53 Students Graduate Naugatuck Adult Education

Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson opened his remarks at the Naugatuck Adult Education graduation ceremony on Thursday with a fact from the recent U.S. Census.

“In 2010, there were 38 million people counted that may not have completed a high school education,” Tindall-Gibson said during the ceremony at ’s Davis Auditorium.

And then he switched gears, moving his focus to a more positive fact.

“The people who are before you this evening are no longer in that group,” the superintendent said.

During a short ceremony in front of dozens of family members and friends, complete with much cheering and applause, 53 adults walked across the auditorium stage to be awarded their diplomas for completing the adult education program.

Their accomplishments — finishing a GED program, a National Extended Diploma program or a Credit Diploma program — were praised by borough officials and Board of Education members alike.

“Naugatuck Adult Education is an exemplary program in the state of Connecticut, so you should be proud of the diploma that’s in your hand,” said Valerie Marino, education consultant at Connecticut State Department of Education.

Deputy Mayor Tamath Rossi, one of the speakers Thursday evening, told the graduates it has always been a privilege attending the ceremony ever since she began going as a freshman burgess in 2003.

“The biggest challenge for me is trying to figure out how to speak to a group of individuals who inspire me,” Rossi said.

Rossi went on to give the analogy of how attaining an education is like running in a race; moving from the “I wish” mentality to the “I will” state of mind.

“You have been in a marathon and it is just the beginning,” Rossi said. “And you have taken the ‘I wish’ and turned it into an ‘I will.’”

Here is the full list of graduates:

Dena Barnwell

Ana Maria Belmonte

Taray Athon Britt

Chantel Patrice Cole

John J. Carboni

Corby Caro

Alexander M. Chavez

Christopher Cone

Maria A. DeMichele

Victor Dowgiallo

Donnie C. Edwards

Courtney Lee Ferrari

Sarah I. Fildes

Jacqueline L. Franklin

Erik A. Fritz

Benjamin Green

Alyssa Ann Harper

Tyler Hamuka

Douglas E. Haynes

Christine Johnson

David Johnson

Clydette V. Jones-McKennan

Erika Joo

Robert J.Keller

Marissa Ashley Kezelevich

Yescenia Lastra-Gonzalez

Ryan William Lathlean

Jennifer M. Leite

Victoria Loggins

Crusita Lopez

Jonathan Ryan Manzoori

Cassandra Leigh Marchant

Matthew Adam Marchant

Franklin D. Marin

Carolin Martinez

Bambi L. Messina

Raymond McDonald

Clare Mays Mills

Yvonne Murry

Jose F. Navarro

Virginia G. Ramirez

Timothy Ramos

Christopher A. Randall

Maria D. Rebelo

Ryan J. Rosler

Elisa Santiago

Hailey Iris Scrivener

Melissa A. Silveira

Theresa A. Spak

Caitlyn Marie Taylor

Stephanie Temple

Denise Velez-Camacho

Kenneth Waldo