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Franklin High School Graduates Class of 2021

Well-wishers of all ages braved the heat at the Franklin High School Class of 2021 graduation.

More than 580 Franklin High School seniors took their final official stroll through Warriors stadium June 29 during the annual commencement ceremony.

The ceremony represented a return of sorts to the school’s normal graduation observance. The Class of 2020 was graduated in six separate ceremonies held over two days in July because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in place at the time.

The ceremony also was the last for FHS principal Frank Chmiel, who is leaving the district on July 30 to take over as principal at Princeton High School. Current Franklin Middle School – Hamilton Street campus principal Nicholas Solomon will assume the helm of FHS on July 1.

Chmiel made note of his leaving during his comments to the graduating class, whose FHS career mirrored his principalship.

“I was a freshman principal, so to speak, as you were completing your freshman year, so we all came in together, and we are all going out together,” he said.

The past school year, during which many students continued the distance learning that was instituted in March of 2020, “was a terrible and trying year for learners and educators alike,” Chmiel said.

“With the pandemic, we all felt like we were floundering and struggling to uphold who we are, where we stand and what really matters,” he said.

But the students, parents, faculty and staff persevered to bring them to this day, he said.

Chmiel’s message to the graduates was simple: live slowly.

“My message to you is this: Make the most of every day,” he said. “Try to find as much happiness as possible every day. Know when you’re working too hard.”


“Also be mindful of when you’re not looking up to spend time with the loved ones who are around you,” Chmiel said. “Find ways to enjoy each other’s company in person.”

“Take time to enjoy your natural surroundings,” he said. “Stop when you see blue sky, interesting cloud formations, beautiful moons … waves in the ocean when you’re down the shore, ripples in lakes and streams …”

Salutatorian Aliya Kpamegan also celebrated the fact that she and her fellow graduates came through the Covid-impacted school year.

The pandemic, she said, brough the school community together.

“Today is a reminder of this close-knit community that we have,” she said. “From holiday concerts to social justice movements, Franklin has proven time and time again that we are united by compassion for one another.”

“Graduating high school is not an easy thing, and I am so fortunate to be doing so next to you,” she said.

Class Valedictorian Patrick Alan Pangilinan told the class that one of his fondest high school memories was failing a math test he didn’t think he had to study for in his sophomore year. That also taught him a life lesson, he said.

“It taught me that you have to work hard for your grade,” he said. “You have to work hard for nearly anything and everything in this world. That was a real wake-up call for me.”

“In the future we will all change, it’s inevitable,” he said. “But let’s control how we change. Let’s change into a better person.”

Following are some scenes from the graduation ceremony in an extended photo gallery:


Franklin High School 2021 Candidates For Graduation

Hamzah Abdlkader

Justin Abraham*

Aaliyah Acevedo

Zachary Adam

Oluwademilade Alao*

Giovanny Alberto

Bryan Alegria

Anyia Alexander

Andrea Allen

Rugiatu Allie

Sahiba Aloko

Alexander Alves

Jason Amaro Davila

Aditya Amin

Nicholas Amoakoh

Desmond Anderson

Gabrianna Andrews

Benedetta Anim-Adu

Enoch Anthonio-Mako

Bertin Aparicio

Christopher Arana

Keyli Arana

India Archibald

Rosa Arevalo-Contreras

Ruth Arevalo-Contreras

Reyna Arya*^

Jayden Ashford

Jordan Ashford

Bobo Au-Yeung^

Julian Auguste

Tristan Auguste

Jack Aumack

Glorius Averette

Emily Ayala

Jennifer Ayube*

Louis Azar

Orbit Azcona

Aabid Azeez

Megan Baab

Hamid Badru

Nichelle Bagner

Jahir Bakari

Zulika Baksh

Ashday Bangura*

Ashley Bangura

Mohamed Bangura

Mikhael Baqiri

Christian Barahona-Rivera

Caleigh Barnes

Joanna Barr

Isayah Barton

Brittany Bautista Rodriguez

Armando Bautista Rojas

Da-nell Baxter

Cara Beckhorn

Camila Bejar

Isabella Bejar

Christoper Betancourt

Yash Bhatt*^

Emily Bhimsen

Alexa Bidlack*

Riya Billa

Angilee Blake

Amari Blocker

Claire Bochaberi*

Cordell Booker

Micaela Booker

August Boomer

Isaiah Booth

Brittney Borneo

Christoper Brown

Joshua Brown

Massan Brown

Jayla Browne

Matthew Bruno

Malachi Bryant

Melchi Bryant

Aidan Byrne

Jescenia Camarillo Velasquez

Julio Camejo Del Nogal

Gerardo Campos-Meneses

Alicia Cardenas

Saleema Carter

Madison Castillo

Ivan Castro Tejada

Juleiddy Catalan

Kelly Chin

Adrien Choy

Gabriella Ciccone*^

Juliana Ciccone*

Cameron Clemon

Derrick Clemons

Tasha Coelho

Alexa Coleman

Shyyane Coley

Saddie Colegna

Andrew Consiglio*^

Esther Conteh

Daniela Contreras

Karalyn Cornell

Rasool Craddock

Amaad Cromedy

Kennedy Crump

Maria Cruz Hernandez

Edilberto Cruz Vasquez

Leah Cundiff

Vito D’Ambra

Isabella D’Orsogna

Brent Daly

Savion Dames

Jenna Danielsen

Leonardo DaSilva

Imari David

Amani Davis

Chance Davis

Dalmar Davis

Gabrielle Davis

Nia Davis

James Davis-Albert

Isaiah Dawkins

Gavin Dawson

John DeChavez*

Hillary De La Pas Mota

Nelisson De La Rosa

Kyierah Dempsey-Toney

Diya Desai

Kashish Desai^

Om Desai*

Ria Desai*^

Christian Diaz

Heidy Diaz*

Stephanie Diaz*^

Jessica Diaz Tapia

Joseph Diaz-Genchi

Ataeviya Dilworth

Jareth Dominguez Hernandez

Jacqueline Drakeford

Gwenaelle Du-Thumm*^

Alexa Dominique Duaso-Joaquin

Rachel Duran-Ynfante

Kenrick Eagar

Evangeline Edwards

Tymirah Edwards

Jaelyn Elliott

Major Elliott*

Ikenna Eluwa

Matthew Estevez

Diamond Evans

Joseph Fadairo

Owen Faherty

Kiara Faro

Carlie Fehrman

Alexis Fernandez

Ryan Fernandez

Darisbel Fernandez Azcona

Jason Ferner

Karla Flas

Ricardo Folkes

Nevaeh Forehand

Keith Fortson Jr.

Robert Franklin

Ashly Freeman

Justin Freeman

Xavier Frison

Calina Furlong*

Anthony Galasso*

Aastha Axay Gandhi*

Dev Gandhi

Anthony Garach

Albert Garcia^

Jesus Garcia

Karl Garcia

Karla Garcia

Rodolfo Garcia

Alvaro Garcia Paredes

Renato Garcia Paredes

Ashlee Gardner

Keilly Garrido

Brandon Garris

Jose Garza-Flores

Lily Gayden

Jude Gibson

Saraya Gibson

Snow Gibson

Julia Glassen*

Curtis Glover

Stephanie Gomez

Franz Gonzales

Antoni Gonzalez

Natalia Gonzalez^

David Gonzalez-Aparicio

Alexis Goode

Kaylyn Goodman*

Declan Gordon

Eamon Gordon

Scott Gordon

Lily Gralnick

Al’Mira Granger

Ian-Tyler Grant

Bryce Gray*

Na’iem Gregory

Myles Griffin

Simeon Griffin

Garrison Griffith

Ashlynn Guions

Darrin Guo

Nataly Gutierrez-Morales

Janae’ Hamilton

Melissa Hansraj*

Amari Harris

Anika Hatalkar*

Amour Henry

Bryson Henry

Lizeth Heras-Bernardino

Gabriella Heredia

Ashley Hernandez

Sandra Hernandez Betancourt

Kimberlyn Hernandez Yanes

Darlenny Hilario Duarte

Kiayana Hill

Trenyce Hinds

Jeremiah Holman

John Houston

Markell Howard

Elaina Hrabec

Harrison Huguenin

Tahj Hyman

Ryan Hussey*^

Saicharan Idhayan

Favour Ihezue

Pedro Irizarry

Donnay Irving

William Jacas-Alcantara*^

Ayanna Jackson

Erica Jackson*

Mark Jackson

Ra’Shaunti Jackson

Damien Jaquez

Ronald Jaquez Uceta

Tehillah Jenkins

Annie Karolina Jimenez

Anisli Jimenez Bigay

Brandon Johnson

Degraft Johnson

Joshua Johnson

Keith Johnson

Morgan Jones

Robert Jordan

Logan Kagan

Konstantinos Kalogeroupoulos

Ahmed Kamara

Brima Kamara

Mohamed Kamara

Jeanai Kane

Jasmeen Kaur

Simran Kaur

Samuel Keane

James Kemp

Nadia Khan

Mokhidil Kobilzhonova

Omkaar Kothavale

Anuoluwapo Kpade-Johnson

Aliya Kpamegan*^

Samuel Kpedi

Scott Kraft

Isabelle Kuethe

Leysha Kumah

Shaley Kumah

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer^

Benjamin Lam

John Lam*

Simran Lamba

Jaylen Lamin

Jaren Lane*

V’Zhanae Lawson

Jacquelyn Layton-Brown*

Alfredo Lazo

Evan Lee

Preston Lee

Shira Levine

Conor Lindsay

Elle Lisner

Zheng Xiu Liu

Ashanti Locke

Kevin Locke

Zaiquan Lopez

Keyla Lopez Espinoza

Ishalys Lopez Fermin

Suanny Lorenzanna-Sanchez

Xochilt Lorenzana-Sanchez

Jilli Louis

Haley Lucev

Joanna Lucev

Kristine Anne Mabilog

Hina Mahmood

Zeyad Mahmoud Awad

Sanya Majmudar*

Samantha Maldonado

Darwin Maldonado-Morter

Farhan Malik

Sabrina Mangroo

Sarah Mansuri

Ananya Marathe

Hemani Marfatia*

Deysi Marin

Joel Marquez

Hannah Marshall

Steven Marte

Bianca Martinez*

Brenda Martinez*

Emilio Martinez

Patricia Martinez Barragan

T’mi Mason

Shay Mathews

Saniya Mathurine

Emily Matos

Matthew Matos

Takeshi Mayer

Terry McCoy

Lynsey McDonough^

Nala McMullen

Leah McQueen

Vrishank Rao Mechineni

Jayden Medina

Joseph Medina*

Josue Mendez Tejada

Odalis Mendoza Ramirez

Anthony Milligan

Kevin Millman*^

Nyaira Milton

Nazirah Minor

Krish Mistry*

Emma Moley*

Morgan Moncrease

Kevin Montenegro

Anaya Montgomery

Tyler Moore*

Luis Moreira De Moura

Gabrielle Morgan

Hannah Morgan

Brayan Moronta Adames

Nyiah Morton

Jazzmine Moss

Thomas Mrotek*

Ajiana Muhammad

Ajinae Muhammad

Talha Mukhtar

Akhil Munipalli*^

Sabrina Munir*

Adonis Munoz

Sameera Murji

Tyson Murray

Amaria Mustapha

Scarlet Navarro Liranzo

Kaiyrah Nelson

Quincy Nelson

Quinton Nelson

Nadris Nesbitt

Donya Nicholson

Kristina Nieves

Jesse Noupin

Eric Ntigbu

Alanny Nunez

Matthew O’Dell^

Oluwatobi Odukoya

Kenechukwu Okoye

Reese Oliveri

Sanai Onque-Shell

Nicole Onyeze

Brian Ordonez

Fredy Ordonez-Alvarado

Giovanni Ore

Brooke Owens*

Sydney Owusu

Jasmin Owusu-Ansah

Jordan Paige

Vicktoria Panczenko

Patrick Alan Pangilinan^

Zareena Paracha

Karen Parada Munoz

Christian Paredes

Molly Parks

Da Shawn Parks-Clark

Alexandra Parrone

Desha Patel

Dev Patel

Dhanvi Patel

Esha Patel

Isha Patel

Krish Patel

Nand Patel

Nishi Patel*^

Palben Patel

Siya Patel

Snehal Patel

Sparsh Patel

Swayam Patel^

Tejal Patel*

Tirth Patel

Uttam Patel

Vivek Patel

Gabrielle Pearson

Atrell Peart

Joseph Pelaez

Tatiana Peral

Coraima Perez

Jacob Perez Aguilar

Wilvin Perez Luciano

John Petrine

Naasir Philip

Faith Phillips

Kimberly Pineda Duran

Isabella Pitra

Celine Plaisir*

Emely Polanco Morla

Jody Anne Popa Matos*

Marc Priccaciante

Dorene Priddy

Lamont Pride

Jeremiah Primus

Janiya Prisco

Meredith Proctor*^

Cameron Pugh

Yousuf Qari

Edgard Quintana^

Evelyn Quiroz

Alexa Racine

Ruhee Rajwani*

Ariel Ramirez

Haley Ramirez

Roger Ramirez

Leonardo Ramirez-Manzanares

Sabrina Ramlogan

Kevin Ramos Balderas

Jenifer Ramos Tapia

Jayman Rana

Kylie Ratliff

Alaisha Reeves

Steven Reitemeyer

Danielle Renda*

Brisa Reyes

Christopher Reyes

Cielo Reyes

Araceli Reyes Mendoza

Stephanie Reyes-Colon^

Brian Reyes-Jimenez

David Riano

Christopher Rice

Savannah Richards

Diego Rivas-Velez

Jaden Rivera

Jonathan Rivera

Tanainy Rivera

Bryce Roberts

Jalen Robinson

She’maad Robinson

Maria Robles-Leon

Angel Rocha Davila

Joseph Roche

Sophia Rodas

Darlyn Rodriguez

Juan Rodriguez

Kiara Rodriguez

Yeidy Rodriguez

Brianna Rodriguez Alcantara

Arianna Rodriguez Colon

Jennyfer Rodriguez Maceda

Leyshka Rodriguez Pagan

Miguel Rodriguez Taveras

Luis Rojas Torres

Steven Rojas-Valdez

Joseph Rojek*

Daniela Roman

Juan Romero

Axel Romero Uffre

Euri Rosario

Jordy Rosario

Serena Rose

Andy Ruiz

Madison Ruiz

Parker Ryan*

Mark Saba

Samantha Said

Alexis Salazar

Jacob Salib

Jadyn Salvagno

Patrick Samson

Michael Santiago

Ashley Santiago Reyes

Saul Santiago-Rodriguez^

Jennifer Santos

Yaasmeen Sanzar

Charles Schiermeyer

Isaiah Scott

Michael Scott

Geornel Seaman

Kiara Seaman

Justin Serrano*

Osman Sesay

Farhan Shah*

Maya Shah

Mukundan Shanmugasundaram

Imani Shereef

Faryn Shields

Anika Shroff

Christiana Sillah

Jillian Silva

Christopher Silva-Perez

Tonei Silver

Parth Sinha

Ramatulai Sisoko

Ariel Smith

Damien Smith

Jacob Smith

Kenneth Smith

Sean Smith

Johany Solano*

Damani Somerset

Eddy Sosa

Corey Statum

Zaniyah Stewart

Antonio Stone

Saquoia Stone

Madison Straub

Isaiah Suarez

Delilah Summerer

Christian Summers

Troy Sumpter

Logan Swillinger

Mary Tagoe

Navin Tamesar

MarkLouis Tan*

Syncere Taylor

Nicole Tedesco

Tyriq Terry

Diarra Thompson*^

Myles Thompson

Rebecca Thompson

Cindy Ton*

Ruddy Torres Lorenzo

Anderson Torres Urena

Ibrahim Trabelsi

Peter Trinidad

Rithika Vadapalli*

Abigail Vaddis

Maria Valentin

Jonathan Van*^

Aaliyah Van Cooten

Destiny Van Ness

Jorden Vanderveer

Belly Vargas Bonilla

Brandon Vargas-Amador

Jesus Vazquez Ruiz

Siby Venkatesh

Naimisha Vidavalapati

Saurav Vidyadhara

Nathalie Marie Villa

Joshua Villanueva

Samuel Villar

Vincent Villuri

Neel Viswanathan*

Adanna Wainwright

Di’Ojah Walker

Safwan Wallace

Mitchel Walton

Elias Wambugu

Gabrielle Werner

Madison Wheeler

Morgan Wheeler*

Jamira Whitaker-Fletcher

Taejhon Whitted

Byata Wilder

Daysha Williams

Edwin Wiliams

Jaden Williams

Katrina Williams

Myles Williams

Taniya Williams

Jaylin Williams-Mitchell

Hailey Wilson

Tyler Wise

Joseph Wood

Davionne Wright

Toni Wright

Jalysse Wynns

Janine Yanes^

Michael Yeager

Amanda Zeitler

Mekhi Zimmerman                                                                                                      *= National Honor Society

^= 4 Year Honor Roll

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