THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 11, 2021 Page 19 ADDRESS | FROM PAGE 17 students we had to trudge our way through hours of google meets with a world of distractions at our fingertips, and for teachers school became a sea of unresponsive black squares in an increasingly grim virtual environment, talking about corona and all the tough stuff that it brought with it would be… say it with me now… super cliché. And of course, I was told I should include a personal high school story that inspires you, tugs at your heartstrings or makes you laugh. And while I could tell you all about my mental health crisis, coupled with depression, OCD and anxiety diagnosis, and how going back into school and seeing all of you guys again, even if it was just in passing, pulled me out of one of the darkest points in my life, of course, I wouldn’t. Because that would be – you get the idea. So now I’m here. More than halfway through my allotted time and I’ve basically talked about nothing. I guess, given the nature of the speech and the occasion, I probably shouldn’t have been so focused on avoiding clichés. They’re kinda how these things tend to go. Class President’s Address: ‘Class of 2021, I’m so proud of all of you because you made it’ By Harriet Gerochi Class President W hat’s up shorties? So I wrote my speech two days ago. Of course I’m procrastinating, but who didn’t this year? I think the other three before me spoke enough words plus Mastrangelo had a speech as well. To my advisors, thank you for stepping up when I know you’re probably tired of doing this. Hopefully, you won’t have to cover any other classes after that. To my class officers, we did it. I’ll be missing the dodgeball tournaments, volleyball, the car washes and the months that we spent every waking hour in the school for Junior Varieties. I would like to quickly thank my mom for being everything that I could ask for. I could go on about how much of an inspiration she has been for me, but she already knows what’s up. To my Papa, I just wanted to say that I made it and thanks for looking over me. Thank you to the family, friends and the staff that has helped me for the last four years. I’m sending you my love. Thank you for making my eighth grade little dream come true as I am here today as your class President. I hope that I’ve done a good enough job. Well, it seems like it from all the Snapchat’s I receive from people asking about the absent teacher list or any class events. I would just like to say that life is truly unexpected. Covid hit and we thought that it would just be a two-week vacation. Then, it turned into months of quarantining and here we are a year later. This class has missed So I guess I’ll fold. They told me I was supposed to provide you guys with some sage advice as we move forward into the next stage of life. And while I don’t really think that because I had a high number on a piece of paper that I deserve to give you advice, I’m already up here, so here goes. Embrace cliché. There’s a pretty big reason why things get so overstated that you groan when you hear them. It’s because, usually, what’s being said is pretty damn good stuff. So go with the flow, reach for the stars, follow your dreams and be true to yourself because that’s actually some pretty fine advice. In conclusion, I guess I want to apologize. I went into this calling this a snooze-fest and jabbing at the other speakers, but in reality, they’re doing it right. So if there’s one thing I guess I can leave you with, it’s to listen to these folks up here, clichés and all. This year, I made it my goal to change my relationship with these clichés. Hearing “Reach for the stars” isn’t someone telling me to fight my way to the top – it’s a call to action imploring me to seek out my own definition of success and to strive for that – and “Go with the flow” has morphed from someone telling me ~ Legal Notice ~ CONTRACT 2021-H-1 2021 ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS INVITATION TO BID THE CITY OF MALDEN invites sealed bids for Contract 2021-H-1 of its 2021 Roadway Improvements Program. Bids will be received at the office of the Malden Engineering Department, 215 Pleasant Street, 3rd Floor – Room 340, Malden, MA 02148, until 1:30 PM local time on Thursday, July 1, 2021 and at that place and time will be publicly opened and read aloud. In general, the work of this contract shall consist of the reconstruction of 3 streets, or portions thereof, in various locations totaling approximately 2,340 LF. The work includes reclamation of existing roadway pavements, excavation of existing pavements by cold planer, adjustment of utility structures, the construction of new roadway pavements, setting and resetting of granite curb, construction and reconstruction of cement concrete sidewalks, driveways and wheelchair ramps, and related appurtenant and incidental work. All bidders must be prequalified by Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in accordance with 720 CMR 5.00 Prequalification of Contractors. The contract will only be awarded to a MassDOT prequalified contractor. Harriet Gerochi Class President (Courtesy/Maldonian) most of their senior year, but we were able to pull through in the end. We got some seniors nights, red carpet, prom and, of course, we had to pull through with the skip day. At that moment, it was a sense of normalcy because we were swimming, playing volleyball, football and just having a good time. Clearly Enzo did with that fish in his bag and the bicycle he was riding around. I think we all needed that after the year we’ve had. I unexpectedly created relationships with people that I couldn’t have imagined a year ago. I can’t even express the impact you had on me this year, but I would just like to say my biggest thanks. I’d also like to give a quick shout out to Kenny for looking over my speech and motivating me to actually write it. Thank you VP. And to the Class of 2021, I’m so proud of all of you because you made it. You made this possible. Enjoy your summer and I wish you the absolute best for whatever the future holds for you. Contract Documents will become available Thursday, June 17, 2021 and may be examined and/ or obtained at the office of the Malden Engineering Department, 215 Pleasant Street, 3rd Floor – Room 340, Malden, MA 02148, Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. City offices are closed on Fridays. A deposit in the form of a check payable to the “City of Malden, Massachusetts” in the amount of $50.00 will be required for each set of the Contract Documents. A refund of the deposit will be made for Contract Documents returned in good condition within 4 weeks after bids are received. Bidder’s requesting Contract Documents by mail shall include an additional non-refundable check payable to “Hayner/Swanson, Inc.” in the amount of $40.00 per set to cover handling and mailing costs. The bids shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, satisfactory to the City, in the amount of five percent (5%) of the total bid. The bid security shall be in the form of a bid bond issued by a company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth; or a certified, treasurer’s or cashier’s check, issued by a responsible bank or trust company, payable to the “City of Malden, Massachusetts”. Cash deposits will not be accepted. A Performance Bond and a Labor and Materials Payment Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the bid will be required of the successful bidder. Contracts for work under this Proposal will obligate the Contractor and Subcontractors to comply with applicable Federal, State and local provisions regarding prevailing wage rates, insurances, labor, equal employment opportunity, anti-discrimination and affirmative action. Bids may be held by the City of Malden for a period not to exceed sixty (60) calendar days from the date of the opening of bids for the purpose of reviewing the bids and investigating the qualifications of bidders, prior to awarding the Contract. The City of Malden reserves the right to waive any informalities or to reject any or all bids received if deemed to be in their best interest. CITY OF MALDEN BY Yem Lip, P.E. City Engineer Malden Engineering Department June 11, 2021 to calm down to allowing me to turn my boat around and stop paddling so hard all the time. And by recontextualizing these phrases, I’ve imbued them with my own meaning, something that resonates with me and truly does help. And while I know that hearing them hundreds of times can make them sound like little more than white noise, I implore you all to do the same and look at them with fresh eyes. Oh also, before I go – huge shout outs to Jason Yao and Henry Nguyen for being there for me for the past four years, this year especially. I love you guys.
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