ROCKPORT — Students, family and friends all gathered on Friday at Rockport High School for the Class of 2025 graduation ceremony.
Several hundred people filled the Stephen A. Rowell Gymnasium, heard a host of speakers and witnessed a sea of scholarship winners accept their awards.
The festive and congratulatory mood was balanced by the somberness evident for many of the 42 graduates and their families.
Graduate Jaelyn Young said the reality she and her fellow students were graduating really hit home. Young plans to study commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville.
“It’s exciting but bittersweet,” Young said. “We’re small but we’re mighty. I think we’re very adventurous and open minded.”
Linda Little traveled from Riparius, New York, to see grandson Josiah Whitley graduate. The Rockport High basketball standout, who scored more than 1,000 points during his high school career, plans to attend Gordon College in Wenham with an eye toward possibly studying sports management and business.
“We’re just so thankful to be here,” Little said. “Josiah is our first grandson and we are so proud of what he is and what he has accomplished.”
The ceremony opened with the graduate processional as “Pomp and Circumstance” was played by the Rockport High School Symphony Orchestra, directed by orchestra teacher Nathan Cohen.
Principal Amy Rose said the Class of 2025 is special for a number of reasons.
“They lead with love and have come to appreciate the eclectic nature of their class over four years of high school,” she said.
Rose pointed to a recent an organized cookout in the parking lot when the seniors gathered to celebrate their “last typical day together.”
“Watching them come together to plan the event and enjoy one another over a hot dog and lawn games brought me an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Rose said. “I have had the unique opportunity to watch them grow up, find themselves and eventually come to appreciate the differences that once divided them.
”I am so proud of this class and especially honored to celebrate them.”
Approximately 160 awards and scholarships from a host of giving organizations were presented. Rose said those awards amounted to about $337,000.
Rose described the Class of 2025 as a “fantastic group of students.”
“They are made up a group of very different individuals but together they remind me of the good in this world and the brightness of our future, given their place in it,” she said.
Senior Class President Matthew Poole said it was a challenge to craft his speech.
“I’m just glad to be standing up here now,” he said, addressing the crowd. “We didn’t just grow as individuals — we grew together. Rockport is a small school but we’ve built something big. What we do know is how to work hard. We know how to finish strong.
“Thank you Rockport Class of 2025. We made it.”
Salutatorian Fiona Hebert said one thing she will take away from her experience matriculating from Rockport Schools is to display patience. She recounted a fellow student rushing past and almost knocking her down, an experience that could have left a bitter taste.
“We need to be a little more intentional and forgiving,” Hebert said. “We can’t always control the world.”
Valedictorian Ella Silver said while the Class of 2025 is small, its strength is more than its numbers.
“I have found our greatness is due to our variety,” she said. “We are all raised on an island with a remarkable sense of community. Our class has always been a family.”
Allison Beal witnessed her daughter, Elizabeth Harrison, receive her diploma. She lamented the passage of time, watching her daughter grow and graduate.
“It went by too fast,” Beal said. “I’m very excited for her. I’m just very proud of her.”
Harrison plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston, possibly studying journalism and media.
Also in the audience was Sarah Kelly, there to see friend Mia Sargent graduate.
“I’m really excited for her,” Kelly said. “I think she’s going to do really great things at (the University of Massachusetts at Amherst). She’s worked really hard in school and out of school. She’s earned it.”
The 42 seniors recessed from the gymnasium as new graduates, to a rendition by the Rockport High School Symphony Orchestra of the “Coronation March,” from the film “Star Wars.”
Stephen Hagan can be reached at 978-675-2708 or at shagan@gloucestertimes.com.