In their green caps and gowns, 346 seniors from John F. Kennedy High School’s Class of 2020 lined up in their family cars outside their campus in anticipation of receiving their diploma as part of the school’s Grad and Go ceremony.
Alessandra Caye Cuevas, the 2020 JFK valedictorian, commended her class’s resilience, especially since they could not have a traditional graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let’s be thankful for the things we still have rather than dwell on the things we can’t have. In the future, we can look back and realize that we were the high school class fortunate enough to celebrate in the midst of a pandemic. We were the class — in spite of having our events taken away from us — that still took a step forward with diplomas in our hands,” Cuevas said.
Although the ceremony was not a conventional commencement, each senior was all smiles as they received their diploma to cap off their years at high school.
But JFK wasn’t the only high school that held a celebration for their graduating class.
At the Cathedral Basilica in Hagatna Thursday afternoon, the Academy of Our Lady of Guam also recognized their 67 graduates by holding a Baccalaureate Mass. The event also included their annual May Crowning, which honors the Mother Mary’s devotion to Christ.
Ramier Javelosa, the Academy’s 2020 valedictorian, had this to say to her fellow classmates.
“The anticipation of life beyond high school may seem daunting, but your response to the current events makes me confident that you have the capacity to overcome your obstacles from extreme heights — defying gravity. May we continue to turn our best experiences to positive memories and our greatest hardships to memorable lessons,” Javelosa said.
And last but not least, the members of PNC would like to congratulate Newstalk K57’s and Power98’s Isaiah John Aguon – also known as Bizzyy Izzy – who graduated from JFK earlier today.
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