Hershey High School (HHS) welcomed 290 new alumni with the graduation of the Class of 2022. Commencement was held on June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The high school orchestra played "Pomp and Circumstance" as the students processed into the arena and later performed the alma mater and the recessional, "War March of the Priests" by Mendelssohn. A cantabile performance, "In Remembrance" by Ames, featured the Class of 2022, along with Nicholas Martin on the French horn and Brian Carl on the piano.

Speakers at the ceremony included superintendent Stacy Winslow and HHS principal Lindsey Schmidt. "Hershey has a deep, rich tradition of principles and values," Schmidt said. "While we have shaped them, nurtured them, and imagined them during your schooling, now it is your time to reimagine your traditions. Those traditions have been given to you by Hershey High School, Derry Township School District, your community, your families, and your heritage. Now is the time to build on what you've become over the last 13 or so years. You can reinvent it. You can redesign it. You can certainly upgrade it. You can be You 2.0. And you can leave these new and even better traditions with everyone you meet. This is your legacy."

Students who took the podium were class president Mofifoluwa Oladipo, Academic Honoree Speaker Marissa Kopec, and Faculty's Choice Speaker Ece Aydogan.

Oladipo highlighted the resilience and perseverance her class has exhibited and how those traits will serve graduates well. "In the last few years, we have been forced to grow up in preparation for the next phase of our lives," she stated. "Starting something new will take its toll on all of us, but we are a strong class. We have not had it easy throughout our years of high school. If anything, we have proved that in the face of adversity we will prevail, and from this moment on, everything we know will change."

Kopec suggested how to find the pathway to happiness. "No matter how much we will it so, happiness is not something that is earned, worn, consumed, or owned," she emphasized. "It is gratitude that is the gateway to joy."

Aydogan focused on the role that past experiences play in molding people. "Every single moment and version of our past selves has shaped us into the human beings we are today, ready to succeed and conquer the obstacles of the future - ready to embrace new opportunities and excel in situations that we have yet to encounter," she said. "Our past hardships, wanted or not, develop strength and resilience within ourselves."

To watch the ceremony, visit https://tinyurl.com/HHS2022commencement.