Julia Perkins | June 10, 2021Updated: June 10, 2021 6:25 p.m.
DANBURY — Nearly 850 Danbury High School students graduated Thursday in two outdoor ceremonies.
The first ceremony at 2 p.m. at the high school’s stadium saw 440 students graduate, with 402 seniors at the second 5 p.m. ceremony. In total, 842 students graduated.
The students sat on chairs on the field, while family members were in the stadium seats. The ceremonies were live streamed on YouTube.
“As the senior class, you were stripped of many events that make high school years memorable — homecoming, sporting events, crowds, a high school whole class graduation,” Principal Dan Donovan told the students. “You were left with Google Meets, long days sitting in a chair and learning to communicate while wearing a mask. But you know something, you all did it.”
Caleb Schlissel earned valedictorian, while Viktoria Wolff-Andersen was salutatorian.
Speakers included Melody Dayrit and Aleena Jacob. Class advisers were Emina Mesanovic and Nicole Gurney.
Donovan reflected on how he’s watched many of the students grow up. His son is graduating this year.
“Most principals can say they watched their students grow from 9th to 12th grade,” he said. “I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of watching some of you grow from the time you were in kindergarten.”
