Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia, holds graduation ceremony

Among the staff and faculty who spoke was Principal Kelly Light, and a commencement speech was delivered by David Maureras, who has served the school in a variety of positions for over 20 years. Along with the speeches given by faculty and staff, there was also a presenting of blessings given by the school’s pastor, Father Joe Konikattil.

Part of Notre Dame High School’s graduation tradition includes three students giving speeches about the past, present, and the future. The year, the speakers were given by class President Matthew McAra, who spoke about the past and the journey the students had been on; Will Behrens, who spoke about the present and how the students were excited in the moment to graduate; and Valedictorian Zyla Lanham, who spoke about the future and how everyone is moving on to the next phase of their lives with fond memories of their time spent together.

Along with the several speeches given by students and faculty, there was some entertainment from one of the school’s alumni, Steven Pishner, who sang an Irish blessing called “May the road rise up to meet you” to celebrate the students earning their diplomas.

High school can already be difficult, but this year’s class had the added challenge of having to spend half of their high school careers in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, according to Jackie Reed, one of the school’s counselors, the students were well prepared when that time came.

“We were really lucky because five or six years ago, we had already started to experiment with online learning, and when Mrs. Light became principal, we were able to take that a step further by having Zoom classes one day and in-person classes the next,” Reed said.

“So when the pandemic hit, our students were ready to go and we had very little issues adapting to an online learning environment. And I think that’s a true testament to the faculty and staff, as well as the parents and students for continuing to adapt and learn as things were going on.”

Reed also noted that the kids’ commitment to learning didn’t stop when it came to their classes. The students also applied what they learned to their SATs and ACTs even during a time when many schools were struggling to keep up and adapt to the changes.

“Our standardized test scores also continued to be great. They were some of the best in the state during the pandemic because we were prepared to go online. Again, that is just a true testament to the kids and their desire to learn no matter what the circumstances may be,” Reed said.