Grads reminded to accept what future holds
Contributed photos/Nicole Duplessis
HAPPY MOMENT — Rebekah Pelkey and Spencer Campbell show off their Graduation Day smiles before marching with their classmates into the Fort Fairfield Middle High School gymnasium June 9 for graduation ceremonies.
PROUD DAD — Erica Thompson, who graduated from Fort Fairfield High School with honors, gets a congratulatory squeeze from her father Martin.
FINAL MOMENTS — Vice President Andrew Tuck and President Collin Cassidy get ready to lead their classmates into the gymnasium.
READY TO MARCH — Emily Blaisdell, left, and Erica Thompson make some last-minute preparations before marching with their classmates into the Fort Fairfield Middle High School gymnasium for June 9 graduation ceremonies.
By Nicole Duplessis
Student Intern
FORT FAIRFIELD — The end of the high school journey for Fort Fairfield’s Class of 2013 came June 9 as family, friends, staff and community members filled the high school gymnasium to honor the 29 graduates for all their hard work, dedication and success. This proved to be an important milestone in their lives, and mixed emotions filled the halls as the students prepared to march down the aisle.
Class President Collin Cassidy and Vice President Andrew Tuck led their fellow classmates into the gymnasium. Gowns of red and white filled the stage. Once everyone settled in and took their seats, Salutatorian, Austin Bernier took the podium.
“These past four years have been some of the best in my life. I’d like to thank all of my friends and classmates for making it so memorable. You guys have always been there for the ups and downs in high school and have always been by my side when I needed you the most,” Bernier said.
He reminisced on high school memories, and also had some lasting and helpful advice for his fellow classmates.
“We’re all starting our lives. Some of our plans include attending college, entering the military, and entering the workforce. I want to wish everyone the best of luck in everything you do. I know that each and every one of you sitting on the stage right now have great potential to do wonderful things. Just remember to put in hard work and have some determination and you can achieve whatever goals you hope for,” Bernier said.
A warm round of applause followed; congratulating Bernier on a job well done and welcoming Valedictorian Sarah Holbrook to share her thoughts and memories. Her speech provided the audience members and her peers with a lesson she learned in high school.
“No matter what paths we choose, no matter how careful we are, every single one of us will or have hit a dark patch that’s absolutely devastating. And it’s during these lonely lost dark patches that we feel the tunnel collapsing in on us; when we begin to lose hope,” Holbrook said.
Relating to Holbrook’s lesson was Superintendent Marc Gendron’s commencement address. He told a story of three students he personally knew. He discussed how these three students attempted college and weren’t successful and/or ran out of money; didn’t think they were college material or ended up becoming bored after graduating from their chosen major. Each of these students’ stories was original and they all ended up on different paths than they had originally planned.
“Even if you’re the graduate with the vague plan or no plan, or whose paths seem clear, you can never be sure of your path,” Gendron said.
Gendron also informed the parents of the graduates to see the light in tough situations. He discussed how it is the decision of the graduate, it is their path and the parents must detach their hopeful plans for what their child wants. Both Gendron and Holbrook talked about the ups and downs of life, and how your path is not always what you want it to be, it ends up being what it is meant to be.
“I’d like to thank the small things in life that we take for granted every day, for they provide that hopeful flicker of light during the dark times that help us reach the end of the tunnel wherever it may be,” Holbrook said in closing.
On top of the wonderful advice given, over $40,000 in scholarships were also awarded. The Phyllis Fisher Gulliver Scholarships were awarded to seven individuals, six of them being $1,000 scholarships to Erica Thompson, Jayanakadeja Williams, Tiffany Curtis, Veronica Plourde, Sydney Churchill and Bernier. Holbrook received the seventh scholarship in the amount of $2,000. Each individual was recognized for their hard work, and Principal Tanya Belanger presented the top 10 in the graduating class with individual plaques.
After the ceremony came to an end, graduates formed a receiving line in front of the school to accept well-deserved recognition from family, friends and staff. The rain held off, luckily, for plenty of family photos to be taken as memories and keepsakes for years to come.
