GRANBY — Tracie and Theodore Klekotka had multiple reasons to be excited on Saturday morning — three to be exact.
In addition to being National Corn Cob Day as one of their children pointed out, their triplet daughters, Emma, Ariana and Kayla Klekotka, were among the 64 seniors who graduated as part of Granby Junior Senior High School’s Class of 2022 on Saturday.
“It’s just awesome,” said Theodore Klekotka.
All three Klekotka sisters are members of the National Honor Society.
“They’ve all done really well throughout school and they worked really hard to get where they’re getting to,” said Tracie Klekotka. “They’ve been doing it on their own, so it made our job as parents much easier. And I think the fact that they’re triplets, I think there was a little competition within themselves.”
Ariana Klekotka, who is the class salutatorian and president of her class, also plans to attend Northeastern University to double major in civil engineering and architectural studies.
“Throughout the years, I’ve seen my classmates thrive and win championship games. I’ve also seen my classmates struggle. However, these weaknesses have only helped us grow and embrace the fact that no one is perfect,” said Ariana Klekotka. “If everyone was perfect, we wouldn’t have all the good laughs and memories we’ve had today, such as freshman year, when Emma’s retainer got tossed out during spaghetti and meatball day and somehow managed to get her head stuck in a pottery wheel a day later.”
Her sister Emma Klekotka, who is the class valedictorian and vice president of her class, plans to attend Northeastern University to double major in computer science and journalism.
“I would like to thank my family, teachers and anyone that has ever believed in me, even when I couldn’t believe in myself. It is because of you that I stand here today and this support will carry me through college and beyond,” she said.
Kayla Klekotka, who’s grade point average landed her in the number six slot of the class and is the corresponding secretary of her class, plans to attend the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston and major in nursing to become a physician’s assistant.
The Klekotka siblings are not the class of 2022’s only multiples. In fact, there are two other sets of twins that graduated on Saturday: Max and Liam Brown, and Raymond and Michael Toth.
Superintendent Stephen Sullivan also took time to reflect on the class of 2022. While sitting on the boathouse on this past Monday night and the gymnasium this past Thursday, Sullivan said the memories started to pour in. He first met this class in the cafeteria in September 2017 to introduce himself as principal.
“It was immediately evident that the class of 2022 was special,” he said.
Sullivan also noted that there are more than 40 students who have achieved a grade point average above 3.5, 20 of which have achieved over a 4.0.
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
