By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.co
HANOVER – Authors are often advised to write about what they know. It turns out to be good advice for students writing commencement addresses.
For South Shore Tech culinary student Emma Mattuchio, one of the top three students in the graduating Class of 2024 leaned on her kitchen experience to illustrate the importance of hard work, and valedictorian Elizabeth Bartholomew reflected on her gymnastics competitions to relate some of the lessons sports have taught her.
As Emma spoke, the wind on the bright sunny morning took a stray graduation balloon aloft, and made for delightful temperatures.
“Working closely with [Culinary Arts Teacher Charles] Doucet, whether in shop or preparing for a culinary competition, has taught me that sometimes it really is the journey that matters more than the destination,” Mattuchio said. Sometimes things will not go the way we want them to. You may not have gotten into that college you really wanted to go to, an award went to someone else, or your cookies came out burnt.”
She learned that, rather than dwelling on the negative, it’s more productive to take a positive approach.
“Think of how many new friends and memories you will create at that other college, how proud you should be for even being considered for that award, or how delicious the cookie dough was when you snuck bites between scooping the cookies,” she advised. “Don’t let the outcome overshadow the journey, as the process itself has a lasting value.”
Bartholomew’s lesson struck a similar chord.
“Gymnastics is a sport where you are constantly judged, and where every error you make receives a deduction,” she noted. Gymnasts strive for perfection, but as we’ve all heard before “nothing is perfect.” While constantly being told that you’re making mistakes can feel disheartening to some, it’s rather inspiring to me. When I’m aware of an issue, I can work on it until I fix it, and I take this same approach outside of the sport.:
She advised classmates to think of perfection as a complex spectrum; made of many parts.
“Focus on individual parts, like a gymnast pointing their toes, straightening their legs, and keeping their head up,” she said. “You all have the opportunity to make alterations in how you present yourself, and working towards improving small things is far more effective than just trying to “be perfect.”
Experience itself is a good teacher, and in that respect the SST Class of 2024 is well-equipped. Assistant Principal/Director of Vocational education Keith Boyle said that the 123 senior class cooperative educational participants (of 180 total SST participants) – 80 percent of the graduating class.
Boyle said it was the largest number of co-op seniors in the school’s history.
“Together, our co-op students have collectively worked over 65,000 hours throughout the school year,” Boyle said. “This is an outstanding effort that has resulted in earning more than $1.1 million.”
The senior class has also earned more than 400 industry-recognized credentials, all of which provides those students with a significant advantage as they embark on their future careers, Boyle said.
The students going on to college are attending a “wide array of competitive and prestigious colleges” and those entering the workforce “are well into a career in their trade, Principal Sandra Baldner said.
Salutatorian Luke Tierney vouched for the value of that experience.
“These hands-on experiences not only expanded our skill sets but also instilled in us the values of dedication, innovation, and collaboration,” he said. “As we reflect on our journey, it’s evident that our grade exceeded with our vocational abilities, setting us up as one of the greatest graduating classes in SST’s history. … Our time here has equipped us with the tools to face the future with confidence and determination. The hands-on experience and practical skills we’ve gained through our vocational education are invaluable assets that will serve us well in any endeavor we pursue.”
It was a message that echoed Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey’s address:
“High school graduations are typically a place where you would expect to hear a speaker tell graduates something about ‘entering the real world’ – but that would not be entirely accurate for this ceremony,” Hickey said. “The South Shore Tech experience, by design, immerses our students in the real world long before they put on a cap and gown at graduation. It does not mean our graduates possess all the answers but, Class of 2024, you have experience – life’s great teacher – to draw upon as you continue in the real world and make ongoing life choices.”
Following addresses by Vocational Student of the Year Kaylin Hicks, the presentation of vocational awards and diplomas, the wind carried off the heavy aroma of the ubiquitous victory cigars as confetti poppers sent silver, gold, and black scraps of mylar fluttering around the grounds.
“As you leave this school, you carry with you more than just technical skills. You carry the lessons of teamwork, the importance of reliability, and the value of continuous learning. These attributes will serve you well, no matter where life takes you,” Hicks told her classmates. “Remember, the journey does not end here. Education is a lifelong endeavor. The world will continue to change, and new technologies and challenges will arise. Your willingness to grow and evolve will be the key to your future success.”
As Bartholomew had said:
“Whether you decide to continue in your trade, join the military, attend college, or try something new, I know you’ll use the lessons you’ve learned throughout your time at SST. Each one of us has the chance to balance the obstacles life throws at us, swing to success, and flip unfortunate situations around. So whatever skill you’re looking to master next, you’ve got this!”

They’ve experienced a lot in the last four years – a lot of it pandemic-related – lost dances, remote classes, ever-changing masking policies and a feeling of isolation, but the Class of 2024 emerged from the other side stronger, more resilient and more committed to community and connected to classmates, some of whom they didn’t even know four years ago.
They’ve grown up and are ready to face an uncertain future in a changing world, finding inspiration from the poetry, music and dramas of their youths.
In her welcoming address, Class President Emily Diehl of Whitman compared it to the experience of meeting a new friend from Hanson on the first day of their freshman year, neither one sure they were headed to the correct classroom, but they bonded in that moment and became best friends.
“The story of Makenna [Marshall] and me is the story of every graduating Senior who has since become friends with others from the opposite town,” Diehl said. “Together we have not only shared a physical building but have also shared an incredible journey, filled with many amazing activities and memories.”
She credited the very nature of W-H being a regional high school with having that effect, as wonder about the others from the town next door led to real connections, underscoring the thought with mention of the poem, “The Cookie Thief,” about a woman in an airport who thought she was sharing her bag of cookies with a stranger, and upset when he took the last one – only to later discover he had shared his cookies with her.
“With an eye towards future endeavors ahead, it is crucial to recognize the importance of sharing,” she said. “Whether it’s an idea, a helping hand, a smile or even a cookie, we are truly fulfilled when we share, selflessly, with others.”
For Valedictorian Ainsleigh Cobis, the 12 years the Class of 2024 has spent in school has been but a few moments in the morning of the rest of their lives, and recalled a line from her mom’s favorite movie, “Hope Floats:” : “Begingings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it is what is in the middle that counts”.
She related how her decision to try to become valedictorian at age 15 was an uncertain step for her, not knowing how she might feel when, and if she reached that goal, and found that going on the journey may have been the most satisfying part of it all, even as she starts another journey in the fall at Harvard College.
“Class of 2024, this is your beginning. Reach for goals that appear to have an enticing journey, not just a rewarding end, because “it’s what’s in the middle that counts,’” she said, noting that selecting an AP psychology course was another journey – into the unexpected – which led her to her passion and discovery that being a psychologist was her career goal.
“Pick goals that seem appealing, but consider how you’re going to feel, who you are going to meet, and your opportunity for growth in the middle, because that’s what counts.” she said. “So the clock reads 5:30 a.m. Class of 2024, this is your sunrise. What are you going to do with your day?”
Salutatorian Nicole Donato, also found inspiration in the arts, leaning on the lyrics from songs by Fall Out Boy, which pointed her in a direction of self-acceptance and independence. When they sang “You are what you love, not who loves you.”
“Choosing to lead yourself outside the crowd will leave you free to be yourself, and free to make your own decisions,” she said. “In the end, it doesn’t matter what anybody thinks of you, because the only person everyone is thinking of is themselves. Trust me, nobody cares what you do or what you think, and that is a good thing. Be yourself, even if nobody else agrees.
“I hope you all choose to become your own leader.
“Lead yourselves into your careers, your higher education, or any other crazy dream you have. Don’t succumb to the pressures put on you by anybody, just be you. Just do it. We spent years being self-conscious teenagers, and now it’s time to be confident and strong adults.”
Student speaker Grace Cosgrave, who won the annual speech competition to address her classmates, looked to a favorite TV show for her message, describing the uncertainty fans of “Impractical Jokers” felt when two favorite cast members departed. But noted that learning to expect the unexpected has its rewards.
“As we embark on our individual journeys, and high school becomes just a distant memory, let us carry the spirit of friendship that has defined our time here,” she said. “May we continue to celebrate each other’s successes, lift each other up in times of need, and always cherish the bond that unites us as close as the ‘Impractical Jokers’ are.”
Wrapping up the speakers’ program, School Committee Chair Beth Stafford, Principal Dr. Christopher Jones and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak offered the advice of their experience, before the highest awards and diplomas were bestowed on the class.
“I think a word that describes this class is ‘Caring,” Stafford said. “So many of you are involved with helping each other and yourselves. You took a tragedy and started a chapter of Active Minds. … You belong to other groups, Best Buddies, Unified Sports, LGBTQ and many other inclusive groups. You look out for each other.”
She said it is a trait not always learned through education and since it has worked its way into their lives, she challenged them to keep it going.
“Relationships shape us into the people we are,” Szymaniak said, describing the Class of 2024 as inclusive, gracious, accomplished and kind. “Relationships you have developed and are committed to will last long after … all the pomp and circumstance of tonight … I hope you become the best human being you can be.”
Jones offered some non-academic pointers he referred to as “other things” the class would need to know: forces beyond your control may take away all you own except your freedom to decide how you respond; and don’t aim at success. It should be an unintended consequence of dedication to what one cares most about.
“Success in life is mostly about control, who has it and what they do with it,” he said. “The rest is about the consistent small steps that keep you moving forward, regardless of any failures along the way. .. Be who you want to be, not what other define for you,”

HANSON – What better way to follow up Mother’s Day than a Monday afternoon tea with the first lady?
A couple of dozen ladies gathered at the Hanson Muli-Service Senior Center for tea, strawberry shortcake – and Eleanor Roosevelt – and while she hasn’t been first lady since May 1944 when her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs, Ga., Eleanor looked great for woman who’s been dead for 61 years herself.
The program, sponsored by the Senior Center’s Friends Group, included strawberry shortcake as the ladies, many wearing hats or fascinators for the occasion sipped tea in an assortment of china cups.
“I’d like to welcome you to Val-Kil, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, N.Y.,” Senior Center Director Mary Collins said. “I’m just setting the tone. … It is the summer of 1949, you have been invited as guests to a luncheon. Mrs. Roosevelt has planned a recognition ceremony for those who played a major role in feeding America during WWII.”
Set after Mrs. Roosevelt’s work on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, it takes place a couple of days after she returns from Paris and is hosting groups of old friends and fellow gardening enthusiasts at Val-Kil, her cottage on the grounds of Hyde Park.
The First Lady of the World, as she came to be known for her work for human rights advocacy, was brought back to life for an hour or so on Monday, May 13 by educator and historical interpreter Carol I. Cohen of Norton. But on this day the topic was Mrs. Roosevelt’s other passion – gardening – and the audience was part of the show.
“I’m purposefully portraying her when Franklin is gone and it’s later in her life,” Cohen said.
The second half of her presentation is a PowerPoint of garden photos and stories about Eleanor that “people don’t always hear about.”
Audience members were pulled into the narrative as everyone from a local garden club president, to fellow first lady Edith Wilson and published Henry Luce. This writer was mentioned in passing as a reporter from Ladies Home Journal.
“Edith! How are you?” she greeted the initially stunned Cathy Robinson. “When I met her … we might have called you President Wilson, referring to the period in which Edith Galt Wilson was acting president, beginning in September 1919, for a year and five months while President Woodrow Wilson recovered from a stroke.
Eleanor wanted to ensure her Washington D.C. and Virginia friends were welcomed by her Hyde Park friends.
Senior Center van driver, Bob Hyman, was addressed as a Richard D. Parker, who saved the Fenway Victory Gardens from destruction, and he also bemusedly played along.
“How was the trip up from Boston?” she said.
“Very nice, but there was so much noise on the train,” he said to laughter.
“For a very long time, I’ve wanted to do something to recognize people who did something very, very wonderful to help feed America during the war,” said “Eleanor,” before handing out “certificates” to a few in the audience.
Cohen related how Mrs. Roosevelt was interested in war gardens since people had grown them during the first world war, becoming re-introduced to them during her WWII travels as the “victory gardens” people were planting.
“I wanted to portray somebody that I believed in, that was a champion of women’s rights, but also a friend of mine at the time, who was also my student, portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt in the class,” she said.
Her student did such a great job it gave her the idea. Cohen traveled to Hyde Park a lot while researching her programs.
Cohen is also writing a short book about Eleanor Roosevelt, titled “Lessons from Eleanor.”
A college professor by trade, Cohen has taught at Leslie University.
“I teach teachers and I have a 50-year theater background,” she said before getting into character. “I wasn’t intending to do this as a theatrical thing, I was going to do a lecture, but I decided since some of my students had to portray people, I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to portray someone.’”
She used to assign her students to portray characters for five minutes, and she started at 10, but now does a half-hour on one of three program topics:
At Home with Eleanor Roosevelt; The Human Rights Declaration at 75 and this day’s program, A Walk Through the Garden with Eleanor Roosevelt.
What she doesn’t do is “the voice.” She’s been doing her interactive presentations since 2016.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s high-pitched voice was distinctive, but something she was rather embarassed by.
When Cohen performed one of her programs for a critique from her mom, she said, “It’s really great, just don’t use the voice. She was right, and you know what? I’m not an actress.”

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com
HANSON – Birds do it, bees do it. Mammals and reptiles, amphibians, insects, fish, and birds do it.
In some areas of the oceans, entire beaches are made up of the result of fish having done it. Ants and ladybugs fight over whether aphids should even get the chance to do it – and it seems butterflies are the only creature on earth that don’t do it.
Poop happens all the time and everywhere, and it seems no one likes to talk about it more than kids.
Except, maybe Susie Maguire.
A native of London who grew up in Rockford, Ill., and Pittsburgh, Pa., the eldest girl in a family of seven children with five younger siblings, she had learned a thing about kids – and poop – over her lifetime. She now lives in southern Netherlands and takes her online Poop Museum on the road to present her educational and entertaining program for kids.
Her large family, she said, was the source of her initial interest in her subject matter.
“Constantly, there was just poop, poop, it was just funny in our house,” she said after her hour-long presentation on how excrement figures into everything from digestion and cleansing the body to marking territory, showing off for prospective mates and even – in some species – nourishing their young. “I’ve always had a very lavatorial sense of humor and, during COVID, I was doing programs online for children and mucking around with my nephew – doing his normal, poopy, lavatorial thing – and I thought, ‘I should make up a poop museum.’”
A lifelong educator, Maguire, who has lived “all over the world” brings a world of poop to her young fans.
“I love [their] energy and enthusiasm for the subject,” she said.
Her program included a taste sample of “honey dew” honey made with the sweet-tasting poop of aphids, and a whiff of elephant poop, which smells like grass, she said, because that is what it is almost entirely composed of, and a sheet of paper to take home made from elephant dung. The children also received a certificate designating them as official members of “The Poo Crew” possessing “profound poo knowledge” of the subject, after the program.
Maguire worked her way through the animal kingdom – from the tiny aphid, daintily defecating a sweet-tasting bubble that ants covet, to the emphatic “poop tornado” emitted by the hippopotamus and spread with the aid of its propellering tail to ward of threats and impress females – using stuffed toys, photos and videos to illustrate her talk.
“My name is Susie, and I just absolutely love the poo, anybody else?” she said as youngsters’ hands went up. Her mission: to convince those who did not raise their hands that “poop is very spectacularly awesome.”
“The interesting thing about poop is that it is not just brown and stinky,” she said. “Sometimes it’s black, sometimes it’s white, sometimes it’s orange, sometimes it’s yellow, sometimes it’s pink, sometimes it’s red, sometimes it’s blue, sometimes it’s purple, sometimes it’s green – there’s lots and lots of colors of poop in the world. Not only does it come in different colors, there is poop that is sweet and tasty.”
To the delight of her young audience, and to the discomfort of some of their parents she discussed the scatological habits of dozens of species, including humans.
Some highlights:

• Snails can poop all the colors of the rainbow. “They basically poop whatever color they eat,” Maguire said, especially since they eat cardboard and paper for calcium and carbonate for shell repair. “Whatever color cardboard and paper you give them, that’s what color they’re going to poop.
• Aphids’ sweet poop bubbles, that ants covet so much, causes them to fight off lady bugs, who eat aphids, so the ants can ingest said poop bubbles that are the byproduct of the aphids’ diet of the sugars in plants.
• Bees can’t poop all winter because they can’t fly in the cold. So when they emerge in spring, a lot of yellow bee poop happens. “It looks like mustard,” Maguire said. They also eat aphid poop as part of their honey production.
• Butterflies don’t poop at all because they only drink nectar, blood, urine, the water in puddles and the fluid in other animals’ poop ie: “poop juice.” But that’s OK, because as caterpillars they eat and poop constantly, and usually at the same time.
• Egg-layers like birds, reptiles and amphibians have a single sphincter called the cloaca through which they urinate, defecate and lay eggs.
• Parrot fish defecate bits of rock and coral the fish had ingested in their feeding on algae. The rock and coral are ground into grains of sand as the fish passes the indigestible material.
  “If you are on a tropical beach, then the beach is almost entirely made up of parrot fish poop,” she said. Atolls are created, in part, the same way, as parrot fish poop 1,000 pounds of sand a year.
• Sloths only poop once a week. They are so slow, it is very dangerous for them to do. Many are killed by predators in the attempt. But, if they survive, because they have just rid themselves of one-third of their body weight, they do a kind of dance.
• Humans, if they are healthy, very in the way of little food particles is found in the passing of the “perfect human poop,” because the body absorbs the rest of ingested food to fuel the body.
  “Your body turns your food into your body,” Maguire said.
• Elephants’ poop is mostly food, she said as she passed around sample to sniff.
  “It smells just like grass,” she said. “That’s because it is grass. Elephants poop out enormous amounts of the grass they eat. … Animals eat each others’ poop, animals eat their on poop, but there are a whole bunch of animals that eat their parents’ poop.”
• Rabbits, koalas, elephants, hippos, pandas and termites produce two kinds of poop. One is waste, the other is a partially-digested form that their offspring count on for their diet. Rabbits take it further by eating the partially digested poop for their own nutritional needs.
  There are also insects that camouflage themselves as poop, or cover themselves with excrement for protection from predators.

HANSON – “Some days you win, some days you lose, some days it rains,” off-kilter rookie phenom pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh intoned during his first big Major League news interview in the 1988 film “Bull Durham.”
Well, it rained Saturday, April 6, on the Hanson Little League’s Opening Day parade – and no one seemed to mind much, except for the fact that the Pitch, Hit & Run contest, as well as the scheduled games, had to be postponed.
The opener marked the 25th year of Hanson Little League’s charter with Little League International, and it would take more than a little rain to dampen that celebration.
The morning began with the promise of the sun peeking through clouds after a few days of sometimes heavy rain and, while the air was raw, parents and excited players – from T-ball to the Major League levels – gathered at the Town Hall green to receive new baseball caps and T-shirts, emblazoned with the name of the sponsoring business on the back, before marching to Botieri Field.
The rain held off long enough for a Hanson ambulance and fire engine to crawl up the hill on Liberty Street, sirens blaring, ahead of the teams and family members.
But just as the opening ceremonies were getting underway, a misty rain set in, and by the time Hanson Little League President Robert Kniffen began to speak, it intensified, driven by a steady wind.
“Baseball breaks your heart,” former MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti wrote, but, as Kniffen noted, it also symbolizes community.
“Little League is a community game, played in thousands of communities across the world and there’s no better community than [the one] you are in right now – Hanson, Massachusetts,” Kniffen said. “As you can see, it’s truly a community effort, from the moms and dads, the aunts and the uncles, our first responders – so much goes into making this a special season.”
Opening ceremonies included former Hanson Little League board member and League President Paul Clark threw out the ceremonial First Pitch and a player selected from each team went to the pitchers mound to yell “Play ball!”
And the season was on.
“In addition to Paul’s 11 years serving the board, and three years as president of the board, Paul also spearheads the Damien’s 5K Freaky Road Race fundraiser, which also benefits community programs, including Hanson Little League,” Kniffen said.
He noted that Little League’s mission is to teach life lessons and build stronger individuals and communities.
“We all have an important role and an opportunity to teach and learn these life lessons through Little League baseball,” he said. “For the players, that means to … be a good teammate. To be a good friend. To do something kind – to help a teammate out. To be coachable – to listen to your coaches and what they’re teaching you.”
As glasses steamed up or got splattered with raindrops, a few umbrellas went up and several spectators turned their backs to the wind, Scouts from Troop 68 raised the flag as Brittney Prescott sang the national anthem.
Pastor Kris Skjerli of Calvary Baptist Church listed several MLB players who often credit their faith in their daily lives more than their on-field success, before offering the opening blessing.
“Thank you for men and women who have given their lives and their dreams to sports and baseball as we gather here today, and have been able to keep it in perspective,” he said in his blessing. “And I pray we can do the same this year, and have fun, play our hearts out and develop our skills. Give wisdom to the coaches, patience and understanding.”
He prayed that the players be protected from injury and that their attitudes and on-field behavior reflect respect for each other. The two attributes require no skill, but help players improve every day, Kniffen told the players ringing the ball field.
“In sports, and in anything else, there’s two things that you can control, and that’s your attitude and your effort,” Kniffen said. “It’s not how far you hit the ball. It’s not how fast you throw it. … We look for you to be a positive teammate.”
That means dependably showing up for every game and every practice, not complaining or giving up, by always trying your hardest and listening to coaches, no matter what the outcome.
“For the parents and families, it’s time to take a step back and appreciate the game in its purest form … it’s just kids, enjoying America’s pastime for the love of the game,” he said, reminding them that there are no contracts or scholarships being handed out by high-power scouts.
While there will be failures for players to experience, the consequences will be minimal, and parents were asked to keep that in mind.
“None of this would have been possible without the group and community efforts that have been put forth in the past year in preparation for today and this upcoming season,” Kniffen said. He gave a tip of the cap from the league to the players’ families’ participation and positive support; the league’s board of directors; coaches and volunteers who stepped up to lead teams this spring and the team sponsors, asking families to take note of sponsors’ advertising banners around the fields and support their businesses.
He also gave “a big thank you to the Hanson Fire and Police departments for their help in making the event a safe success.
Kniffen gave special recognition to Deputy Fire Chief Charlie Barends for donating his time to attend the annual coaches meeting to train coaches and volunteers on CPR, first aid and operating the use of AED machines as well as securing the three machines stored at the HLL fields for emergency cardiac use.
Kniffen also saluted the league’s fundraising partnership with Gold Athletics. Last year the partnership translated to $6,000 for the league, and this year they plan to exceed that.
Based on the current fundraiser’s success to date, that seems like a good bet.
Gold Athletics representative Matt Ross reported that, while, there has been success in the past two years of the partnership. Said he wanted to “address some of the pain points.”
Even though the families involved in Hanson Little League sold more than $17,000 worth of cookies dough last year, the company wanted to make it easier this year with a pretzel and waffle fundraiser in which orders will be shipped directly to customers’ homes anywhere in the country. As a result, three people are already close to their sales goal.
“We’re hoping to beat last year’s record,” Ross said. “Another new feature is somebody can actually just donate if they’d like to.”
Kniffen also asked the crowd to consider supporting Hanson Little League in other ways, such as the snack shack and raffles. One raffle, for four seats behind home plate at a Red Sox game, which will be drawn on April 26, and for tickets to an Aug. 10 New Kids on the Block concert tickets, for which more information will be soon be available about the $20 tickets.
All fundraising proceeds go directly back to the league.