PEABODY — Students from Peabody PREP gathered at the Black Box with family and friends on Thursday to celebrate the Class of 2025’s graduation.
The audience was welcomed by Kevin Canty, director of alternative education for Peabody Public Schools and the principal at Peabody PREP.
“Each one of you has followed a unique and individual path to get to this point. On your paths you have navigated many trials and tribulations and it is a credit to all 28 graduates that you have made it to this day. You all navigated challenges, overcame obstacles, managed to handle a worldwide pandemic that completely shifted how we lived our lives over the past five years, but in the end all paths led to today,” Canty said.
Erin Bingman was called up to speak next as the staff speaker, who read the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling.
After Bingman, the class’s student speaker, Robyn Agnew, came up to the microphone to speak.
“Class of 2025, teachers, family, and friends first I’d like to start off by saying, we made it. I don’t know about you but for me this time went by fast. Whether we’ve been here for all four years or came in some time in between we’ve shown that we can adept under new circumstances and not just get by but actually succeed in remote education,” Agnew said.
Agnew said she struggled with her grades before PREP, but the help and guidance she received her freshman year she began to succeed.
“More importantly, I began to understand what I was being taught and the practical value of it,” she said.
The Keynote speaker was Justin Clancy, a Peabody local who is now a musician.
“Justin has emerged as a rising musical star using his personal journey as fuel for his artistic expression blending elements of alternative pop and hip-hop. He has crafted a unique sound that pushes boundaries defies categorization,” Canty said.
Clancy thanked the faculty and staff for their work and all that they do for the students.
“Class of 2025, can you guys give yourself a hand… It’s an absolute honor to be standing before you today and it’s a privilege to be thought of as somebody who can portray a message of hope and motivation and determination… I’m really blown away,” Clancy said.
The students received their diplomas and stood on stage to switch their tassels, officially graduating.
