Crestwood High School’s Class of 2022 celebrated their graduation with a commencement ceremony that reminisced on the past, embraced the future and paid tribute to a classmate who tragically passed away before he could walk across the stage with his fellow graduates.
The family of Erik A. Fredmund, a member of the Class of 2022 who passed away in 2018, was awarded a diploma on Erik’s behalf on stage, the first diploma conferred to the Class of 2022.
Just offstage to the right, a basketball signed by Fredmund’s classmates and teachers sat, along with a picture of Erik.
It was a touching tribute that kicked off the awarding of the diplomas to this year’s grad class, commended by all of the ceremony’s speakers for their toughness and their perseverance as the COVID-19 pandemic threw a large chunk of their high school experience into disarray.
“March 13, 2020, marked the last day of normalcy in our lives,” said class president Benjamin Rossi in his address to his classmates. “Through this uncertainty, courage was born. … It’s amazing to see, at the world’s lowest moments, Crestwood was at its strongest.”
The Comets celebrated their final act as Crestwood students on the floor at the Mohegan Sun Arena, with families and friends packing the seats to watch their loved ones take that last step, from Crestwood student to Crestwood alumnus.
Rossi’s address, the second student speech following Class of 2022 vice president Aubrey Colo’s welcome remarks, touched a lot on the pandemic and how, even though their school experience was upended by virtual learning, this graduating class managed to find the good in a difficult situation.
“It allowed us to explore passions not taught in textbooks,” Rossi said.
Rossi also lauded the class’s accomplishments, both in the classroom (the school’s Odyssey of the Mind team recently won a world championship) and on the athletic fields (numerous District 2 championships and individual accolades in multiple sports).
His vice president, Colo, looked back on the years that shaped this class, and all of the hard work that led the Class of 2022 to the Mohegan Sun Arena and to their commencement.
“We made the most of our senior year, which led us to today,” Colo said. “These past 13 years have shaped the future for each and every one of us.”
Addressing the class for the final time in their student careers, Crestwood School Board president Barry Boone urged the graduates not to forget their roots, because they’ll always be a part of the Crestwood family.
“You are all our children, children of the school district. … We thank you very much for sharing your lives with us,” Boone said.
“Comets rise high and shine brightly.”
