GRANBY — When Dr. Dog’s “Where’d All the Time Go?” played from the speakers of the Edward Sullivan Gymnasium, the 48 graduates of Granby Junior Senior High School answered the question in the title of viral hit by throwing their caps in the air with bright smiles and a sigh of relief.

Their time had past in the halls, classrooms, cafeteria and gymnasium of their now alma mater, and, as each speaker said in their addresses to the graduates and their loved ones at Saturday’s graduation ceremony, in place of time was the memories and experiences they’d bring with them into the next chapter of their lives.

“The people I meet in college will not know me the way that you all know me. They won’t know that I called myself Gerald and carried a bucket in my mouth for half of fifth grade or that my front teeth used to be a mile apart,” Senior Class President Emily Trembly told her classmates. “But that’s the beauty of growing up. You get to learn from your past experiences and embarrassing moments to shape the person you want to become.”

The small class of less than 50 students fostered a close-knit community where, according to Trembly, each person knows more than each other’s names, voices and faces. As valedictorian Cindy Kusumo said, she’s learned a lot about her classmates during the 180 days of the past 13 years she’s spent with them.

Trembly noted that the class of 2024 missed out on some of the traditions and events they had looked forward to, like senior assassin or an overnight class trip, but the students filled those lost moments with their own fun, like turning Kelly Romano’s classroom into a basketball court.

“Alongside all of our time and effort, students and staff have had some pretty fun times together, from Anthony (Gregorio) getting stuck in a desk to Brandon (Menard) dominating musical chairs twice to hundreds of pictures of Mrs. Jordan being put around the school,” Salutatorian Corey Rondeau said.

Kusumo, Rondeau, Trembly and Senior Class Vice President Rhea Gagnon all gave a long list of thanks the faculty, teachers, friends and family who supported them in their journey. But Romano, this year’s commencement speaker, offered her own gratitude to the graduates who supported her while her husband underwent treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2022.

“These very students cared about me just as much as I do about them. It’s a feeling you never forget,” she said through tears.

Her husband’s diagnosis, which came right after the pandemic, challenged Romano’s commitment to teaching, as her husband’s treatment required her to miss classes at least one day a week.

“I had a lot of time to think during many drives back and forth to Boston, during which I doubted myself often because teaching is a demanding profession, and I didn’t feel like I could keep up with it anymore,” Romano said.

It was her community, specifically her students, that convinced her otherwise.

“Close friends of ours created fundraisers for my husband and me, and we watched as the outpouring of love the support flooded in. Familiar names for my favorite books popped up in a GoFundMe. Cards and letters of encouragement were left on my desk with handwriting that I had only seen on class assignments,” she said. “It reminded me again, but the reality is, you never know what’s coming through.”

In addition to the procession, presentation of diplomas and speeches, Senior Class Treasure Madison Bombard announced that the class gift is the school’s logo on the center of the gymnasium to commemorate cheering on classmates during their late night basketball games.

“Congratulations Class of 2024. You’re the greatest thing we’ve ever lost,” Romano said.

Graduates 

Danny Alexander, Zachary Auclair, Benjamin Berger, Madison Bombard, Annabella Brown, Isabella Bumgarner, Chloe Castro, Ciara Charest, Brandie Dumais, Jay Dwinell, Andrew Feldman, Jackson Flowers, Rhea Gagnon, Sophia Gagnon, Nicolas Grandmont, Anthony Gregorio, Deus Guzman, Jessica Holubowich, Henry Jenks, Peyton Justin, Cindy Kusumo, Spencer Labonte, Abigail Landry; Sara Lessard, Neil Lindberg, Tia Looney, Kamdyn Lopez, Madeline Mallette, Connor McDonell, Keira McKinnon, Brandon Menard, Thomas Merced, Nikolas Misiaszek, Matthew Monty, Colin Murdock, Maya Nott, Margaret O’Connor, Adrianna Prim, Steph Radwilowicz, Corey Rondeau, Grace Roy, David Silchuk, Phillip Silchuk, Noel Summerlin, Michael Swanigan, Emily Tremblay and Jordan Vieu-Reed