CONGRATULATIONS TO GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2012!

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Lakewood High School seniors, 369 of them, marched across the stage to receive their high school diploma on Sunday, June 10, in front a packed Civic Auditorium full of their family and friends. Before receiving their diplomas from Board of Education President Betsy Bergen Shaughnessy and congratulations from Superintendent Jeff Patterson, the class heard from classmates A.J. Graber, Gwen Stephen and valedictorian Nina Pizzo.

Graber, who said he came to LHS reluctantly his sophomore year after spending a year at St. Ed's, told of how he "fell in love with LHS" and its welcoming environment and that his greatest lesson learned was "to not pass judgment and to keep an open mind."

Stephen, who along with Graber was selected by her class peers to speak at the ceremony, reminded her classmates that "these are nowhere near the best days of our lives" but that "far better things are ahead than what we leave behind" and they should enjoy every moment.

Pizzo wrapped up the speeches by sharing the lessons she learned from her grandmother, a lover of Frank Sinatra, who found her happiness in listening to the crooner. She asked her classmates to "find the Frank" of their lives and to think of what truly makes them happy. "We are presented with so many doors ... we should love what we are doing," she said.

One touching moment at the beginning of the ceremony came when LHS Principal Bill Wagner asked everyone to be mindful of the one classmate who was missing, Sherwon Wanzo, who was killed in April in a shooting. "We will always carry with us his welcoming smile," Wagner said before presenting Wanzo's family with his diploma.

Prior to the presentation of diplomas, Wagner recognized several special student groups including those wearing National Honor Society stoles, French Honor Society ribbons, Career Technical Honor Society medals, students enlisting in the Armed Forces and the 33 students wearing Hawthorne Medals for finishing their high school careers with a 4.0 GPA or better.

Congratulations to these and all the Class of 2012 graduates!

View program and list of graduates here. The commencement ceremony will air on Cox Channel 74 every day at 7 a.m., 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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