“High School graduation is the end of a journey,” Wantagh High School Principal Carolyn Breivogel told the 243 seniors at their graduation last Friday. “[It is a] special journey like no other, complete with the realization that the bond that has been established among each of you, that feels so strong right now, is unlikely to be felt exactly like this again in your lifetime.”
Smiling faces of friends and family members filled the stands of the high school football field as the graduates’ classmates, teachers and district administrators offered them encouragement and advice for the future. “Just know you are part of something bigger in this world,” Salutatorian Andriana Patmanidis told her fellow seniors. “Whether it feels like it or not, there is a place for you, and you have a place.”
Valedictorian Samantha Minars spoke about how Wantagh has affected them all. “The Wantagh community has helped us grow over the past 18 years,” she said, “but now it’s time to continue this growth on our own.”
Board of Education President Peter Mountanos told the graduating class that he was sitting where they were only seven years ago. “We’ve been wired to focus on the what — like titles, places and companies — rather than the why,” Mountanos said. “There is no doubt that we need our graduates to be college- and career-ready, but what we really need is for our students to graduate and become adults who are passionate about making the world a better place.”
Thomas Hurley said he was a very proud parent as he watched his daughter, Marcella, graduate.
List of graduates
Caitlin Albanese
Tyler Asadurian
Christina Avana
Ashley Bailey
Lauren Batterbee
John Bednor
Jenna Bello
Michael Bendetti
Arianna Benedetto
Emma Benedetto
Emily Boden
Michael Bonilla
Kathleen Browne
Kayla Burke
Victoria Burruano
Ashley Butcher
Kayley Butcher
Christopher Calise
Grace Camarano
Kayla Cardona
Jeremiah Cardone
Vincent Cardone
Danielle Carson
Sarah Cashton
Rachel Castellano
Nicholas Celli
Alex Charkowick
Andrew Chatham
Christopher Chatham
Kira Chu
Panayioti Cochikas
Ian Cohen
Charlotte Coleman
Jeremiah Coles
Brendan Collins
Jillian Collins
Patrick Collins
John Coltellino
Sonny Compono
Mia Connolly
Isabella Conti
Michael Conti
Robert Conti
Danielle Coppola
Isabella Corso
Kyle Craig
Theodore Craig
Lauren Cupelli
Anthony Curiale
Sean Curtis
Gianmarco Damiani
Lauren Darling
Elizabeth Day
Emily DeAngelo
Daniela DeJesus
Marykate DelGais
Toni Ann DelPozzo
Brianna Derham
Catherine Desiderio
Marisa DeVito
Matthew Diaks
William DiMatteo
Jacob Don
Drew Donaghy
Hannah Dougherty
Kieran Douglas
Justine Dowling
Edward Draude
Edward Duffy
Shelby Dwyer
Christian Encarnacion
Jake Enella
Michael Errico
Hannah Eschmann
Alyssa Estro
Jamie Fanizzi
Megan Fehling
Lena Ferraro
Jonathan Ficco
Juliet Fitting
Brian Frank
Hailey Frey
Liam Garrity
Thomas Garvey
Brett Gaskin
Jake Gelada
Ashley Gendels
Dylan Goldstein
Marie Gonias
Kyle Graham
Nicholas Grasso
Amanda Gray
Daniel Greaker
Courtney Gubista
Spencer Gustafson
Mark Hack
Brendan Harrington
Ryann Henry
Ethan Herman
Andrew Hughes
Marcella Hurley
Katrynna Jackowicz
Chloe Janosko
Liam Jones
Alexis Kalogeropoulos
Harrison Kane
Michael Kearney
Alexandra Kelsey
Nicholas Killard
Meghan Kirk
Marissa Korman
Alexis Kratz
Kevin Kratzer
Ryan Krauss
Olivia Krug
Ryan Kushner
Angela Labenberg
Jillian Laino
Gina-Marie LaRosa
Jessica Leahy
John Leahy
Maggie L’Eplattenier
Anthony Lindwall
Joseph Loccisano
Dylan Loiacono
Allison Loney
Cerena Lopez
Daniel Lovelace
Francesco Loverde
Megan Lucey
Tyler Lucher
Miranda Maldonado
Daniel Maloney
Lauren Manzo
Brendon Markowski
Aidan McAleese
Connor McCarthy
Brianna McCartney
Kerri McClancy
Patrick McClancy
Lily McCloskey
Grace McKenna
Mason McLane
Logan McLaughlin
Erika Meagher
Julie Mecchella
Tyler Migliaro
Catherine Millman
Samantha Minars
Kiera Miranda
Elizabeth Mitchell
Julianna Montanile
Joseph Moore
Lindsey Moore
Robert Moore
Thomas Moran
Zachary Moussa
Bryan Murphy
Erin Murphy
Jaclyn Murphy
Jessica Nealon
Isabella Ninivaggi
James Nolan
Moira Nolan
Andreas Oberheim
Casey O’Connor
Thomas Orellana
Jenna Pagliarulo
Gianna Paier
Jarod Papa
Caitlyn Parisi
Michael Pastore
Andriana Patmanidis
Constantine Patmanidis
Sean Paulich
Matthew Petrillo
James Pintauro
Joseph Piscopo
Katherine Proscia
Julia Pugliese
Diana Putrino
Ian Pyle
Seamus Quail
Christopher Quinn
Dylan Sean Quinn
Kyle Quinn
Hannah Ramsey
Raymond Rathgaber
Alexander Ratikan
Randy Reif
Daragh Reilly
Victoria Reilly
Kayla Rende
Grace Riddle
Claire Riis
Kevin Rivera
Jesslyn Rodriguez
Gabrielle Romano
Logan Romero
Nicoletta Roppo
Jessica Rosanio
Vincent Rudolph
Matthew Russo
Lauren Salerno
Luke Sales
Jake Salomon
Shane Sammartino
Isabelle Samudio
Christopher Schmidt
Kayla Schmidt
Brandon Schroh
Justina Scibelli
Dylan Scott
James Seaman
Eric Sedig
Michael Sgroi
Katherine Skaar
Samuel Sloves
Samantha Smith
Matthew Soethout
Samantha Sparta
Kaitlyn Steele
Ryan Steele
Chiara Sullivan
Vincent Sullivan
Caysie Supino
Olivia Swanson
Nicole Tague
Kelly Talty
Sawyer Thompson
Carlo Tobia
Angelina Torre
Stephanie Tracy
Katelyn Tucker
Nicholas Vagnone
Jake Vissicchio
Taylor Vogelsberg
Nicholas Wetzel
Isabella White
Megan Wojcik
Skylar Wolfson
Megan Wright
Alexander Zirilli