The graduates of Hopkinton High School couldn’t avoid each other if they tried.
The class of 2026 walked the stage last Friday — 70 students, in total. For many, Hopkinton High and the town of Hopkinton are indistinguishable from each other.
“It is a small town, and there’s no doubt that we will see these teachers and this community again. Actually, I think it’d be much harder not to see anyone again,” said co-valedictorian Rebecca LeWine, who will attend Brown University in the fall.
To an outside observer, that may seem stifling. But this generation of Hawks begs to differ.
“I’m just so, so grateful to have grown up in a community like Hopkinton … The people here are just so caring and altruistic — they always put others’ best interests above their own, and it’s been everything I can ask for and more living here,” said Kyle Buelte, student body president and future Fairfield University business student.
Buelte’s best friend, Kip Hedquist, described their graduating class in a single word: interwoven. Indeed, when LeWine called out the quirky habits of several of her peers in her speech — among them Hedquist and Buelte, who apparently played a game in their math class called How Long Can We Go Without Talking About Math — the graduates on stage seemed to move as one, elbowing one another with smiling faces.
Their camaraderie is palpable: “something that can only be forced in a small-town community,” said co-valedictorian Julia Martel, who will attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Part of what encourages that interwovenness is the diversity of student involvement.
“Since Hopkinton has so many extracurriculars and opportunities for students, it’s pretty easy actually to find other kids that have very similar interests to you,” said Helen Yeaton. She is bound for UNH this fall to study neuroscience on a pre-dental track, but before that, she’s secured a summer job at a periodontist’s office.
Yeaton herself led the Peer Outreach Club with one of her close friends as co-president. She also played varsity basketball and lacrosse, and participated in the student council and Interact Club. The latter stood out as a highlight for Yeaton, Buelte and Hedquist alike.
Interact Club’s motto, “Service Above Self,” especially resonated with Hedquist. He will attend the Air Force Academy in the fall — a decision made not only for its educational merits, but also for “the opportunity to … be a part of an entity that puts so much emphasis on community and serving,” he said. In his future career as a fighter pilot, he hopes to fulfill “a greater purpose than my own glorification.”
Commencement speaker and social studies department chair Kate Sintros urged her now-former students to chase the careers that excite them, not solely because they are impressive or prestigious.
“When something is right for you, it will give you energy. That’s how you know,” she said.
As an eight-year-old teaching cursive to her younger brother on a little black chalkboard, Sintros felt that telltale energy that called her to teach.
Her voice wavered as she revealed that same little black chalkboard from 1980 to the class of 2026.
Written on it: “What gives you energy?”
