Manchester high school seniors honored for enlisting in the U.S. military
14 students entering service from city's public high schools
14 students entering service from city's public high schools
14 students entering service from city's public high schools
Graduating high school seniors in Manchester were honored Thursday night for choosing to serve in the military.
The students and their proud families gathered at City Hall for the ceremony.
In total, 14 Queen City teenagers from West, Memorial and Central high schools will either go directly into the military or will attend a military academy.
“(I am) proud to serve this nation,” said Kyle Gauthier, a Central senior entering the United States Marine Corps.
“I just see us as one unit, one organization,” said Central’s Gabriella Leonard, who will attend the United States Naval Academy. “I’m really excited about that.”
“I like the idea of keeping our country safe and being able to come home and have everything safe and happy,” said Renee Champagne, who is graduating Memorial and entering the National Guard.
Emmanuella Sadia's parents are immigrants from Africa’s Ivory Coast, where she was born. She moved to the U.S. more than a decade ago, and now, as an American citizen, she wants to serve her country.
“Since I came to this country, I always wanted to be part of the United States military, and in making this decision, it wasn't very hard, because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,” said the Central senior, who is going into the Army.
The students all have different reasons for serving their country. Some said they're following their family’s example.
“Well, honestly, I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps,” said West student Michael Anglin, who is entering the Marines. “He was a Marine, and honestly, he told me his stories.”
“My grandfather and my uncle went into the Air Force, and I’ve always wanted to fly, and unfortunately, I am colorblind and was grounded, but I’m still going to join and serve my country," said West’s Cameron Bergeron.
“I was always brought up respecting our past and previous and future veterans,” said Central’s Eliot Lawrence, who is joining the Army.
Other students honored include:
· Emmett Winbourne, Memorial, entering the Army
· Brianna Day, Memorial, entering the Army
· Shawn Pike, Memorial, entering the Army
· Joshua Burpee, West, entering the National Guard
· Idris Kenchil, Central, entering the Marines
· Dilip Tamang, Central, entering the National Guard
· Jeremyah Rivera, Central, entering the Navy