Congratulations, Derby High School Class Of 2023

DERBY – The grind, the grit and the glory.

Those words were said repeatedly on Thursday by Derby Superintendent of Schools Matthew Conway to describe the last four years for Derby High School’s graduating Class of 2023.

The 71 seniors bid farewell to DHS during the school’s 147^th commencement ceremony held at the Leo F. Ryan Sports Complex.

As freshmen, the class endured its share of the grind and grit thanks to a global pandemic that forced them to learn lessons remotely. In-person classes resumed junior year, but from behind masked faces and six feet apart. It wasn’t until senior year that the glory days of high school returned, with the Derby Red Raiders clinching various sports championships, the return of the prom and an overall sense of normalcy made a comeback.

Conway opted not to stand behind a podium to deliver his address to the graduates. Instead, he grabbed the microphone and walked amongst the graduates, sporting red and white caps and gowns, gathered for a final time on Lou DeFillipo Field.

“You’ve endured the grind, you’ve endured the grit and tonight, this is your glory,” Conway said.

Class President Logan Burke urged his fellow graduates to never give up, despite whatever is thrown their way.

“No matter what you plan in the future, whether it be college, or going into the workforce, remember why you are there in the first place, do not simply allow yourself to quit,” Burke said. ​“We have spent the last 13 years in this district, 4,745 days, each one of those days holding 86,000 seconds. All it takes is one. One miniscule second to quit on yourself, to give up. In the pursuit of today, we did not give up.”

Twin sisters Cayla Cayer-McCarthy, Class Valedictorian and Alysa Cayer-McCarthy, Class Salutatorian, never gave up on reaching the top of their game academically. The sisters expressed their gratitude for the last four years spent learning and making life-long friends at the little school on the top of the hill.

Cayla said the challenges of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic only helped the class grow stronger, and quoted pop star Taylor Swift’s honorary doctorate speech at NYU by saying ​“Hard things will happen to us. We will recover, we will learn from it, we will grow more resilient because of it.”

Alysa encouraged her fellow graduates to go out into the world and help make positive changes.

“We must ask ourselves what needs to be done, what needs to be changed, and how we can fix it to make it best for everyone living on this planet,” Alysa said. ​“There is a lot of hate in the world, and sadly there has always been, but we must be the generation to put the brakes on it to create a better environment for all people and all living things.”

Principal Jennifer Olson noted how fortunate DHS was to have yet another set of twin sisters emerge as DHS’ top two students some 12 years earlier. The ceremony’s keynote speakers were twin sisters Irini and Maria Agaraj, from DHS’ Class of 2011. The twins came to America from Greece in 2002, moving to Derby in 2006, and made their mark at DHS as scholar-athletes, Olson said. Both went on to become a doctor and nurse, respectively.

“The individual and collective achievements of these four young women represent the importance of creating a supportive network that uplifts us as we rise to challenges we face on our journey,” said Olson.

Longtime Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea urged the graduates to never forget where they came from, and to give back to their hometown through community service whenever they can.

“You’ve left your mark on the school system, now build upon that experience and take your leadership skills and always strive to be part of the community. We need your input, and any one of you can become our next mayor or out next Board of Education chairman,” Gildea said. ​“But whatever you do, get involved.”

The following list of graduates was sent by the school:

Carlos Allen

Alyssa Arroyo

Lance Bagley

Kyle Baktis

Bekim Balidemaj

Jocelyn Berrios

Lordina Boakye

Jan Brito

Sophia Brunetti

Logan Burke

Izaiah Caldwell

Amanda Carvalho

Alysa Cayer-McCarthy

Cayla Cayer-McCarthy

Alex Chene-Paulin

Genna Chevarella

Michael Corso

Emelyn Cruz-Milla

Valentine Dickinson

Mia Deleston

Sophia Duarte

Alex Enjem

Sean Fearnley

Brennan Fitch

Aaron Fitzpatrick

Raymond Forbes

Tiana Geddie

Daunte Gomez

Izabelle Gonzalez

Lizabeth Gonzalez

Jermaine Higgs

Josiah Hunter

Jamirh James

Lamont Jefferson

Mervin Kandjii

Nathaniel Tyler Lagliva

Bryan Limage

Angel Lopez

Leah Ludington

Katryna Martinez

Breana Maurati

Madison McCarthy

Andrea’le Mitchell

Ayesha Mohsin

Danthy Nguyen

Manuel Nieves

TJ Orazietti

Arya Patel

Shiv Patel

Jonathan Perez

Jinayla Reyes

Ariana Rodriguez

David Rogers

Shamus Russell

Jaci Salinas

Joshua Santos

Sanai Santos

Tabatha Sharpe

Ryan Slack

Azariah Smith

Camryn Soares

Brian Soto

Kayla Soto

Andel Sowell

Serenity Stewart

Colin Strickland

Rashad Thompson

Kameron Vereen

Giovanni Vicens

Mekhi Wright

Nashae Wright