Nearly 300 member of the senior class of 2025 marched across the stage at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena during the forty-sixth annual Graduation Exercise on Thursday night, June 12.
The seats available at the event were nearly full with friends and family to view the young adults final involvement as students at Londonderry High School.
Marshals Rebecca Peabody and Amy Sanborn led the 290 graduates to their seats.
The ceremony began with Principal Rick Barnes bringing to the stage the ten individuals who will be entering the armed forces after graduation.
They remained on the stage as Hanna Carroll sang the National Anthem.
Barnes spoke during his welcoming address about the career path ahead of graduates.
Barnes began with, “You are entering a world where success rests upon how well you react and navigate through the twists and turns and unexpected detours of a modern day career path, rather than how high you can climb.” He added, “Persistence and adaptation are two of the key attributes in successfully navigating the world today.”
He ended with a quote from Daniel Keyes, “The path I choose through the maze, makes me what I am.”
The Top Ten students were then recognized. They are, in ascending order: James Dooley; Reagan Anderson; Jaelynne Kelly; Nkechi Wambu; Kyra Courtemanche; Evelyn Godbout; Madison Tufts; Mason Turek; Salutatorian Linsey Gregoire; and Valedictorian Nora Maher.
Maher took the stage to address the Class of 2025. She started by thanking the teachers and staff at Londonderry High School and to her family.
While addressing her class, Maher took time to mention a classmate that was tragically lost before graduation. “Lillianna Cawthron, she was part of our journey and her absence is deeply felt. She will always be part of the Class of 2025.”
She reminisced on the four years leading up to graduation and pointed out that this would be the last time they would all be in the same place. She finished with a quote from one of her favorite artists, Pitbull, “Life is not a waste of time, time is not a waste of life,” and with that she added, “Every day above ground is a great day, remember that.”
Class President Maddie Tufts then took the microphone and also thanked all that were involved in supporting the Class of 2025.
In her speech, Tufts said that their lives run a parallel with a book, “When we read a story, we are exposed to a variety of literary elements.” She went on to say that when reading, you become eager to see what will happen on the next page. “Our stories all start on page one,” she said.
She felt that the characters in life were some of the most important elements in the future graduates stories.
Before the diplomas were handed out, graduates Dylan Anderson and Reya Rivera sang “Where’d All the Time Go?”, “Everything Has Changed,” and “All I Know So Far.”
This year’s Vice President was Paige Dobe, the Treasurer was Ava Naar, Secretary was Linsey Gregoire and Historian was Kiera Strike.