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
