Courtney Luciana Photos
Rowan Huber and Stephen Hankey at Wednesday’s commencement.
Cowbells rung, gold glitter was thrown, prom dresses were worn after all, and students were riding large (in limos and party buses) to graduation for Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School drive-through commencement ceremony for its 150 graduates.
The ceremony took place mid-day Wednesday at Lighthouse Point Park.
Rowan Huber (pictured above) rode the rooftop of his car all the way to the stage. He kept pointing out one of his favorite teachers, Stephen Hankey, whom he had for all four years of dance.
“I’m going to mostly miss the teachers,” Huber said. “I had a lot of good bonds with the teachers. These bonds will be unbreakable so I’ll come back and visit.”
Huber will attend college in South Dakota next year to continue his studies and play basketball.
Hankey, who teaches severe dance technique I & II, Ballet II & III, Principles of Choreography, and Cultural Dance, said he considered Rowan like his son throughout the years.
“I know he needed that little extra accommodation to move forward. He did it, and I’m so proud of him,” said Hankey.
“Best of luck,” “We will miss you,” and “Proud teacher of amazing seniors” were among the signs that teachers waved proudly on the sidelines as students sat in their cars. Before walking the stage, students stopped at a booth to pick up different colored graduation cords depending on their arts focus. Yellow was for visual art, red for theater, pink for band, orange for strings, purple for choir, turquoise for creative writing, and green for dance.
Rayona Higgins (at right in photo), who rode in a party bus, grabbed her red cord for theater from social studies teacher Ryan Boroski.
“Going to school here was really an experience,” said Higgins. “I loved it. We actually wrote our own senior plays.”
Higgins is moving on to University of New Haven to study legal studies, with plans to become a lawyer.
Boroski made sure to tell each student to email him if they are in need of future assistance. He said he has a close bond with their students.
“I’m very excited for the students as they go on to the next phase of their lives,” Boroski said. “I’m super proud of them. The world will be in a better place with students like this entering the world.”
In normal years, he school’s graduation takes place at the Shubert Theater. Principal Val-Jean Belton said she enjoyed the socially-distanced ceremony at Lighthouse organized in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The only difference at the Wednesday ceremony was that the school could not this year invite the freshman-through-junior band to play for the senior class.
Belton was ecstatic to celebrate Wednesday, particularly for a group of 26 students who had been close to not meeting the graduation requirements. While running the school from her kitchen table for the past three months, Belton said, she worked her hardest pushing those students to receive their diplomas.
McKenlley Harrell sported his yellow and blue honor society cords at Wednesday’s ceremony. He also wore a sash for the Jack and Jill of America, an organization that works to improve the community and shape leadership skills. He will be attending Hampton University in Virginia to major in finance. He plans to become a financial advisor.
“Today signifies it’s the next chapter of my life. It’s time to move on and time to do greater things, better things, and continue my life to be as successful and possible,” said Harrell.
Callie Fusco will attend Marymount Manhattan in New York to study business with a concentration in the media and arts.
Fusco reflected on her favorite performance at Co-op, Heathers The Musical.
“My experience here was fun and taught me a lot how to learn to work with different people,” said Fusco. “A lot of the time, we go to art more than our classes.”
Aileen Rivera will also be attending University of New Haven, to study forensic science. She received a pink cord for band. Rivera made sure she rode to her graduation in a limousine.
Schools Superintendent Iline Tracey reported that principals are saying they want to continue to have the graduations at Lighthouse Point Park next year.
Click below for the Facebook live stream of the entire ceremony.