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CONGRATULATIONS
Members of the Class of 2020 will go down in
history with an unprecedented end to the school
year. When a school announcement in mid-
March informed students of a temporary school
closure, little did they know the shutdown, due to a COVID-19
Pandemic, would become synonymous with cancellations.
The spring musical was cancelled. The band trip was
cancelled. Prom was cancelled. The list of disappointments
for seniors was endless. Pandemic became a novel word
in everyone’s vocabulary and the word “virtual” went viral.
Classes went virtual, meetings were held virtually and the
end-of-year senior awards and recognition program went
virtual. Even commencement was held virtually.
Despite the ever-present cloud of the virus, the end-ofthe-year
forecast for seniors called for sun. Daily classes on
Google Classroom or Google Hangouts became routine and
virtual morning announcements brought cheerful messages
and reminders into homes. Teachers created encouraging
videos and made unexpected visits to the homes of every
senior, placing a congratulatory yard sign near the front door.
A number of educators lined the high school sidewalks for
a clap-out when seniors drove by the building to drop off
textbooks and Chromebooks and to collect personal items left
behind in lockers. Senior shouts-outs to honor the graduates
were posted on the district website. And a memorable virtual
senior awards ceremony recognized the achievements and
accomplishments of the graduates and brought smiles and
tears with a culminating collection of photos that reflected
memories from kindergarten to the senior year.
Over a three-day period in early June, Principal Michael
Loughren led a Cougar Commencement Caravan, designed
to personally deliver diplomas to graduates in Carnegie,
Crafton and Rosslyn Farms.
CLASS OF 2020
CELEBRATIONS WERE NOT THWARTED BY A PANDEMIC
The Commencement Caravan was escorted through the
communities by borough police officers. Assistant Principal
Rachel Gattuso, the Cougar mascot (teacher/Athletic Director
Nathan Milsom in disguise) and teacher Jerry Pepe joined
the convoy with Mr. Loughren. As the caravan arrived to a
home with blaring sirens and honking horns, Mrs. Gattuso
used a bull horn to announce the name of the graduate while
Pomp and Circumstance resonated from the police cruiser.
Seniors were encouraged to meet the caravan sporting their
cap and gown, and they did not disappoint. Mr. Loughren was
greeted with unreserved grins, handshakes and hugs as he
presented, with panache, a diploma to each graduate.
Numerous parents took the opportunity to invite family
and friends to their home in anticipation of the arrival of
the Caravan. The presentation of the diploma became a
celebratory gathering with cheers and applause in honor of
the graduate. At nearly every home, neighbors came out on
their porches or stood in their front yards to offer best wishes.
On June 5, the originally scheduled graduation day, a virtual
commencement ceremony was streamed by TribLIVE High
School Sports Network (HSSN).
The ceremony, though less than traditional, marked an
important rite of passage for the Class of 2020 and featured
virtual speeches by class president Camryn Kwiatkowski
and VP Dakota Mayfield, valedictorian Olivia Robb and
salutatorian Haley Simcic. Surprise guest speaker, alumnus
and former Steelers head football coach Bill Cowher, recorded
a personal message exclusively for the class from his home in
New York City. Mr. Cowher encouraged the graduates to stay
true to oneself and to take risks, cautioning, “In doing so, you
will be disappointed. You will fall down. But you will not be
measured by how many times you fall. You will be measured
and defined by how many times you continue to get back up.”
While the Class of 2020 did not experience a typical end to
their senior year, they will long be remembered for persevering
through a pandemic that would not hold them back from
rising above the disappointments. They will be remembered
for staying the course through adversity and overcoming.
Class vice president Dakota Mayfield, in his closing
commencement speech, made the follow proclamation to
classmates, “Now is the time for us to leave Carlynton, to go out
into the world. For we are the future essential workers, doctors,
nurses, engineers, military personnel and tradesmen. If we can
persevere through a global pandemic, who or what can stop us
now? It’s time to let the world see the Class of 2020 as the next
global pandemic… a global epidemic of success.”
arlynton-Montour
CARLYNTON SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
F 2020 CLASS OF 2020 CLASS OF 2020 CLASS OF 2020
CARLYNTON-MONTOUR ❘ SUMMER 2020 37