MARBLEHEAD – Although the Class of 2025’s graduation ceremony was held in the Field House due to weather concerns, spirits were high, and the attendees’ energy was contagious. There were loud eruptions of applause, cheering and whistling as the 239 graduates entered the gym.
The Class of 2025’s Brady Weed welcomed all audience members to this year’s graduation before saying, “It’s incredible to see what this grade has done.”
“We have filmmakers, actors, all-American athletes, singers, entrepreneurs and all sorts of other incredibly accomplished people. I am looking at one of the smartest, funniest and most talented groups I will ever look at, so as all of you go off into college or the workplace or beyond, let me just say: You made it. You are going to make something of yourself,” Weed said.
Superintendent John Robidoux told a story about his nana. She was 4’9” and always had a wooden spoon in her hand – and she had asked him, when he was 10, what he wanted to be when he grew old. He had answered by listing some potential careers, to which his nana had answered for him, “You will be kind, and you will treat others the way you want to be treated.”
“I want to share that memory with you tonight, and as you leave Marblehead High School, whether you become a doctor, a hockey player, an architect or whatever you decide, remember to be kind, treat others the way they want to be treated – and good things will happen. That is my message from my little Irish nana,” he said.
Class Vice President Jeremy Sorkin then explained the importance behind the senior gifts, which were a Class of 2025 banner that hangs in the high school as well as new water fountains.
“As we look back in our years here, these gifts are more than just physical additions to our school. They are proof that the Class of 2025 was a class of action, of purpose, of impact,” Sorkin said. “We didn’t just exist in this space. We shaped it.”
Class President Jared Kaplowitch said the three things that shaped the Class of 2025 into who they are today are “leadership, perseverance and the power of kindness.”
“We have earned this recognition throughout countless hours of dedication, study, resilience and grit. But today, we’re honoring something even bigger: our growth as thinkers, leaders, dreamers and future change makers,” Kaplowitch said.
The choir followed with a performance of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day.
Salutatorian Nicolas Regnault reflected on some lessons he’s learned from moving “at least six or seven times” as a child in the Netherlands before winding up in Marblehead. One of those was the importance of putting yourself out there and trying something new.
“If there’s one thing that would be carried forward with us, it’s that spirit, that courage to take the first step. To drive ourselves, not because we have to, but because we want to,” he said.
Valedictorian Olivia Goldwater spoke about how, this past winter, someone had asked her what piece of advice she would give to her freshman year self. But before answering that question, Goldwater explained that going in circles doesn’t mean there is not upward progress if that path being walked is a silo.
“My piece of advice? Accomplish something each day, something that you tomorrow will be proud of, something so that when the concentric path of life inevitably circles back, you can look upon your past from an elevated perspective with pride, with clarity and with grade,” Goldwater said.
The choir then sang “You’re Gonna Go Far” by Noah Kahan before Principal Michele Carlson took the stage. Carlson joked that what sets the Class of 2025 apart was its seven sets of twins, but she continued to say that there were three key qualities that truly captured the Class of 2025: resilience, academic and civic leadership and style.
“The Class of 2025 stands out with your resilience, your spirit, your achievement and your unity. You’ve learned how to adapt, how to persevere and how to rise to meet the moment,” Carlson said.
The graduates each walked the stage as their names were called, while their loved ones supported them earnestly, loudly and emphatically. And when the students were told to move their tassels from the right to the left, the room somehow became louder than it had been before.
“We are not just the future. We are this moment – and what a powerful thing that is,” Goldwater said.
