WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2023
1B
THE COASTLAND TIMES
CLASS OF 2023
Cape Hatteras Secondary graduates go forth By Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy mhgm@thecoastlandtimes.com
On Saturday night, June 10, 48 Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies seniors received high school diplomas. The William P. Dillon Memorial campus gymnasium was filled with family members and friends of the soon-to-be graduates. Some journeyed many miles to see a loved one graduate. Three family members traveled from Peru. It was a light-hearted evening. Speakers spoke with humor and meaning. Applause and some shouts rang out when individuals were called to walk across the stage. After the ceremony, families gathered around graduates. Generations of families were photographed, inside the gymnasium and outside on the freshly-mown athletic field. The 24-member graduation band played the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” for the processional. A unit from the United States Coast Guard presented the colors, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the National Anthem was played by the band. And then, the program started with class president Molly Hanburger in English and Alan Garcia in Spanish issuing the welcome and a recitation of events that brought the Class of 2023 to the ceremony. Hanburger welcomed folks, including “high powered” people not known to her. She remembered the pandemic, bonfires and breakfast at the first jetty when weather didn’t cooperate. She announced that the class had reeled in over $600,000 in scholarships and told the audience they could
MARY HELEN GOODLOE-MURPHY PHOTO
The Cape Hatteras Secondary Class of 2023 awaits the start of Commencement in the William P. Dillon Memorial campus gymnasium June 10, 2023. All 48 members of the class graduated from high school. Class members reeled in $610,500 for post-secondary education.
applaud at that. The audience did and then applauded when Hanburger listed other accomplishments. She closed with life-long wisdom learned in kindergarten. Earning special recognition at commencement was valedictorian Casia Enseñat, who will attend Appalachian State University to study nursing. She received $34,500 in scholarships. She addressed her remarks to her classmates. “We’ve come so far.” Enseñat came to Hatteras Island. She said the class was family and accepted her into that family. She encouraged her classmates going forward on a new chapter: “don’t be scared … find you people. Find your purpose.” Salutatorian Oralia Alice Cirisa will attend Long Island University to study veterinary science. She received a $128,000 recognition scholarship from the university. She honored her mother, who left family behind to come to Hatteras Island. “My mom is my hero.”
She thanked her teachers for their dedication to education and her classmates, who welcomed her into the second grade when she couldn’t speak English and was shy. The Citizenship Award for the class was presented by Principal Beth Rooks to Addyson Mae Wilson. Rooks described the recipient as extremely quiet but inspires and leads behind the scenes. She kept books for Cape Hatteras athletic teams and worked at the Fessenden Center. At 12, she participated in a field service trip to Uganda and in 2019 went to Zambia to help villages through her church. The keynote speaker was middle school teacher A.J. Gazda, who delivered the address for the class for its eighth grade promotion event. The Class of 2023 was his first class as a teacher of middle school history. Six years on, he admitted it’s still his favorite class. He shared all of Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, written in 1927. The opening lines are “Go placidly amid the noise and the
haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.” Class sponsor Karla Jarvis called the seniors forward. Rooks handed the bound diploma to each student. Closing remarks were delivered by Alexis Zavala-Roldan in English and Yelsin Selvin in Spanish. “Let us choose wisely … Look forward with hope and determination.” Some 21 students in the Class of 2023 received 72 scholarships totaling $610,500 for post-secondary education. The scholarships were presented by 51 organizations, businesses, families and colleges. Two young men were absent from the ceremony. Ethen Robert Lord has already joined AmeriCorps and Declan Michael McMahon is already serving in the United States Air Force and has recently graduated from boot camp. Two other classmates will serve the nation: Garland Thompson Midgette III is already sworn into the United States Marine Corps. Berendt Exner Johnson V will join the United States Coast Guard. Dare Schools Superintendent Stephen G. Basnight stood at the top of the stage stairs to shake the hand of every class member. He made remarks before declaring the Cape Hatteras Secondary Class of 2023 graduates. Dare County Board of Education members attending the ceremony were Chairman Ron C. Payne, Vice Chairman Barry L. Wickre, Mary Ellon Ballance, Matt Brauer, David Twiddy and Carl Woody. Susan Bothwell was ill. Assistant Superintendent Steven G. Blackstock also attended.
Helping Rooks with the awarding diplomas was Assistant Principal Annette Peele, who looked at each diploma to make sure it was the correct one for the student. This was Peele’s last graduation, as she is retiring.
Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies, Class of 2023 Kara Ashleigh Ammons, Shayley Kay Ballance, Sayler June Bacon, Lucas Hardy Blankenship, Evela Marie Chandler, Oralia Alice Cirisa, John Frank Conner IV, Gideon James Couch, Jonathan Lee De Oliveira, John Cody Denton, Misty May Elder, Casia Marie Enseñat, Amerika Mae Farrow, Chloe Elizabeth Flythe, William Ross Francis, Alan Garcia Velazquez, Molly Brent Hanburger, Dean Russell Hild, Trafford Hill IV, Fany Yamileth Inestroza Ramirez, Berendt Exner Johnson V, Jonah McKinley Jordan, Preston Joseph Kaiser, Emma Trisha-Marie Kusnier, River Colton Lester, Lizibeth Lopez-Lozano, Cami Allison Lord, Ethen Robert Lord, and Andrea Delmarie Lucas-Lopez. Also, Diego Macias Rodriguez, Madison Jean Mathis, Landon Fisher McKnew, Declan Michael McMahon, John David Metacarpa III, Garland Thompson Midgette III, Courtney Anne Mugford, Christina Joy O’Neal, Maleia Kennedy Quidley, Lilian Hui Ratliff, Jason Rochin Torres, Yelsin Hernandez Selvan, Grace Marie Shoemaker, Malia Jade Speedy, Ansley Myrick Thompson, Gavin Monroe Thompson, Dylan Matthew Watters, Addyson Mae Wilson and Alexis Zavala-Roldan.