Plainfield Seniors Celebrate Graduations

Nearly 1,950 seniors across four high schools in received their diplomas this weekend, marking the end of one journey and the start of the next.

and high school students graduated Saturday and and high school seniors graduated Sunday. Students will now prepare to attend colleges and universities, find jobs, and at least 43 students districtwide will enlist in the military.

More than 255 graduates districtwide obtained 5.0 grade-point averages during their high school careers.

“We are proud of the education that you have gotten in District 202 and hope that it serves you well in life after high school,” school board President Roger Bonuchi said in remarks on Monday. “But most of all, we are proud of you — for your hard work, dedication and accomplishment in and out of the classroom. Our graduates are our ‘ambassadors’ to the world, and they represent us well.”

At Plainfield East High School on Saturday, more than 425 seniors celebrated being the school’s second-ever graduating class, but the first-ever class to attend all four years at Plainfield East.

“Your graduation is an ending worth celebrating,” said school board member Kevin Kirberg, who passed out diplomas to the seniors.

East graduate Greg Fenton said that high school became home for him and many of his fellow classmates, a chance to discover who they were as people and carve a special niche for themselves. Many of the graduates can thank a teacher, a coach and their parents who helped them discover their passions and obtain their goals, he said.

And while the students plan to branch out in many directions, Fenton said they can always come home again.

“From this day on, we are not kids anymore,” he said. “There’s a whole world out there and a thousand memories waiting to be made.”