The 123rd class of Saucon Valley High School celebrated graduation exercises Saturday, June 6 in a unique ceremony in the parking lot of the district’s campus.

Families sat in their festively decorated vehicles as they watched the ceremony on the big screen and tuned their car radios to hear audio from speakers on this sunny, warm and breezy late-spring afternoon.

The ceremony was posted one day due to impending storms.

Each student was given one parking pass and was allowed as many guests as could fit inside one standard-sized vehicle. Only the students were allowed to leave their vehicle to receive their diplomas, aside from folks who needed the portable restrooms provided for emergency purposes. The ceremony was also available for live-streaming on the district’s YouTube channel.

Principal Tamara Gary started the ceremony by reminding attendees to follow CDC guidelines and urging them to honk their car horns in place of the usual applause. She then introduced Class of 2020 President Monem Rizvi and disinfected the microphone, as she would between each speaker throughout the ceremony.

Rizvi led off the student speakers with a compelling and heartfelt speech, expressing his thoughts on the outlook of the future of the senior class in this historic year.

“We weren’t given the same closure afforded to other classes,” he said, noting how many of their “lasts,” such as their last “popcorn chicken bowl day” at lunch, were unbeknownst to them at the time.

The unprecedented nature of the Class of 2020’s circumstance continued to be a central theme of the remainder of the ceremony.

Class Vice President Paige Pennizotto introduced valedictorian Kennedy Morgan, who spoke fondly of her junior year, highlighting her first Mini-THON experience, in which students stayed on their feet for 12 hours straight to raise money for the Four Diamonds Foundation to help conquer childhood cancer. The fundraiser ultimately raised $30,962.82. Morgan said the event showed her that “we as a small school from a small town in Pennsylvania could make a difference in the world.” She also spoke proudly of the friends she’s made and the support of the faculty and closed by saying “at the end of the day, we may not be Saucon Valley students anymore, but we will always be Panthers.”

Next, Zachary Appel, class salutatorian, recounted memories of his athletic career with Saucon Valley soccer and other organizations, and the life lessons they taught him. Appel drew analogies between the challenges of daily life and athletic conquests, recalling that his most memorable and satisfying victories have consistently been the most vigorously-fought contests, including some defeats.

“Soccer made me realize not every moment is a victory like this,” he said. By suffering adversity, “we are prepared to overcome whatever is thrown at us.”

Abigail Altemose, Student Government Association president, spoke briefly to honor award and scholarship winners as well as students who earned extracurricular achievements. These are usually celebrated during an annual awards ceremony, which had to be canceled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Class Secretary Anna Inglis gave a short presentation honoring the Class of 1970 on their 50th anniversary, a tradition started just last year. She recounted pop culture touchstones and other memories of 1970 and acknowledged two members of the class who were in attendance to see family members graduate. Linking past generations of Saucon Valley graduates with today’s departing students was the highlight of Inglis’ closing words: “Once a Panther, always a Panther.”

Inglis introduced Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler who spoke briefly, expressing gratitude for having the opportunity to meet and interact with many students over his tenure. He shared some memories, such as the time that he “crashed” a sophomore year gym class to play a few rounds of knockout. Butler went on to recognize the nine members of the Saucon Valley School Board and elaborated on some of the challenges the district has faced in recent times.

“I thank and congratulate the faculty on a job very well done,” he said in closing.

Class Treasurer Nicholas Snead introduced the first faculty speaker, Melissa Maynard, who teaches literature and other language arts courses.

“For the last 85 days, your lives have been put on hold… I do not want to dwell on what you have lost,” she said, giving what was a positive, motivating speech.

Her closing segment was evocative of the Class of 2020’s experience.

“Last, but certainly not least,” she said, “always remember that Saucon may be on the path behind you, but we are always here to help if you ever lose your way. We will always remember you not as a class that missed out, but as a class that had the strength to weather it all.”

Up next was the second faculty presenter, the popular and boisterous Mario Marcozzi, who gave a rousing speech. He led off his speech with humor, saying that Snead gave him “a better introduction than I deserve.” He then added his traditional greeting of “Hello Saucon Valley, it’s FRIDAYYYY!,” a student favorite, despite the fact that the ceremony was postponed by a day due to weather concerns.

His remarks centered around the tenets of improvisation, adaptation and overcoming adversity,who put the ceremony together on such short notice, stressing their demonstration of improvisation and adaptation, as well. He concluded with a message of overcoming adversity, saying “the way your class has handled these sacrifices is admirable. You have shown yourself to be a class that possesses great integrity.”

Student-selected speaker Talitha Diggs closed this portion of the ceremony. The Five-Star Track and Field recruit has won numerous awards and honors, in addition to being voted Homecoming Queen, inducted into the National Honor Society member and earning a full scholarship to University of Florida.

She spoke with confidence and poise, thanking her parents, school administrators and faculty, as well as what she called “the greatest senior class in the history of Saucon Valley.” She utilized a few quotes from pop culture figures to highlight the struggles and obstacles she and her classmates have overcome, quoting both popular rapper Drake with “I was born to make mistakes, not fake perfection” and poet Maya Angelou, saying “now that we know better, we do better.” Diggs became emotional as her speech came to a close, saying “my love for this community (and) my love for the senior class is what keeps me going.”

The last presentation before the diploma distribution was from the Saucon Valley HS Choir, performing “The Innocence” by Craig Hella Johnson. The big screen displayed the impressive presentation, created digitally through audio and video submitted by students singing at home with direction from music teacher Chad Miller.

Principal Gary then certified the graduates and the students approached the stage one-by-one to receive their diplomas and pose for photographs. Each student was identified by a graphic with their names and accolades displayed on the big screen and the YouTube live-stream.

The event wrapped up with the traditional “turning of the tassel” and singing of the Saucon Valley Alma Mater while many students and families chose to leave their cars for embraces and photo opportunities. High School Vice Principal Amy Braxmeier concluded the ceremony by thanking the administrators and faculty who helped put the event together as well as Mobile Technology Graphics as she congratulated the Saucon Valley Class of 2020 one last time.