He may have been a year behind her in school, but Kayleigh Hollis looks up to her younger brother, Kaiden. 

“When he sets his mind on something, he accomplishes it,” she said. “He knows exactly what he wants to do.” 

After pursuing career and technical education classes throughout high school and gaining job experience at the Atlantic Bridge, a construction and engineering company, Kaiden graduated from Coe-Brown Northwood Academy on Wednesday evening. He’s ready to start his career, with his sights set on becoming an electrician and a welder. Kayleigh, a year since tossing her cap, is still figuring out what she wants for her future.

As Kaiden and the other 2025 graduates of Coe-Brown assembled in their scarlet robes, preparing to accept their diplomas, Kayleigh said she hoped her brother would never lose that drive, that he’d always keep his mind working.

For younger sister Gabi Groetzinger, too, Kaiden’s passion and focus are a model.

“I take inspiration from that,” she said. “I don’t know what I want to do yet.”

In just a year, Groetzinger, a current junior, will be in his place.

 From a few camp chairs down the line of family who came to cheer Kaiden on, his aunt Vicki Kolenda leaned over. “You have time,” she said. “You have time.” 

By most accounts, this year’s graduates from Coe-Brown have their sights set on their futures. They’re going to study business administration, video game art and design, wildlife biology and nursing. They’re going to work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard or join the Air Force. They’re going to obtain a dog grooming license and work toward becoming a veterinary technician. They’re going to begin employment at the 110 Grille later this week, expecting big tips. 

But class leaders encouraged the group to savor their past and prepare for challenges ahead. 

It’s safe to say studying is something Seth Brown, the class valedictorian, is pretty good at – he prepared for his speech by doing just that, watching all the great graduation speeches he heard of online. Their throughline was a focus on the beginning of a new chapter, on getting a “fresh start” after school. He saw things differently.

“There’s no such thing as a fresh start,” Brown said.

He and his classmates will carry with them the friends they'd made, the teachers who pushed them and the memory of the mac and cheese they burned in the cafeteria microwave. And they’ll be better for it. 

“These moments will guide us long after we’ve forgotten them,” Brown said. “We may not be starting over, but we’re moving forward with more knowledge, empathy and experience than we had four years ago.”

Salutatorian Lili Cook reminded her classmates of just how far they’ve come since ninth grade. With all the strength they’ll bring out of high school, she encouraged her peers to embrace the mistakes that inevitably lay ahead. 

“Name one person who achieved something amazing and got it on the first try?” Cook said. “You can’t. Good things take time and work...your hopes will be worth every bit the amount of effort you put into them.”

As the graduates filed onto the field and lined up in front of their white folding chairs, they did something teacher Matt Lobdell said he’d never seen before. They turned around, watching the rest of their classmates come to join them, as if they were among the proud parents with their phones held up to capture the moment.

To him, this was a testament to their uncommon sense of community. This class, he said, was uncommonly giving and generous with one another. 

He saw it in Kaiden Hollis, especially. 

Lobdell, a woodworking and construction teacher, watched Hollis complete his work early so he could help others. When another student had to miss classes for Advanced Placement testing, Hollis worked on her project for her so she didn’t fall behind. 

Not only because of Hollis’ hard work but because of this willingness to put in work for others, Lobdell said, “He’s going to go far in life.”

One of Lobdell’s classroom assignments entails turning a ballpoint pen out of wood on a lathe. Hollis was the first student to try to accomplish that process in epoxy. It took a lot longer to carve down than anticipated, and he didn’t get to finish it before graduation. Lobdell couldn’t let that happen. So he put the finishing touches on Hollis’ pen. After the diplomas were handed out and the caps were tossed, he found him in the crowd and pressed it into his hand. 

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com. You can subscribe to her Concord newsletter The City Beat at concordmonitor.com.