Symbolic of new beginnings on his horizon, Pembroke Academy valedictorian Josiah Putman chopped off inches of his hair at the school’s graduation ceremony on the athletic fields Saturday morning.
“In spirit of moving on and leaving Pembroke Academy . . . I promised everyone that I would cut my hair at graduation,” Putman said, as he invited a friend with scissors on stage. “And it looks like it’s too late to turn back now.”
Putman, who will attend Dartmouth College in the fall to study computer science, is one of 185 graduates moving on to become college freshmen, join the armed services and enter the workforce.
Although the high school seniors are leaving the public academy, however, salutatorian Matthew Paige encouraged them to focus on the experiences they shared over the past four years.
“Tomorrow, we begin a new chapter in each of our lives. It’s going to be exciting. And terrifying,” he said. “But whatever new adventures await us, we will always have the memories from our time here to guide us exactly where we were meant to go.”
Paige, who will study mathematical physics at Yale University, said it is these memories – the good and the bad – that shaped him and his classmates into the people they are today.
Class president Molly Andrews reflected on a few standout memories of her own: rap battles after school, prom, powderpuff games and the annual Winter Carnival.
“I realized that I am no longer going to be able to dance to the ‘Single Ladies’ passing music in the hallway anymore,” she said. “What we have known as life for the past four years will suddenly change as we each plan to go our own separate ways.”
This year’s graduating class at Pembroke has gone through more changes than any other in recent school history, Putman said, as their four years included a headmaster switch, new standardized tests and ever-changing gym class names.
“If high school has taught us anything, it is how to deal with change, and the stress that comes with it, and how to persevere through it all,” he said.
As a gift to future seniors, the Class of 2016 raised money to fund renovations to the senior courtyard, with plans to install new benches, umbrellas and, possibly, a gazebo in the exclusive outdoor refuge Pembroke students wait three years to access.
Class adviser Corinne Kennet advised the graduates to be “doers” instead of “dreamers.”
“The doers actually change this world – not necessarily because they are brilliant or are a one-in-a-million talent or because they embody some perfect version of themselves. But because they showed up and did something,” she said.
As a final send-off, Paul Famulari discussed a number of the “inevitable” challenges and opportunities the future holds for the first group of seniors to graduate during his time as headmaster.
“Learn to differentiate between the biggies and the not-so-biggies in life. More importantly, your reaction upon making that distinction will go a long way in helping to determine your success in any given situation,” he said. “Sometimes, life is full of many certainties. And then again, life is volatile and unpredictable.”
As one could predict, however, as soon as the ceremony came to a close, the students cheered and tossed up their green and white caps, celebrating four years filled with cherished memories and moments.
(Katie Galioto can be reached at 369-3302, kgalioto@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @katiegalioto.)