It was early June on the Gorham High School (GHS) football field, and, for the first time in over a year, the GHS Class of 2021 were all together for the first day of marching practice, preparation for one of the most significant moments of these students’ lives: high school graduation.
The entire class was a bit antsy and eager to speak with friends whom for months, due to Covid-19, they may have only seen over a screen. Yet, they remained in the sweltering heat and practiced. Sit here, stand next to this person—no not them, walk faster, walk slower, etc.
By Sunday, June 13, all 204 graduates were lined up outside the GHS bus loop, peering over the fence to the football field where over 1,000 community members and family were gathered in the stands awaiting the ringing first note of “Pomp and Circumstance.” The graduation procession was led by class marshals Tess Libby and Tatiana Jonk.
The Class of 2021 certainly learned perseverance having spent 40 percent of their high school career either quarantined or in a hybrid schooling model. The ceremony not only honored GHS students’ dedication to their academics but to their own well-being and the health of their community during the unprecedented time.
Class salutatorian, Nathan Eichner, highlighted resilience in his speech. “I want to focus on what each one of us has been gifted during this pandemic: resilience. In some way or another, we all had to accustom ourselves to an advanced level of communication when talking with teachers or even when advocating for ourselves. It is not easy to speak up when you are participating in class on Zoom. Whatever they may have been, we were faced with an array of setbacks that shattered the definitive normal high school experience.”
It seems clear that in the past year, many students experienced personal loss, dwindling motivation, health issues of their own, and faced innumerable other barriers. In her address to the class, valedictorian and class president Emily Paruk spoke on this fracture and the healing power of gratitude.
“We entered high school wide-eyed and hopeful, anxious to have the next pages unfurl before us,” said Paruk. “And now we exit with pages filled behind us to look back on, filled with unique characters that made different impacts on our lives, and filled with lessons learned and wisdom gained. If there is one thing I know for sure all of us are walking out of here with is, well one, a diploma, but just as important, resiliency, and for that we can all feel a tremendous amount of gratitude. Because after everything, you are still standing, ready to walk into the next pages with your callused feet and tackle whatever else the world throws at you.”
The Class of 2021 also welcomed Maine Senator and two-term governor, Angus King, who was making his first public appearance since the beginning of the pandemic. The Senator addressed the class as he laid out “Ten things I wish somebody had told me when I was 18.”
This advice included remarks such as: take that risk, “see that you regret the things you did and not the things you didn’t do,” and “always carry a $20 hidden somewhere on your person.” King also discussed happiness expressing that “There is no geographic or material cure. If you are not happy in Gorham, ME, do not kid yourself: ‘Oh, I’ll be happy when I’m in Boston, or New York, or San Francisco.’ No, you carry your happiness around between your ears.”
The Class of 2021 exited the GHS football field on the evening of June 13 carrying these words of advice and a year’s worth of grit, ready to approach the inevitable obstacles and joys that awaited them in the next phase of their lives.
