THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 11, 2021 Page 11 Malden High School Principal Mastrangelo: 'You have proven you can handle tough challenges, uncertainty' By Chris Mastrangelo Malden HS Principal W ell, here we are. Minutes from receiving your diplomas after years of working towards earning them. Year in and year out high school students across the country walk across a stage as their names are read. They hear cheers from friends and family, and pose for some pictures. In many places it has almost become cliche to quote Jake. That is not the case in Malden. You see, the journey for so many of you was anything but cliche. For some it began in parts of the world that are far from this stadium in the middle of this city. For others it began as close as Edgeworth, Maplewood, or Bowdoin St. But for all of you, the path to today’s graduation went directly through a global pandemic. For 15 months high school students across the world were dealing with this. Beyond the normal pressures and anxieties that come with being months dragged on. In my business, I am supposed to have answers, but I didn’t. I am supposed to have some sort of lesson to pass along, but I didn’t. Like I said, I am supposed to be able to put a positive spin on things, but I couldn’t. But as I stepped back and tried Chris Mastrangelo MHS Principal a high school student, you were dealing with the fear, isolation, and uncertainty of Covid. On more than one occasion in my life I have been accused of being overly positive. I tend to focus on the good that can come from something that is not so good. But if I am being honest, that was increasingly more difficult as the past 15 to make sense of everything, I noticed something. Our kids were pushing through. Yes, they were sad and isolated from their school, their teachers, and their friends but they started to push through. The resilience that our kids were showing began to shift the mindset of the adults around them. The teachers became the students. We leaned on you! Slowly, we moved forward. We were on even ground and realized that we needed each other to get well. We were healing together. Our lives began to shift towards a sense of normalcy. We were letting students back into the building to learn. We were MASTRANGELO| SEE PAGE 21 WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 STAY SAFE! SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY Call for a Quote 617-387-7466 Or email Rocco@sabatino-ins.com We cover: Photo by Ussama Azam Right by you. Right by all. A COMMUNITY BUILT ON LOVE IS ONE WE’RE PROUD TO SUPPORT. EVERETT BANK CELEBRATES PRIDE MONTH AND BANKING FOR ALL. 419 BROADWAY, EVERETT MA 02149 Right by you. 61 7-38 7 - 1 1 10 7 7 1 SALEM ST, LYNNFIELD MA 01940 7 8 1 - 7 7 6 - 4444 WWW.EVERETTBANK .COM Member FDIC Member DIF * Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma www.eight10barandgrille.com We Have Reopened for Dine-In and Outside Seating every day beginning at 4 PM http://www.sabatino-ins.com SABATINO 564 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-7466 Hours of Operation are: Mondays - Fridays 9am to 5pm Saturdays by appointment only
12 Publizr Home