DANFORTH, Maine — Parents, family and friends turned out to East Grand School on Friday, June 4, to witness the Class of 2021 graduate from high school and take the next step in their lives.
The graduation ceremony was held indoors in the school gymnasium, a far cry from the previous year’s graduation ceremony, which had to be held outdoors with social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine students graduated from East Grand this year, more than twice the number of students who graduated in 2020.
Salutatorian Emma Griffiths spoke of her experiences of first moving to Danforth four years ago, joining the class in her freshman year.
“I was in awe of how we could go paddle boarding for gym class and how small the school was,” Griffiths said. “It turned out to be such a blessing to have attended East Grand and participated in the many unique opportunities this school has to offer. Our small class size means we were more like siblings than classmates.”
Valedictorian Nathaniel Farr also spoke at the ceremony, and credited his parents for helping him overcome challenges to obtain the title of valedictorian.
“I must thank my mother and father for putting up with me all these years,” Farr said. “They have helped me craft my moral compass, and they have engraved a work ethic on my mind.”
Farr also credited his experience of working with the local wildland firefighting crew as key to his success.
“They became a second family to me,” Farr said. “They treat me as an equal, and they have changed my view of the wilderness. Community, to me, means that everyone has a place, and that we are here to recognize the good in all.”
DANFORTH, Maine — June 7, 2021 — East Grand High salutatorian Emma Griffith speaks during the graduation ceremony for East Grand’s class of 2021. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
DANFORTH, Maine — June 7, 2021 — East Grand’s Isaac Crone holds up his diploma after graduation from East Grand High. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
DANFORTH, Maine — June 7, 2021 — Margaret White, the superintendent for East Grand School, speaks at the class of 2021’s graduation ceremony. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
DANFORTH, Maine — June 7, 2021 — East Grand’s Tyler Frye walks to the podium during the graduation ceremony for East Grand’s class of 2021. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
