By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — The Class of 2023 is special to Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas Jr. for two particular reasons, he told the school’s 136th commencement ceremonies Tuesday evening.

The 436 graduating seniors suffered through, survived and overcame the pandemic, and they were the first class to attend Staples all four years since Thomas was appointed principal, he said.

“Twenty-three is my lucky number,” Thomas added. “I’m lucky to have you as my first class.”

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To see a large photo gallery of scenes at the Staples High School 2023 commencement, click here.

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The resilience of the Class of 2023, was a theme mentioned throughout the graduation ceremonies, which took place under sunny skies on the Staples athletic field.

They were freshmen in early 2020 when schools were locked down during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and had to cope with the challenges of learning remotely and social isolation. As the pandemic eased, school life evolved with a hybrid model and a new set of challenges, including testing, social distancing and mask protocols.

“You climbed above the turbulence … the stress, the uncertainty during these times,” Thomas told the graduates. “You made meaning out of each and every day.”

The Class of 2023 is the most decorated class in Staples’ history, he added, earning awards and honors in academics, athletics and the arts at the local, state and national levels. Staples was also cited as the best high school in the state during the four years the graduates were students there, according to Thomas.

Valedictorian Lucia Wang also praised her classmates for overcoming tough times.

“We’ve lost opportunities, events and even people,” because of the pandemic, she said. “We’ve learned to adapt to the unexpected.”

Wang named combatting climate change and “cultivating a more inclusive, accepting society,” as her top hopes for fellow graduates as they step into the future.

Salutatorian Rebecca Schussheim, who is interested in astrophysics, used the metaphor of space and discovering new frontiers in her speech to the class.

For  Schussheim, “beauty has always come from discovery … from trying to figure out how things work,” she said, urging classmates to be unafraid to try something new.

Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice certified the class, attesting that the more than 400 seniors met the school’s graduation requirements.

Also participating in Tuesday’s ceremony were the Staples choral groups, the Orphenians and the Choralaires.

A moment of silence was held during the ceremony for technology education teacher Michael Sansur, who died in an automobile accident last October.

“His spirit will live on within us,” Thomas said.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.