FORT KENT, Maine — Hundreds packed into the Fort Kent Community High School gym last Friday as 51 seniors graduated.
Graduating senior Sadie Cairns sang the National Anthem a capella, after which Principal Steve Doucette welcomed family and community members to the ceremony.
Doucette has known the Class of 2025 since they were in seventh grade and he was the dean of students. He spoke at the class’s eighth grade promotion in 2021, one of the school’s first live events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
“We were all just excited to get a sense of normalcy, and we felt hopeful once again,” he said. “I remember telling them, in four short years, you’ll be walking across that stage behind us to graduate high school.”
Senior speaker Halle Michaud talked about how this moment is the culmination of everything the class has worked so hard to achieve. She mentioned teachers who inspired and motivated the class, and encouraged fellow classmates to embrace the fear they may have about the uncertainties of the future.
“I don’t know what will happen in my life or anyone else’s life,” Michaud said, “but I can tell you that the only way to ensure that life will get easier is to embrace life’s imperfections as well as perfections, cherishing those around you who love you and reaching out to new people when the opportunity passes.”
Senior Madison Morneault spoke about appreciating the time spent to get to this point and the importance of living in the moment.
“Time goes by quickly,” Morneault said. “There is no slowing down or changing the past. Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘Lost time is never found again.’ That’s why we need to live in the moment and create the last of our memories together before we walk out of this building one last time.”
She spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges, but ultimately made the class stronger. Every speed bump made the class stronger, she said.
Senior speaker Lily Oliver emphasized the importance of staying true to yourself, and her high school experiences helped her learn this lesson.
“Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said, ‘Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.’ And it took me a while to really understand just what that meant,” Oliver said.
She pretended to like soccer in order to fit in, but once she admitted to others that she did not like soccer, she felt much better.
Oliver also talked about the importance of reaching out to others and having friends, sharing an anecdote of how long-lasting friendship began when she sat with someone alone at the lunch table.
“Imagine a world where we all took the extra step,” Oliver said, “where we all reached out a hand to someone who sits alone.”
Seeing this group of students through difficult times like the pandemic has been both humbling and special to watch, Doucette said, adding they gave him hope for the future.
“If you’ve been paying attention to the Class of 2025, then you know what I know, that the future is not something to fear, but something to look forward to,” he said. “This group of young men and women gives me genuine hope for a better tomorrow, and I truly mean that.”
