TOWAMENCIN- It was a night of smiles, laughter, tears, and celebration in Crawford stadium on June 7th as the Class of 2018 turned their tassels from right to left. Thousands of family, friends, and staff filled the bleachers to support the 986 students dressed in blue cap and gowns. Principal Dr. Bauer started off the commencement ceremony reflecting on his unique share of memories with the graduating class.

“This night is representative of everything you do in public education: watching kids, their smiles, how proud their parents are, that’s what it’s all about. It’s really rewarding, it’s especially rewarding because this is my first class. We came in together. Our graduation is second to none and I’ve been to a lot of graduations, so it’s just fun celebrating with them. It’s all about them, it’s not about us. It’s fun just watching them smile and shaking their hands,” said Dr. Bauer proudly.

Each member of the faculty and staff were glowing with pride as they watched their students celebrate their accomplishments and receive their diplomas.

“It’s quite exciting watching them come in as ninth graders some of them, and others as sophomores, and then watching them mature over the three years and then leave. I hope they enjoyed their athletic experience here. We certainly enjoyed having them and it’s kind of tough to watch them go. Now it’s nice to see they’ve matured and now they’re on their way to better and bigger things in life. All we can do is say best of luck!” commented Athletic Director Mr. Bartle.

In a school with over 3,000 students, we all have one thing in common: we are all Knights. Student Government Association President Anissa Gardizy emphasized the sense of unity that resonated within every graduate on Thursday night.

“Our class is so big, just looking amongst the field it’s crazy to think we don’t know everybody, but we’ve all made our own connections and found our own way. We’re all graduating with a different story from the same building. It’s cool to see everyone’s success here at graduation, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the future.”

“It’s surreal, I’m really excited. Everything is kind of just a blur right now, with everything going so fast I think it’s going to hit me afterwards that I actually graduated. I have mixed emotions, I’m happy and sad,” said Class President Maggie Walsh.

Each graduate took Commencement as a chance to look back on their years at North Penn, but also as a chance to look forward.

“I think of graduating as another word for opportunity. We have so many new opportunities to go out and do new things, meet new people, and to follow our aspirations wherever they take us,”  shared Valedictorian Palak Shah.