Community High School Commencement 2024

120 seniors celebrate commencement at Hill Auditorium

Community High School celebrated the 120 graduates in the class of 2024 on Friday, May 31st at Hill Auditorium.

Dean Marci Tuzinsky thanked the graduates for their time at Community and what they did to shape the school. Tuzinsky says this class, which spent most of its first year at Community via Zoom, particularly deserve credit for breathing life back into Community after COVID. “Each of you helped make certain to bring back the life and the community that is Community High School, because that’s what really makes Community, it’s the people. Your class had so much weight on its shoulders in helping us do this and I cannot thank you enough for helping us revive our school.”

The commencement ceremony included performances by the Community Jazz Ensemble, a poetry reading from Emily Yesowitz, and the Community Ensemble Theatre performed a medley from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

Emily Yesowitz reads her poem at the Hill Auditorium lectern

CHS Jazz ensemble and other grads perform on stage.

As always at a Community, the highlight was the graduation remarks from each member of the class of 2024. Graduates thanked family, friends and teachers, urged their classmates on to greatness, shared funny stories, got the crowd to clap along to if you’re happy and you know it and more.

Parker Haymart shared he didn’t know what to expect when he arrived at Community and found it didn’t align with Disney Channel’s portrayal of high schools. “Over four years I’ve seen myself and my friends grow through unexpected passions, unexpected experiences and unexpected connections. While I never did know what to expect at Community, that’s what made the school so special.”

Sadie Barber shared overcoming a childhood fear of the Big Dipper that was based on not knowing what was coming and compared that to what the class of 2024 are doing now. She also got scientific in wishing her classmates take on life. “All of us humans, we’re really just congregations of cells, and so all of us in this room right now we’re congregations of cells congregating together, but I hope that you guys all have fire in your heart.”

Keegan Malestein gave the last address and challenged his classmates by revising a popular saying. “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade, make life take the lemons back. Get mad. I don’t want your freaking lemons. What am I supposed to do with these? Make life rue the day it thought it could give Keegan Malestein lemons.”