Mount Anthony Union High School Class of 2023 graduates 229 seniors (2024)

BENNINGTON — A remarkable Class of 2023 got the sendoff it earned for its many accomplishments at Mount Anthony Union High School on Friday night, as 229 seniors received their diplomas in front of a packed house at Kates Gym at the regional school district’s 57th commencement.

Students and faculty spoke of the challenges the Class of 2023 overcame and the achievements they can take pride in — as students, artists, performers and athletes — and the bonds they forged over four years.

But the teacher whom seniors picked for the faculty address, science teacher Charles Moses, reminded the graduates that their work is only just beginning.

“All of you have, regardless of your plans for the future, you have one thing in common: there’s only one way to go, and that direction is forward,” Moses said.

Greeted with one of the loudest rounds of applause of the evening, Moses followed a theme inspired by his 4-year-old daughter’s recent question about what people are made of. When he attempted a philosophical answer, he said, his daughter gave him a disapproving look and told him that we are made of guts and bones.

“Change takes courage — guts if you will,” Moses said. ”Maybe you have the guts to take a hard class, sing a solo onstage or try out for a team or apply for a job. All of that takes guts. And it’s important to keep trying things and not let the fear of failure hold you back.”

“You are an amazing work of progress. Understand how amazing you are,” he added. “There is and there will always be only one you. You owe yourself an existence filled with happiness. Have the guts to accept change and try new things and have the courage to believe in yourself.”

As for the bones? Those are the people who helped and guided you along the way, Moses told graduates.

“Bennington is a place you can call home and a place I hope you are proud to say you are from,” Moses said. “This town has solid bones, just like you. And it will always welcome you home when you decide to come back.”

Class President Niles Cooper recounted the Class of 2023’s accomplishments, from art and music to athletics, and noted that the school’s athletic teams would be playing for three more state titles on Saturday. But he also spoke of how the seniors had come together over four years.

“As the final block of school approached, someone had the brilliant idea of having the marching band parade through the halls, blasting ‘The Final Countdown,’” he said.

“As I played, I looked back and witnessed something rare. About 80 students were walking together, chanting and cheering, with no frowns in sight. It was a moment of pure joy and unity,” Cooper said.

“I lived off of that feeling, thinking it was an anomaly. Then when we lit off the fireworks at prom I looked around again and saw the same thing. It was not an anomaly. That’s just who we are,” he added. “With each passing achievement, our class has proven that we are not simply the class of ‘23, but rather the class of innovators and trailblazers.”

Valedictorian Silas Rella-Neill and Salutatorian Gabriella Giorgi both recalled what it was like to be a freshman at MAU, learning how to be a high school student. Both said it’s now strange to realize that it’s over, and wished success for their classmates as they move on.

“I remember feeling a little excited, but honestly, mostly anxious and scared,” Giorgi said. “Looking back, it feels funny that this building that so many of us have come to call our home, and the people inside, our friends and chosen family, scared us, or at least me, at some point in time. Now, the thought of not walking through these doors every day, not seeing the classmates I’ve grown to call my friends, and the teachers who have taught me more than I could thank them for is what is scary.”

Rella-Neill also remembered what it was like to be a high school student in a pandemic.

“We all had to deal with being sent home mid-March because of COVID, thinking that we would return in a week or two, only to have those weeks turn into almost a year. Then we had to grow re-accustomed to coming back into school, ready to sit behind a desk again, and actually having to pay attention,” he said. “We have hardly had a traditional path through high school but that hasn’t prevented us from graduating today. “

Principal Tim Payne recounted the things he learned and experienced from the Class of 2023 — from championships in football and Nordic skiing to amazing performances during the school’s production of “Chicago” to hundreds of hours of community service performed by students.

He also asked for a moment of silence to remember Greta Bendick, a Class of 2023 student who died of cancer in 2019 at 14. “She had an amazing sense of humor. She was academically gifted and had an optimistic view on life,” Payne said. “She is always in our hearts.”

The threat of rain forced the ceremony inside Kates Gym, limiting attendees to three per student. Family and friends filled the bleachers as well as plastic chairs behind the graduates on the gym floor, and an overflow crowd watched the ceremony in the auditorium. Some came prepared for the resulting warmth, with fans made with cardboard cutouts of their graduates’ faces.

Superintendent James Culkeen capped the ceremony with the official declaration, leading students to flip their tassels from right to left — and then throw their creatively decorated hats in the air.

The graduates:

Andrew Abdul-Haqq

Adam Agresta

Caleb Aiken

Jahvae Ashmeade

*Lauren Austin

Ashton Baker

*Quinn Barbeau

Connor Barrett

Caedance Bartholdi

Brock Bascom

Noah Bassler

Rien Bates

Daniel Becker

Austin Belville

*Hope Benner

Agustus Bennett

Sebastian Bentley

Collin Bevin

Rachel Bibens

Braeden Billert

Cale Bisson

Luke Bleau

Naomi Bolster

Abriel Bossong

Caleb Bourn

*Jade Boynton

*McKenna Brighton

Alex Brown

Crystal Brownell

Karson Buell

Michael Burdick

Alec Burgess

Cherylynn Burgess

William Burgess

Jasmine Bushee

Jillian Bushee

Samuel Bushee

Kyleigh Campbell

*Alison Cancellieri

Brianna Carey

*Elyssa Champagne

Kollin Chapman