Being fearful of criticism will be natural, but the walls of fear are paper-thin. Be the Kool-Aid Man; smash through those walls, because only then can you start to understand what you truly believe in.”

Evan Denard, PHS math teacher and guest speaker

PORTSMOUTH — After joking about why anyone would want a math teacher to share inspirational and philosophical wisdom with graduating high schoolers entering their next journey in life, Evan Denard did just that.

In doing so, however, the guest speaker at Portsmouth High School’s commencement ceremony Friday night promised to make his entire speech “clichéd and overly hackneyed” by using the inspirational quote calendar he keeps on his desk.

“Try harder; people enjoy watching you struggle,” was the message from April 9, 2021, Denard said. Another one, from June 9 of that year, was “You have a lot of nicknames you don’t know about.” An upcoming quote from June 22, 2022 — “I actually cheated on this one (and) looked ahead in the calendar,” he said — was “If something scares you, do it. Worst-case scenario, you’ll die and you won’t have to make any other difficult decisions.”

Putting the jokes aside, Denard then got to the crux of his speech by sharing the calendar’s quote from Jan. 14, 2022: “Respect yourself. No one else will.”

A few years ago, when “COVID became a thing,” Denard said he started thinking about happiness. “I came to the stark realization that I wasn’t happy and I was fed up with it,” he said.

In that moment of self-reflection, he made the decision to be happy by being true to himself.

“I came out as a gay man,” Denard said. “Am I shaking? Yep. Am I afraid of the consequences that may come for having said that? Without a doubt. Do I regret saying it? Absolutely not. I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy choice, or maybe even a well-liked choice. But to me, it was the right choice. And it feels so great getting to know the real me.”

Likewise, he urged graduates to ignore “the outside noise” that tells them to act a certain way and to “listen to how you feel.”

“Being fearful of criticism will be natural, but the walls of fear are paper-thin. Be the Kool-Aid Man; smash through those walls, because only then can you start to understand what you truly believe in,” Denard said. “So, Class of 2022, I wish you nothing but the best. And always remember, be true to yourself — whoever that may be.”

Graduation speeches

The rain held off Friday night, allowing 200 graduating members of the Class of 2022 to collect their diplomas on the Portsmouth High School baseball field, as family and friends cheered them on from around the base paths and middle infield.

Two seniors gave graduation speeches: Maria Chytka, selected by the faculty; and Zach Karousos, chosen by students.

Chytka, one of eight graduates going on to attend a service academy later this month — an unprecedented number — spoke about the importance of lifelong learning. “Learning is not a chore or a to-do. It

is a frame of mind. We can actively learn in a variety of ways,” she said.

As an example, she recounted the story of Daniel Inouye, who became the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in American history, serving as U.S. senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. At 17, Inouye had ambitions of being a surgeon and volunteered at the local Red Cross in Hawaii. 

He treated the wounded during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and later volunteered to join the Army after graduation. However, he and many of his peers were rejected for being descendants of Japanese immigrants, and were even labeled “enemy aliens,” Chytka said. 

“Despite the unfair discrimination, Daniel and the others don’t back down,” she said. “They petition the White House for their right to serve and are eventually allowed to do so in segregated units. Daniel, although exempt from service due to starting his pre-med studies, drops everything to join the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team.”

Inouye quickly climbed the ranks and earned various honors, but sustained severe injuries during battle, including being shot in the stomach and nearly losing an arm during battle. Despite his heroics, after being discharged he still faced discrimination as a highly decorated veteran. He put his dreams of being a surgeon behind and instead devoted his life to equal rights, earning a law degree using his GI bill.

“From Daniel Inouye’s experiences, we can see that lifelong learning is

more than just academics; it is about taking what life gives you and doing

something with it,” Chytka said. “We will all have our highs and lows, our good and bad decisions. It is the openness and resilience we choose that determines how wise we become. Everyone has something more to learn.”

Karousos started his speech by recounting something one of the regulars at his family’s restaurant, The Blue Plate Diner in Middletown, said to him: “We do not have any substitute for experience.” The phrase stuck with him, especially how it related to a worldwide pandemic that turned his classmates’ educational experience upside down.

“What we lacked in in-person classes we more than made up for in COVID-related experiences,” he said. “Our class is extraordinarily smart, positive, athletic, and hardworking. But any class can say that about themselves. What sets us apart is the many months we spent learning behind a screen or a mask. No other class can say that they

made their lunch while being taught how to divide polynomials. We accomplished something completely foreign to the entire world, and that is something to be proud of.”

The pandemic, he added, has not only made the class stronger, “but it’s also taught us to appreciate the normal. We now know how lucky we are to be able to come into school every day, and how lucky we are to have had a normal senior year.”

Class president

In his welcoming address, Class of 2022 President Andrew Lopes talked about the meaning of Patriot Pride, a code that’s “meant to guide and inspire the impressionable youths that walk through the tunnel of cheerleaders and band performers at the start of their freshman year.”

Lopes also shared his own experience as someone who came into the community nearly five years ago as an outsider.

“Portsmouth took me in,” he said. “Portsmouth gave me the opportunity to meet and make some great lifelong friends who appreciate and support me. Portsmouth Pride gave me the opportunity to join the community and

become a leader. I couldn’t be the individual I am today if it were not for all the excellent and supportive people that made my high school experience so fulfilling. Right now, I am filled with Portsmouth Pride, and I know that everyone in this crowd tonight feels the same way.”

John Maedke, the Class of 2022’s vice president who introduced Denard (“Denardog”) as the guest speaker, recalled the day four years ago when he decided to join the PHS swim team. Compared to the other swimmers on the team, he said he felt like a “3-year-old, without a life vest, accidentally falling into the pool.”

Yet Denard, who was also the swimming coach, looked past Maedke’s technical deficiencies and turned “a lost cause into a half-decent swimmer,” he said. 

“He would work with even the least talented of swimmers, and pushed you to your limits while showing genuine care for your development and success as a swimmer, athlete and person — a ask that I think many coaches would probably stray away from to focus on the better ‘players’ of the team.” Maedke said.

Class gift

Nathan Levine, the senior class treasurer for the past four years, presented the Class of 2022’s gifts — a greenhouse to the Science Department, the Green Club, and the Life Skills Program.

“Mrs. Vieira’s Life Skills Program will use the greenhouse with a specially designed curriculum, created by Mrs. Murtha, to help her students learn about the ecosystem and growing plants and vegetables,” Levine said.

The class is also donating $2,000 each to two local foundations. The first is going to For Henry, named for former Vice Principal Mary Saladino’s son Henry, who has a rare neurological condition called alternating hemiplegia of childhood. The money will go toward developing an antisense oligonucleotide treatment for Henry, Levine said.

The second $2,000 donation is for the Connor Peckham Memorial Foundation, named in honor of the popular member of the PHS drumline who had muscular dystrophy and died in April 2019 while on a trip with the rest of the band to Walt Disney World Resort. Any remaining funds will be donated to the incoming freshman class, Levine said.

Mia Bartlett, secretary of the Class of 2022 for the past four years, led the Pledge of Allegiance.