LYNN — Beneath cool, overcast skies Saturday morning, 103 seniors graduated from KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate, with student speakers reflecting on the importance of showing up for themselves and their community.
Salutatorian Jacqueline Martinez Ramirez centered her remarks on a quote she first encountered in fifth grade: “The noblest art is that of making others happy.”
“Throughout these four years, we have seen, heard, and experienced so much, from the highest joys and excitements to some unforgettable tragedies,” Martinez Ramirez said. “Despite this, I’ve witnessed you all find and share happiness with one another.”
She urged classmates to remember the impact of small acts of kindness.
“By being there for someone, whether it is by listening to their story, giving them advice, holding their hand in a moment of vulnerability, or simply anything that lets them know that they’re not alone, goes so much further than you might realize,” Martinez Ramirez said.
Martinez Ramirez also reflected on the pressure many students place on themselves to succeed.
“I’ve gone as far as a result of many choices in my life, many of which were admittedly not the healthiest ones,” she said. “This included choosing academics over my personal well-being, sometimes staying up until 4 or going to class with a raging fever because I could not miss this test.”
Valedictorian Dahiana Cuevas, thanked her family, friends, and Math Counselor Justin McCarthy, “who would stay with me in office hours until 7 o’clock.”
Cuevas gave a special pause to her parents who, although never graduating from high school, were the key to her perseverance and success.
“They understood the importance of a higher education” and always encouraged her to broaden her horizons, she said.
Class-elected speaker, graduate Maria Nina Duran, spoke about the determination that carried the class through high school.
“What defines the Class of 2026 is not perfection, not ease, but perseverance,” Duran said. “We showed up for each other and for ourselves, even when we were emotionally drained.”
For many graduates, she said, earning a diploma represented something larger than themselves.
“For many of us, we are first-generation students, which means that this journey meant something bigger than just making it to the finish line,” Duran said. “It was about creating opportunities and seeking those that once felt out of reach.”
Duran dedicated part of her speech to her parents, who immigrated to the United States when she was young.
“My parents left behind family, comfort, and pieces of themselves so that I could have a future filled with possibilities,” she said.
Keynote speaker Meghan Blume praised the class for the way students supported one another throughout their time at KIPP.
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” Blume said. “You are bright, beautiful, brilliant lights that know you lose nothing by igniting others, by sharing your light.”
Blume pointed to moments throughout the year — from senior retreat to school events and senior traditions — as examples of students creating space for one another.
“Continue to light other candles,” she said. “Continue to take care of yourselves and each other. Care for community is a revolutionary act.”
Principal Kerri Brown congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to carry forward a lesson from poet Mary Oliver: “Pay attention, be astonished, and tell about it.”
She praised the class for its leadership in student organizations, school events, and community-building efforts.
As well as the “most beautiful prom and the most obnoxious senior prank ever.”
Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson also congratulated the graduates, their families, and the KIPP staff, thanking students for the example they set in building community both inside and outside the classroom.
