Culture & Community | Education & Youth | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative | Achievement First Amistad High School
The high school graduates and parents and family members in the back. Abiba Biao Photos.
Dressed in their blue and white gowns with stoles and cords draped around their necks, 170 seniors at Achievement First Amistad High School looked toward the stage, awaiting the moment they would receive their diploma.
Behind them, friends and family members packed the bleachers, holding balloons, signs, and bouquets of flowers. Anticipation was in the air and the excitement was palpable.
That moment came to Amistad last Thursday afternoon, as seniors flipped their tassels, and officially became high school graduates and rising college freshmen. Out of the graduating class, 106 students will be going to school in the state,. Thirty-five will be attending school out-of-state, 28 are going to trade school, and one person is taking a gap year.
The celebration, held in Amistad’s gymnasium, was led by Principal Simon Obas and featured guest speakers Lorraine Gibbons, president of the board of directors for Amistad Academy, and educator and writer Frank E. Brady.
“Parents, you all became teachers." Abiba Biao Photos.
During his speech, Obas acknowledged his own immigrant experience and the importance of forging and nurturing a connection between families. This year’s seniors were freshmen when the pandemic hit, and upended their high school experiences as they knew it.
“We get hit with a pandemic a few years ago. Now we got to wear masks, [and] kids gotta go remote,” Obas said. “Parents, you all became teachers, social workers, counselors, biologists, principals, whatever the title is, you all became that in your household and you made sure your child had what they need to be successful as evidence because they’re sitting right here right now.”
He took his words a step further by interacting with the crowd.
“You’re going to get up out of your seat now. You’re going to turn around and look into the audience. Look for your people. Start clapping, start screaming, start cheering! I kid you not!”
Students did as they were told, greeted by a wave of support, cheers, and applause from family members waving and pointing back at them. As they settled back in, a number of their peers took the stage for the last time.
Zah-Nye Santiago. Abiba Biao Photos.
Stanford-bound senior Zah-Nye Santiago was first to give a student address. Santiago excelled during her time at Amistad, earning high honors as she became active in the National Honor Society, Student Leadership Council, and on the dance team. During her speech, she highlighted the importance of togetherness, describing the post-secondary transition with the word “wonder.”
“Regardless of the path we each take, we all must remember the idea of wonder what we think of our own journeys,” she said. “Our own stories create our own unique experiences with the world; whether that be good or bad. There is no rainbow without rain.”
Her final piece of advice to her class? Embrace their journey.
“Understand that all the new unknowns and uncertainties are experiences we will all face together within our own lives,” she said. “Find comfort in the idea that the many strangers that we now pass by are ones filled with history. People of one another's memories, people taking on new forms, growing, changing and writing their own stories, just like you.”
Alexandra Mitchell: “Many of us felt secure knowing that we had that office or classroom we could go to when we needed a break, even when we weren't supposed to." Abiba Biao Photos.
Alexandra Mitchell greeted the crowd with a smile as she walked up to the podium for her address. A rising Howard Bison, Mitchell took on many leadership positions during her high school career, including high honors and a position on Amistad’s senior committee, National Honor Society, and Student Leadership Council.
While Mitchell said that “high school was not nearly as easy as the tv shows made it seem,” she still persevered through the help of her friends, family members, and teachers who made up her “village.”
“Many of us felt secure knowing that we had that office or classroom we could go to when we needed a break, even when we weren't supposed to,” she said. “This helped us a lot mentally and ultimately made being in school just a bit easier.”
To Mitchell, that community was and is everything, she said, standing in the very same spot where she and her other classmates announced their post secondary decisions at senior signing day. She concluded her speech by telling her classmates to continue being unique and to form bonds with others that’ll help them through their journeys.
“We have been through the rainiest of rainy days, but we weathered the storm and got us here. So keep fighting and I promise it will all eventually pay off in the end.
Valedictorian Isabel Doodnath, an incoming freshman Villanova University, Salutatorian Angelic Nunez, an incoming freshman at Bowdoin College. Abiba Biao Photos.
The festivities were also accompanied with awards. Valedictorian Isabel Doodnath and salutatorian Angelic Nunez who were awarded black and white custom embroidery jackets, with their name graduation year, title, and “A” for Amistad.
“When you go off to college in the fall, please make sure you don't forget where you come from and wear your coats, you heard?” Obas said as they exited the stage.
With a quick prayer, Nancy Sampedro Cruz entered the stage with a twirl, holding a small Mexican flag high. As she walked on, the back of her cap read “gracias mami y papi por su apoyo, voy por mi siguiente logro.”
Top: Nancy Sampedro Cruz walking across the stage. Bottom: Simon Obas shaking Cruz’s hand. Abiba Biao Photos.
Cruz will be heading to Boston University in the fall as a business major—a path she sees as a way to build generational wealth and give back to her family. “I want to go to school for them to also own their own business one day,” she said.
She attributed her success to her family’s unconditional love and support. Now, she said, she wants to be a role model to her younger sisters, and show them that they can also graduate high school and college.
“They're always there for me when I'm facing my doubts or, when things get rough,” she said, “They're always just there to give me a hug whenever I want to cry, but I'm always gonna love them and support them as well.”
Abiba Biao Photos.
Outside of the school were sisters Na’lyah and Natasha Anderson. With Anderson’s hands filled with flowers and gifts, she couldn’t help but smile celebrating the moment with her sister. Anderson plans to major in psychology at College of the Holy Cross, a liberal arts school in Worcester, Mass..
“I'm glad to have graduated. And I'm destined to see where everybody else goes and succeed in life,” Anderson said.
A freshman at Amistad, Na’lyah was looking into a mirror of where she would be three years from now. “I'm very proud of her. I always knew she could do it,” Na’lyah said.
Taking pictures together, friends Erica Gomez, Tyjae Varella, and Fatou Ndao excitedly discussed their next steps. Ndao plans to major in criminal psychology at Central Connecticut State University, while Varella will be going to ConnCAT and Gomez is taking a gap year.
The three of them had stellar feelings about graduating, describing it as “amazing” and feeling “accomplished.”
“It’s about time!” Varella said. “It took a lot of work [to graduate].”
“No, a lot of fighting,” Ndao said, correcting Varella’s statement.
Gomez and Ndao said that the hardest part of high school was finding supportive staff members. While they had people to go to, there were other teachers that Ndao said “just wasn’t on our side.”
And yet, the community they built at school outweighed their negative interactions with staff members. Their chosen families became the highlight of their senior year, so much so that they came to visit even after their last day of school.
All three of them said that planning gatherings and spending recreational time with friends were great highlights of their year.
Gomez and Ndao also shared words of advice for the rising seniors.
“Do what you want and just keep it at a minimum and find that one teacher that's always gonna have your back,” Gomez said.
For Gomez those teachers were AP Physics teacher Martin Lechuga, bS band directors Shawn Jinwright and Kjay Smith of the Howling Symphony of Soul and Wolfpack Dynasty Drumline.
“I feel like if you're a senior you should enjoy it,” Ndao said. “It's not really much work, but keep your grades up. Make sure you don't stay back, but have a good time with your friends.”
Priscila Herandez and her mom, Ivette Hernandez. Abiba Biao Photos.
Sitting on a bench, Priscila Herandez and her mother Ivette soaked in the moment.
Priscila will be going to Gateway Community College in the fall to study sonography, saying that it “seems interesting.” She especially wants to focus on cardiovascular surveillance.
“She’s my last one. She’‘s the baby,” Ivette said, her voice cracking. She removed her glasses to wipe the tears from thinking about her growing daughter.
“I’m proud of her,” Ivette said. “I'm glad she’s finished. You know life goes on and just waiting to see what’s out there for her.”
Abiba Biao is a graduate of the Arts Council's Youth Arts Journalism Initiative and has stayed on with the Arts Paper as a freelance writer and photographer. She is currently a rising sophomore at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU).