HOULTON, Maine — With a precise “Pomp and Circumstance” procession, the Houlton Middle High School Class of 2025 was together one last time on Thursday night.
Many of the 86 graduates have been in school with each other for most of their lives and as they reflected on their years together on Thursday night, they shared laughs about field trips that went awry and the moments they will take with them as they move on to new adventures.
Class President Addison Gravel detailed trips to the Houlton Water Co. when they were 10 and how the boys thought the sewage treatment plant was the coolest trip ever. Or the long-awaited Bar Harbor trip the next year for whale watching that produced no whales — not even a dolphin — along with buckets of rain and closed roads.
“Classmates hold tight to these memories, they are part of who we are and as you move forward, life has its uphill battles like missed whales and questionable lunches,” she said. “But it will also have breathtaking views, unexpected laughs and plenty of candy along the way. Congratulations Class of 2025, let’s go out there and make dome Everest field trips of our own.”
The commencement speaker, Katherine Currie, director of guidance, dubbed the Class of 2025 her class way back in elementary school and has made career moves along the way to stay with the group, she said.
“I want to say something I have felt for a very long time: I love this class. Not in a general every class is special kind of way, but in a real personal way,” she said. “I’ve known most of you since kindergarten. I’ve watched you grow, stumble, soar and become yourself over the years and it’s been a joy.”
One trip that stood out was a kindergarten trip to Houlton Farms Dairy, Currie said.
“I remember how far we walked and how your little legs worked to keep up,” she said. “Fast forward to now and we just went on our senior trip. A full circle moment. What made it so special wasn’t the destination but how everyone got along so well and represented our school in such a positive way.”
The Class of 2025 is a class full of bold personalities, different backgrounds, unique perspectives and beautifully diverse dreams, Currie said.
“You are not all walking the same road, and that’s what makes this class so remarkable. Some of you are taking traditional routes, some are carving your own and some of you have already stepped on to a different path. But every path has value, every single path has potential and all of them are important.”
Principal Dewayne Morse and Superintendent Joe Fagnant conferred diplomas at the end of the evening.
