Cape Tech Honors 146 Graduating Seniors At Commencement

HARWICH – On a sun-kissed afternoon in front of a packed crowd that was sprawled across the school’s new football field, Cape Cod Tech’s 146 seniors were celebrated during the school’s commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon.

It was a celebration full of smiles, laughter and even some tears, as the graduating seniors celebrated all that they accomplished at Tech while looking forward to what the future holds for them.

“It’s a really special day,” class president Gavin Mumford said during his welcome speech. “First things first, I want to say how proud I am of not only the fellow graduates here but everyone, because we’ve all overcome so much in these past four years. One remarkable thing about our class is that we were the first group of kids to do all four years here, and I have to say, I think this is probably the best class that’s ever been here.”

Struggling to reach Saturday’s finish line was a common theme throughout the student speeches that were given by Mumford, as well as valedictorian Ciara Torres and the class’s three salutatorians, Alana Thompson, Brighten Vincent and Alex Blinn-Conti.

The students spoke about arriving at Tech as young freshmen and the challenges they faced while making friends as they started high school during a global pandemic. They recalled the hardships of surviving difficult classes, the bonds they created with their new friends, and the scary reality of the school’s intruder alarm system.

“Another thing I’m not going to miss is our armed intruder alert system,” Mumford said. “You guys remember that? You remember how funny it was when that went off in December? It was even funnier the second time, and then the third time.”

The students’ jokes even prompted a response from superintendent Robert Sanborn.

“I turned the armed intruder alarm off,” Sanborn said early in his speech, inciting a roar of laughter from the crowd.

At times, the roars of the crowd mirrored that of a sold-out rock concert inside an arena. As the students filled the stadium seats facing their family and friends on the field, a raucous roar filled the campus as spectators rose to their feet to enthusiastically cheer.

Although the ceremony included a brief pause to address a medical emergency — a spectator was carted off the field before leaving the school in an ambulance — the hot weather could not put a damper on the celebration that ensued.

While the graduation honored the bright future the graduates have ahead of them, it also highlighted just how impactful their four years at Tech were for them.

“I will miss the relationships we have formed and the bonds within the classroom,” Torres said. “I will miss the teacher relationships, both the funny and the serious. This is a time to look back on our high school years and to be grateful. Grateful for the teachers who led us through each class, grateful for the opportunities we have been given, and grateful for the people we have become.”