Friends, family, and other guests gathered together on a warm summer evening June 10 for Liberty High School’s 99th commencement ceremony. Five hundred thirty-four students, with boys clad in blue gowns and girls in red, processed onto the football field in the Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Class secretary Savanna Wooten greeted the crowd gathered in the bleachers and introduced her fellow graduates.

“Our class has made the best out of an unexpected situation, and instead of giving up, we persevered,” Wooten said.

Following Wooten’s greeting, Principal Dr. Harrison Bailey III recognized five retiring faculty members: John Tone, Richard Coppock, Kevin Long, Colleen Propsner, and Judith Rivera. Bailey also recognized graduate Blake George who will be attending the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

The graduation’s theme was based on a quote from C.S. Lewis: “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” This quote was in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual/ hybrid learning the Class of 2021 had to endure.

Faculty speaker Catherine Mastronardi and student speaker Mia Senick both addressed this idea in their speeches.

Mastronardi said that the quote makes her think of history’s greats, including physicist Albert Einstein, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginseberg. Each of these people faced challenges in their lifetimes before achieving amazing feats.

“My point being it is rare to obtain this extraordinary destiny without facing adversity,” Mastronardi said.

Everyone will face adversity in life; however, it is not our failures that we are remembered for, but how we overcame them, she added.

Senick’s speech was inspired by the song “The Show Goes On,” which shows the perseverance of the Class of 2021 through the pandemic, hybrid learning, and missing out on some senior events.

Bailey returned to the stage to recognize the academic achievement of some of the graduates.

Charlotte Samuelson was presented as the salutatorian. She will attend Georgetown University in the fall, and major in human science on a pre-med track. Barbara Perevalov is both the valedictorian and Liberty Scholar for the Class of 2021. In the fall, she will attend Lehigh University to major in chemical engineering with hopes to develop technology to improve our environmental footprint.

Students who achieved the Lamp of Knowledge, highest honors, and honors were also acknowledged. The Lamp of Knowledge honor means that a student received all A equivalents for four years in all academic subjects; 52 members of the Class of 2021 received the honor. The highest honor students received a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or higher, while honors were given to those students with a 3.5 to 3.9 cumulative GPA.

Jiovanny Figueroa, who completed 1,199 hours of community service, was recognized for his accomplishment. One hundred fourteen members of the Class of 2021 completed over 135 hours of community service and wore silver cords to signify this accomplishment. In total, the seniors amassed over 38,000 hours of community service, according to Assistant Principal Antonio Traca.

Bailey presented the Principal’s Award to Megan Miller, who has “proudly represented her school in academics, athletics, community service, school spirit, and Hurricane loyalty.”

Kobe Cruz, class treasurer, took the stage to present the class gift of a waterproof drone and two waterproof GoPro cameras to document the school’s 100th anniversary next year. Then, class president Joshua Lee received the first diploma, and after turning their tassels, the rest of the class followed in an organized procession.

Class officers included Lee as president, Keegan Thompson as vice president, Wooten as secretary, and Cruz as treasurer. Faculty members Laurie Muller and Kelly Varju served as class advisers.