Cheers filled the Cross Insurance Center as 265 Bangor High School seniors received their diplomas Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s commencement ceremony marks the end of one chapter and the new chapter is a little uncertain, but the seniors should live in the moment and enjoy it, class president Autumn Nichols said during her speech.
“So let us bask in this glory, because there are not many more times in our lives that we will get a day dedicated to everything we’ve accomplished,” Nichols said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and switch to remote learning happened when this graduating class was in middle school. Seventh and eighth grade teachers Bailey Edward and Kari Thurman were at the ceremony to watch their “COVID babies” graduate, they said. They taught the now-seniors during the first year back after the COVID-19 shutdown, with masks and all.
“These kids may have been the only reason I survived it,” Edward said.
The students will change the world, Thurman said.
Matt O’Connell, chosen to give a speech by his classmates, got the audience involved. He listed off numerous accomplishments of the graduating class — including state championships, concerts and athletic victories — and got people to chant “We are the Rams, the mighty, mighty Rams,” in response.
Both Nichols and O’Connell talked about the lasting friendships they made and the importance of continuing them.
“If you go somewhere else in life, always come back here when you need to, because I know for a fact there will be people here ready for you with open arms,” O’Connell said.
While the students may not know what their paths will look like, or even who they are, now they can take the time to figure that out, Nichols said.
“As long as we like ourselves, it doesn’t matter what others think, and that can be difficult to accept when we are all just trying to fit in,” Nichols said. “But now, it is finally time for us to grow.”
Jeremy Schmersal’s son, Blake Bell, and niece Brooklyn Schmersal graduated on Saturday. He said he’s excited to see what’s next for them.
“It’s neat to see two different kids get here on different paths,” Schmersal said.
Kailyn Lottman is the first of five grandchildren to graduate, her grandmother Melissa Downie said. The years went by fast, a good reminder to embrace every day, Downie said.
“It feels overwhelming but exciting,” Downie said. “It went by really fast.”