High school class president writes 180 thank-you notes for graduates
Hand-engraved thank you notes from Crane & Co., $19 for set of 10 cards and envelopes at Avalon Stationery & Gifts photographed in the Houston Chronicle Studio Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in Houston. ( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) (Photo by James Ni
A high school class president in Massachusetts went above and beyond to show his gratitude to his fellow graduation by writing each of them a personal thank-you note — 180 to be exact.
The cards were presented during the ceremony at Apponequet Regional High School outside Boston.
"I wish I could’ve acknowledged you all, but there was simply not enough time," Mason Macuch of Lakeville said in his June 7 speech. "Instead, I want you to reach under your chairs, where you will find a personal note that I’ve written to each of you as a way to say one final goodbye and thank you for making these years that will soon pass the ‘good ole days.’"
RELATED: Florida boy's missed kindergarten graduation celebrated onboard Frontier Airlines flight
Macuch said it took him about 10 hours to write the cards. As class president, he said he knew most of the students.
"I just wrote anything from farewell messages to little memories that I had with whoever I was writing to, or maybe if it was a close friend, a longer message to them," Macuch, 18, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Anything that I could think of about the person I wanted to say about them before we graduated and went on our separate ways."
It was a surprise to everyone, said his best friend, Conor Tripp, in an email.
"I do not consider myself an emotional person, but his speech and the gesture of writing each and every member a letter moved me so much and I was very emotional from that moment on," Tripp said. "It was such a special way to acknowledge every member of the class and show a strong bond between the members of our class."
RELATED: Valedictorian gives powerful speech hours after dad's funeral
Macuch said a lot of graduates thanked him in person afterward. Many parents sent him nice comments on social media.
"Some people I hadn’t talked to in a few years were just so thankful for them. It was really nice to see that they were just so appreciative of all the hard work that went into them, and it was a really nice way to say goodbye to everyone," said Macuch, who is starting college in the fall and plans to study biochemistry.
"My mom always pushes to write a thank-you note," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.