Brookfield High School's 45th Commencement Ceremony

On June 18, Brookfield High School (BHS) held its 45th annual commencement exercises at Feldman Arena at the O’Neill Center on the Western Connecticut State University campus.  Two hundred fifty-four seniors turned their tassels and took their first steps away from the comfort of high school.

Dr. Bryan Luizzi presided over his fifth and final commencement, as . He noted that this year’s class had endured a lot of changes over their four years, from shuffling classes with the school renovations, to the introduction of block scheduling. 

Student council president Matthew Consalvo spoke to the estimated 1,500-2,000 parents, grandparents, friends and family about the how technology has evolved in the time they have been in high school.  This evolution has made everyday communication quite impersonal.  He urged his classmates to take the time to write a handwritten letter to their classmates or pick up the phone and call their parents, rather than sending a text or email, just to hear the sound of their voice.

Senior class president Stephanie Dufresne told the graduates to make the most of every minute of every day.   

In a recent addition to the commencement ceremony, one graduating senior is selected to address the crowd.  Seniors submit their prepared remarks, and one is selected by the faculty to present their speech at graduation.

Senior Kathleen Melville was selected out of a great number of applicants and spoke about her experience getting to know the other members of the graduating class that she never really knew before her senior year.  She realized that there were many wonderful people that she wished she had befriended before her senior year.  

Salutatorian Shelja Patel impressed the audience with a lyrical rhyme that summarized the senior class’ ascent through the Brookfield school system, from her first day of school to writing her graduation speech.

Valedictorian — — Matthew Goodrich, spoke about all of the high school experiences, from grinding through classes, to the great times the class had with one another. He also mentioned how fitting it was that the exercises were held at WCSU, where still teaches. 

The senior members of special chorus sang a medley of Rusted Root’s “Send Me On My Way” and Florence and the Machine’s “The Dog Days are Over.”  They were joined by the rest of the special chorus members to sing Lennon and McCartney’s “When I’m Sixty Four.”

The senior class was invited to the all-night grad party held at Brookfield High School.  This year’s theme is “Look Out World… Here Wii Come!”  Parents decorated the school with themed rooms, including New York City, the Rainforest, and Hogwarts from Harry Potter.