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US. POSTAGE PAID GLASTONBURY CITIZEN, INC. P.O. BOX 373, GLASTONBURY, CT, 06033 POSTAL CUSTOMER PRESORTED STANDARD LOCAL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A RIVEREAST News Bulletin Serving Amston, Andover, Cobalt, Colchester, East Hampton, Hebron, Marlborough, Middle Haddam and Portland Volume 44, Number 29 Published by The Glastonbury Citizen June 19, 2020 RHAM Class of 2020 ‘Anything But Ordinary’ by Sloan Brewster With lines of cars instead of rows of seated at the car and then offer congratulations for a attendees, members of the RHAM Class of job well done. 2020 celebrated a different graduation than Michelle Corliss of Hebron stood beside the those before them. family car with a bouquet of flowers while her The ceremony, which took place Tuesday at husband Peter Corliss filmed their daughter the Lions Fairgrounds due to road construction Katelyn Corliss making the sacred walk across on the RHAM campus, was the end to a year the stage. that was also marked with change as COVID- After, Corliss and her parents spoke to the 19 led to the closure of schools in the state and Rivereast about the experience. an unexpected transition to home and virtual While circumstances leading up to gradua- schooling. tion were not ideal, administrators “did a re- Throughout the day, cars parked along a road ally good job of adapting, so I appreciate that,” inside the fairgrounds with the front of the line she said. stopped beside a tent where a stage was set up. “I think the administration clearly demon- In a touchless ceremony, Principal Scott strated that they were personally invested in Leslie would place a graduate’s diploma on a creating as good an experience for the students Jessica Delton of Hebron was ushered to her graduation on a trailer filled with podium and then Assistant Principal Penny under the circumstances,” her father said. Bryzgel would announce the name of the gradu- Corliss opened her gift bag to find a class her brothers and cousins and her aunt Carrie Czapiga. While her parents and ate, who would then walk to the podium, gather picture and gift certificates to local businesses, grandparents towed them in a Jeep. During the ceremony, they waved banners and up the diploma, take a gift bag and pose for including Brain Freezers Frozen Dessert Café, hooted and hollered to “Jess!” Czapiga held up her phone so Delton’s other photos. FennAgain’s Pub & Restaurant and Hebron Car grandparents, Ed and Lynn Dailey, could watch via Facetime from Bradenton, Fla. Parents and family would await the graduate See RHAM Class page 2 Optimism, Bleakness at Portland High Graduation by Jack Lakowsky “We must be truthful about our realities,” It was a graduation ceremony like none Port- Collins said. “We must believe we can over- land High School had ever seen, as members come this, and act with compassion.” of the PHS Class of 2020 celebrated their Collins urged his classmates to vote. sendoff in a way adapted to the ongoing “You can’t let fear entrench your position,” COVID-19 pandemic. Collins said. “Don’t let social media be your Last Friday, June 12, saw high school seniors guide, and recognize the anguish this country and their families waiting in their vehicles in was built on.” the PHS parking lot. Socially-distanced seniors Collins said he is confident he and his class- left their vehicles and were handed their diplo- mates will overcome any upcoming obstacles. mas one by one. Car horns replaced applause. He said he and his classmates have been doing Cheers shouted from within cars were muffled, so their whole lives. Collins said he knows stu- but no less exuberant. dents who overcame bullying, addiction, and Students still delivered their customary family issues. speeches from a podium set up in the parking Collins was introduced by Portland High lot – and the speeches were streamed live via School Principal Kathryn Lawson, who initi- Youtube. A mix of bleakness and optimism ated the ceremony. tinged most of the speeches, as the students “Other than the five I have at home, these looked forward to the future but shared that the kids are the most important young people to COVID-19 crisis has driven home that, in the me,” Lawson said of the Class of 2020. “To words of one student, the future is never guar- parents, thank you for sharing your children anteed. with us. They have demonstrated a unity be- Members of the Portland High School Class of 2020 stand by their cars, ready to Grant Collins, president of the PHS Class of yond their years.” get their diplomas 2020, told his classmates that graduating high Portland High School’s 2020 graduation was school at the dawn of this decade means they also the last ceremony for Superintendent of “We were robbed of experiences,” Runte ing social issues. must soon make consequential decisions. Schools Philip O’Reilly. O’Reilly will retire said. “And it’s fine to feel sad or angry or dis- “We are a generation defined by resilience,” “You’ll have to decide who to vote for,” when this school year concludes. appointed.” Runte said. “We have dealt with worse.” Collins said. “We have to fight for our safety “You have all proven yourselves through ex- Runte said she and her classmates are no Runte quoted former president Barack with compassion and honesty.” traordinary times,” O’Reilly said to graduates. strangers to turmoil. Her age group has seen 9/ Obama, saying she and her class will step head- Collins expressed how resolute his class has “You will soon venture into the many enter- 11, innumerable school shootings and massa- long into the rushing waters of history. been throughout the turbulent years of their prises that await you outside this town.” cres, the existential threat of climate change, Class valedictorian Autumn Tewksbury ex- public school careers. He attested to the cour- Salutatorian Olivia Runte told her classmates inequality, racial divides, and the worst pan- pressed pride in seeing her class’s graduation age his class has shown when confronted with that it is now time to embark on a new journey. demic in a century. despite such a tumultuous year. This year, violence like that seen at the mass shootings at “After the absolute craziness that was the “That’s not even a full list,” Runte said. “We Tewksbury said she learned that the future is Sandy Hook and at Marjorie Stoneman Dou- second half of our senior year, it brings me joy are 17 and 18 years old, and we have already never guaranteed. glas High School in Parkland, Fla. to be here,” Runte said. experienced an absurd number of threats. And “Stop asking if it can get worse,” Tewksbury “And now we face a pandemic that has killed Runte said 2020 was far from how her class we’ve had no choice but to watch – that is about said. “It always will.” more than 4,000 people [in this state], and the expected it to be. Her class, she said, was un- to change.” Tewksbury said she is confident her class will exposure of a gash that has been open for years,” able to experience many senior milestones, in- Runte said hers is a class of future doctors, find success when they begin new chapters Collins said, citing the anti-police brutality pro- cluding athletic tournaments, the spring musi- lawyers and politicians who grew up witness- away from Portland. tests that in recent weeks have spread interna- cal, prom, the school’s annual Disneyworld trip, ing unfairness, a class of future teachers and “This class is by far the funniest,” Tewksbury tionally. and a traditional graduation ceremony. professors who want to educate people on press- See Portland High page 2 Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï RHAM Class cont. from Front Page “This could only be High School Musical,” Wash. Fleeher said. “Personally, from the moment I “Yeah, wash your car,” her dad piped when viewed the first High School Musical movie as she found the car wash gift card. a six year old on my living room couch, I real- Corliss plans to attend American University, ized that the essence of the movie was exactly with a double major in journalism and political what I wanted my high school experience to science, she said. Over the summer she hopes be. People constantly singing and dancing in to find a job, spend time with friends and plan the hallways, everyone friends with each other, her move to college. and of course Zac Efron.” As graduates awaited their turn to walk the Eventually, the real world took hold, how- stage, Assistant Principal Chris Madder con- ever. gratulated them. “My peers and I spent what were supposed “I miss you guys,” Madder said to graduate to be some of the most carefree moments of Michael Colonna as he got out of his car. our lives on more pressing issues like a global The graduation offered a great opportunity pandemic, mass loss, climate change, and wide- to see the kids again, Madder told the Rivereast. spread political and social unrest just to name “I wish we were all together with the kids,” a few,” she said. “As disappointing as it is for he said. “I’ve known them since they were little us to celebrate our graduation separately instead kids. But this is the best.” of together as a class, and for me to record these Meanwhile across from the stage teachers thoughts instead of speaking to you in person, watched from another tent.

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