Bellwood-Antis High School celebrated commencement for the 2023-24 school year on May 30 at Memorial Stadium.
Graduates, faculty, administration, family, and friends gathered to celebrate the journey of the Class of 2024, which both valedictorian Vincent Cacciotti and Principal Richard Schreier noted was anything but ordinary. The class began senior high in the fall of 2020 when districts across the country were dealing with restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2024 returned that year to hybrid learning, masks, one-way stair cases, and limited fan attendance at sporting events.
Things improved in 2021, but it wasn’t until the class’s junior year that learning returned completely to normal for an entire year.
Cacciotti, salutatorian Corry Shanafelt, class president Thad Dick, and BluePrint editor Olivia Hess each addressed the class and the crowd.
Guest speaker Josh Rimmey, who graduated in 2009, delivered a speech that combined humor, memories, and philosophical wisdom along with words of advice. Rimmey encouraged students to be open to new people and new ideas as they move forward in life. He also reflected on his days at Bellwood-Antis, when he participated in school musicals and used class projects to nurture his passion for film making.
Rimmey, who now lives in Washington state, is a director working for a production company called Black Coffee Productions, which he founded with fellow 2009 B-A alumni Nathan Larimer and Elijah Austin, as well as college friend Zach Williams. He has directed videos for artists ranging from the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovatto to Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Superintendent Edward DiSabatto and school board president Kathy Burch also addressed the class before the group received its diplomas and turned the tassels.
You can view two separate slide shows from the night here and here.
