lose sight of your bigger picture,” Shayan said. “I don’t mean you have to have planned out your life from now until 2050. Whether you want to care for your loved ones, build new relationships, explore your passions, find self-fulfillment, or just get your bread up, always ask why, and move forward toward something.”
Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton gave a shout-out to members of SHS’ Class of 1975, as many alumni joined the ceremony to mark their 50th anniversary of their own graduation. Compton encouraged the seniors to blaze their own trails.
“As you prepare to leave these halls and begin your own journey, there will be times you may not know which way to go,” Compton said. “In those moments, I want you to remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who offered this timeless advice: ‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’ To the Class of 2025, I say this: Keep believing. Keep dreaming. Go out and leave your trail. And never forget, you are, and always will be, Wildcats.”
As Freund handed out the final diploma of the evening, the graduates turned the tassels on their mortarboards and walked off into their bright futures ahead.
List Of Graduates
Alan Aguiar
Lilianna Alfonso
Kaden Allen
Jacob Bacha
Darius Banores
Skylar Barton
Joshua Benitez
Sarah Bireley
Jacob Blacha
Jack Blanding
Daxton Bourdoulous
Franco Bradley Moheno
Mikaela Brenchak
Gabriel Brown
Brandon Calabrese
Britain Calvert
Joseph Carrafiello
Robert Carrafiello
Michael Caruso
David Casanova
John Casey
Stephan Cassells
Eric Castro
Benjamin Chameides
Ava Chernak
Jovan Clobert
Ruben Coleman
Kaylee Cooney
Franyell Cordero Arias
Brennan Costa
Maia Coto
Lilliana Criscio
Nevaeh Marie Cruz
Maya Dawda
Tatian Deida
Marcello Della Croce
Ethan Demers
Ashley Desrosiers
Theoharis Diakomis
Mason Dias
Madison Diaz
Sara Dlugokenski
Raymond Dong
Jessa Dorcilon
Natasha Duke
Mason Duley
Mira Farmer
Olivia Figueroa
Sarah Folsom
Madelyn Gaetano
Ashlin Galietta
Jake George
Carly Glazer
Gabriel Gonzalez
Gizelle Gonzalez
Timothy Griffith
Kaitlyn Hamilton
Logan Hamilton
Madeline Hart
Emma Hartshorn
Brooke Hennessey
John Hennessy
Dakotah Henninger
Sofia Hynds
Ornela Isufaj
Davis Jara-Jimenez
McKenna Jarvis
Ariel Johnson
Dominik Jones
Louis Julia
Colton Kalish
Oscar Kania
Shayan Khan
Jastina Khand
Natalia Kolodziej
John Kostick
Marya Kostick
Thomas Kucsera
Andres Lafebre
Cameron Lafo
Rapture Layton
Tashyra London
Yamilet Lopez
Panka Magari
Sienna Major
Anthony Marchetti
Owen Marganski
Julia Marsala
Payton McDaniel
Zachary McKirryher
Lily Messer
Akeelah Miller
Jordan Miller
Anabelle Monaco-Belden
Kimi Moore
Julia Mrozik
Aaron Mullenax
Gerardo Napoletano
Aiden Nava Villarroel
Mackenzie O’Hayre
Elma Otajagic
Maya Palmieri
Audrey Parkosewich
Matthew Pastick
Tom Pepaj
Brayden Pesantez
Thierysa Phrasier
Jason Pierre
Ethan Plasencia
Noah Plaza
Tessa Pollastro
Jahvar Pommells
John Powers
Ryan Powers
Ethan Price
Noah Prodan
Kiara Reci
Henry Reyes Catalan
Stephen Reyher
Natasia Rittweger
Ariana Rivera
Joshua Rodrigue
Verbatim Rodriguez
John Rogers
Ryan Rotondo
Colby Ruggerio
Adnan Sabanovic
Kaelyn Sabatini
Nicholas Sabetta
Ryan Sadick
Arianna Santiago
Savannah Saucier
Elizabeth Savary
Patrick Schmidheini
Gracie Shay-Hogan
Michael Smart
Jenna Smith
Jacob Snow
Hailey Spataro
Jordan Staffieri
Shea Staunton
Maggie Sudimick
Izabel Ter
Kylie Testone
Antonio Threet
Alyssa Toman
Jordon Tomas
Riley Tomlinson
Erato Tsoupas
Sophia Unger
Paul Urkawich
Genesis Valdes
Aiden Voccola
Tysen Voloshin
Morgan Walters
Kelcey Weaver
Brayden Webb
Luka Weise
Shane White
Jamison Winebrenner
Kacper Zygadlo