McAuliffe’s Students Graduate With Tears
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CONCORD, N.H. — Solemn and tearful students of Challenger astronaut Sharon Christa McAuliffe were graduated from Concord High School on Saturday, ending a year the class president said had bound them and the nation “together in grief.”
About 300 seniors at Concord, where McAuliffe had taught social studies, attended the graduation ceremony, which McAuliffe had been scheduled to address.
Class President Carina Joy Dolcino recalled the morning of Jan. 28, when McAuliffe’s students watched as the shuttle exploded after launch, killing their teacher and six other crew members.
“Jan. 28, 1986--the date will never be erased from our minds,” she said. “Our students and nation were bound together in grief. Together, we learned to cope.”
Concord Principal Charles Foley also commended the students. “Under the glare of TV lights, we were able to show the world how a family of a school should act,” he said.
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