THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, June 7, 2019 Page 11 Saugus High School Graduation 2019 School Committee Member Morgante experiences a double thrill handing diplomas to her twin children By Mark E. Vogler L isa Morgante had two super reasons to savor last Friday night’s commencement exercises at Saugus High School. Twins. Her son Jake and her daughter Jana both received their High School diplomas during the graduation ceremonies at Stackpole Field. “I’m very proud of them, and my emotions are just so overwhelming right now,” the tearyeyed School Committee member said as she posed with the two college-bound 18 year olds. “Four years at Saugus High is just a stepping stone for them, because they will both be attending Fitchburg State,” she told The Saugus Advocate. Jake, a co-captain and football star at Saugus High, plans to play on the Fitchburg State football team. He hasn’t declared a major at this point. Meanwhile, Jana, who is an Honors graduate, plans to concentrate in Early Childhood EdSEVEN GREER | from page 10 vious charm and good looks, but people used to think I was a monster. And for a long time, I believed them. But after a while, you learn to ignore the names that people call you, and you just trust in who you are.” Through your whole life there are going to be people who call you a monster, or a smelly ogre, and it can be tempting to change yourself to please them, but I believe this class’s strongest asset is the trust in who we truly are. Nobody’s faking it. Even in defeat, we’re real. We don’t place blame, point fingers, or cry unfair. We can admit where we sucked, learn from the loss, and move forward. And we’ve all certainly had our defeats. We’ve taken some losses, but we roll with the punches and keep our heads up. One of the most important things we’ll walk away from Saugus High School with is the ability to go with the flow. Very little about our experience was consistent, except maybe the ceiling leaks. Things were switched up on us constantucation and Special Needs as her field of study, according to her mother. “I got to hand them their diplomas tonight – to Jake and Jana,” Morgante said. “This is one of the best times of my life – absolutely. There’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears along with many great moments over these last four years. So, watching my twins graduate was something special,” she said. But for Morgante, a 1988 Saugus High School graduate, it ly. We put up with construction way back at Belmonte, and then at Saugus High. All our teachers’ rooms were moved around, as though the building weren’t already annoying enough to navigate. They decided to lock up the bathrooms like a bank vault. We ran through like, seven different VPs in our four years. And yet, here we are. After all the trials and tribulations of the ever-changing Saugus school experience, we all made it out, not only surviving, but thriving. And we took it all with ease! We may have complained here and wasn’t the first time she handed a diploma to one of her children. “Tyla, my oldest, graduated in 2017,” Morgante said. “And the twins will get to join her in the fall at Fitchburg State, where she’ll be going into her junior year. Tyla is studying Early Childhood Education as well as minoring in deaf students education,” she said. TWIN GRADUATES: School Committee Member Lisa Morgante, center, got to celebrate last Friday’s Saugus High graduation with her daughter, Jana, left, and son, Jake, right. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) there but we really just rolled with it. This class made the best of what we were given. And in an unforgiving, ever-changing world that we’re about to step into, that ability will be the most important tool we take away from Saugus High. Now, this might sound weird, but I wanted to avoid talking to extreme lengths about high school today. I really don’t think that’s what today is all about, y’know? What we’ve already done isn’t the point. What’s really important is where we’re headed from here. I think of today not as the end of something big, but the start of something much bigger. There’s this rumor going around – you might have heard it – that high school is the best four years of your life. Odds are, any adult who’s preached that to you has probably had a pretty dull life. Do not let high school be the best years of your life, please. We all have incredibly bright futures ahead of us, but that can only happen if we let it. Look around. We are the generation of the future. The future generation of doctors. The fuSEVEN GREER | SEE PAGE 21 WE WORK FOR YOU! * Have your car repaired by Real Manufacturer Certiified Technicians * An I-CAR GOLD CLASS SHOP Highest Certificate in the Repair Industry * Premier Insurance Co. 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