Burris then got the audience laughing as she told her students they would always be remembered as the class who graduated the same year as Justin Bieber.
“Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of a fire,” she said. “I hope South Side has lit that fire.”
Burris recognized the teachers, guidance counselors and Board of Education members assembled on stage. She singled out the ceremony’s music director, Gene Kaplan, one of many longtime, beloved teachers who is retiring this year.
The graduates were then called up to the stage one by one, where they received their diplomas, along with congratulations from Mayor Francis Murray, Trustee Ed Oppenheimer and Village Justices William Croutier and Kevin McDonough.
The ceremony closed with a video of the class backed by the song “For Good” from the play “Wicked.” Class President Taylor Schwarting offered closing remarks, and then invited her colleagues to turn their tassels to the left and toss their caps to the rafters.
“Don’t wait for someone to tell you your life has started,” Schwarting said.
Class of 2012
Maria Abbruzzese
Brittany Abrams
Katelyn Abrams
Karina Abreo
Alyssa Zoe Adler
Robert Akeson
Erik Albertsen
Bryce Allen
Wilfred Almonte
Rachel Altman
Katherine Arana
Hayley Armstrong
Noelle Armstrong
Alyssa Marie Aydinoglu
Christopher Babicke
Allison Bannon
Nicole Anne Barci
Alison Bartoldus
Brian T. Beaudet
Deirdre Claire Bednar
Danielle C. Bellando
Brian Berger
Mark Bevilacqua
Julie Caroline Beyar
Cesar Bisono
Nohely Bisono
Madison Bondy
Ian J. Bowen
Jarret Brown
Kendra Bruce
Nicholas Frank Bruno
Larklin F Bryan
Lauren Bryn
Leah Witte Buchman
Shannon Buckley
Jabria Burroughs
Mone’ J. Bush
Hannah Tori Byrne
Nathaniel Cabrera
Christian Camarillo
Casey Cameron
Elvin Cardenales
Kevin Cardenales
Kelly Carman
Cristina Carter
Sofia E. Cartusciello
Alexa Casavecchia
Ricardo Castillo
Brian D. Caulfield
Sabahudin Cecunjanin
Valeria Chacon
Daniel Chelius
Mark P. Chen
Peter Michael Clark
Kirstie Coico
Jandy Collado
Marlenny Collado
Anne Colletta
Christian F. Colletti
Joseph Cona
Marguerite Anne Connolly
Matthew Connolly
James Conway
Kevin Cook
Rebecca Cooper
Nicole Marie Copertino
Kevin John Coyle
Daniel L. Cracovaner
Nicole Cronley
Sean Culkin
Megan Michelle Dacek
Michael T. D’Angelo
Henry Joseph Davoli
Victoria DeFina
Zachary Edmund Derkatch
Peri Michelle Dikman
Matthew F. DiPerna
Kelly Dolin
Jane Dragovich
Dimitri Drakopoulos
Todd A. Drucker
Patrel Duncan
Emily Essig
Marisa Rose Fabiani
Katelyn Fagan
Fahrbach Donald
Brendan Higgins Farrell
Benjamin Felderstein
Craig Michael Felson
Taylor Ferguson
Markys Fernandez
Samantha Ford
Kianna Francois
Loren Hope Fusco
Erin Gabriel
Timothy Gangadeen
Alexandra Garibaldi
Gillian Geffen
James Matthew Gemino
Luis Genao
Olivia Rose Gerrato
Laura Geyer
Corey Glass
Edward Gleason
Evan Glickman
Kendall Mary Gough
Keriann Patricia Grandazza
Omari Greene
Erin Griffin
Michael John Gutman
Luke Joseph Hahn
Robert Halley
Mark Thomas Hamilton
Christopher Harkins
Grace Healey
Jessica Ann Heckman
Rebecca Heins
Edward Henn
Joshua P. Herman
Samara H. Herman
Joshua K. Hewitt
Colin Hinton
Jessica Hollis
Jae Isaac Holod
Dylan Horcher
Alex Logan Horowitz
Courtney Hunter
Brendan S. Jackson
MyAsia Jackson
Julie Jansen
Jasmine Nicole Johnson
Daquan Johnson
Lauren Christen Joyce
Alexi Maria Kakis
Nicholas Kalafatis
Nolan Francis Kelly
Rebecca Kelly
Sean Kenny
James Kerr
Max Kimmel
Crystal King-Charles
Jodie Melissa Kitain
Andrew Korman
Taylor M. Kosakoff
Marina Kotzavekiaris
George Harold Kowalski III
Lisa Kremen
Rene Lainez
Kelly Nicole Lange
Tre’ LaPersonerie
Jesse Laufer
Louis Peter Laupheimer
Emily A. Lawless
Paul Lawrence
Matthew Leach
Nolan LeBlanc
Rodrigue Liberte
Magdeline Liranzo
Gabrielle Loccisano
Amanda Loesch
Antonio S. Loureiro
Paige A. Lucas
Erin Lynch
Mackenzie Lynch
Kayleen Rose Malizia
Kelly Marco
Zachary Scott Marino
Storm Marshall
Danielle Rose Martello
Elfy Matias Rosario
Alexander B. Matos
Jacqueline Maughan
Madeleine Lea McGowan
Margaret Mary McGowan
Erin J. McNulty
Felicia McPherson
Dylan Meehan
Ty Melillo
Kelsey Messina
Giancarlo Michnovicz
Christian Montalvo
Capreece Moore
William Moore
Moises Mora
Rose Muldoon
Caitlyn Mullooly
Lauren Murray
Anthony Musacchio
Michael John Neira
William Nelson
Kasey Ng
Darren Nickelson Jr
Joseph Nizich
Leandro Ochoa
Kathryn O’Leary
Christina Alisa Ortiz
Crystal Osorio
Joseph Palandrani
Raquel Palmas
Emily Ann Passarelli
Bianca Marie Peralta
Asia Peterson
Lanna C. Phifer
Robert Picchioni
Steven Pirani
Kyle D. Polinsky
Chelsea M. Portenoy
Courtney Quaresima
Ethan Quinn
Michael Rafferty
Delvis Ramirez
Miguelina Ramirez
Jenna Randazzo
Brian Remy
Margaret Reynolds
Justin Rhodes
Sarah Richman
James Rivera
Andrew James Rizzuto
Aneudis Rodriguez
Yennys Rodriguez
Alexandra Rohrs
Carly Roman
Donovan Roth
Sarah Rubenfeld
Jasmine Ruiz
Cathryn Nicole Ryan
James Robert Ryan
Nathaniel Sample
Edison F. Sandoval II
Zachery Scaduto
Emily Shana Schnee
Lily B. Schoen
Christie Schuerlein
Michael Schuermann
Taylor Schwarting
Lauren Ilene Schwartz
James Scott
Matthew Scotto
Benjamin T. Sellitto
Benjamin Shanley
Hannah Slavin
Michael Sotack
Erin Southwick
Ryan James Spadaford
Dana J. Stuono
Ryan Scott Sullivan
Nicholas R. Suss
Sebastian Sussman
Ryan Patrick Talty
Nicole Testa
Liam John Tonno
Carlos Torres
Vincent Tyers
Esmeyry Vargas Estevez
Nicole Villalon
Daniel Villandre
Alison Volkert
Caitlin E. Wallace
Julia Walsh
Andrew Weber
Charles Jon Weigell
Justin Moon Nader Wong
Connor Martin Wulff
Angela Yamamoto
Chaniqua Yarboro
Dana Yberg
Timothy Zaremba
Veronica M. Zavala
Cheng Zeng
Stephanie Ziegler