Graduates toss their caps in the air at the end of commencement at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle on Friday, June 7. (Nolan Wilkinson photo)
Rain held off as family, friends, and members of the public gathered on the Col. Stanley G. Waltz Athletic Field at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle on Friday, June 7 to celebrate the class of 2024 as students received diplomas and recognition for their work.
Head of School Jeffrey Burroughs’ opening remarks detailed his pride in knowing this group of students, noting their diverse accomplishments ranging from awards in excellence given by Bath Regional Career and Technical Center, athletic conference titles and championships, to academic recognitions.
“You are a class of artists and athletes, musicians and mathematicians, scientists, and trades people, writers, language learners, and world travelers,” Burroughs said.
The class will be remembered by Burroughs for their accomplishments and how those accolades were gathered with a quiet dignity.
“You as a class have been defined, not as much by what you accomplished, even though it was quite a bit, but by the way you went about doing it,” Burroughs said. “I remember your class as quiet leaders, supportive of each other’s endeavors and not deterred by a challenge.”
The ceremony began with school staff and faculty leading the class to their seats. Staff was led by its most-tenured members, Phil Page and Alison Welch. Welch, the world languages department head, is retiring at the end of the school year after 31 years in education.
The valedictorian title was split between two students with identical grade-point averages, Matthew Savage and Audrey Hufnagel. The salutatorian was Kayla Cruz.
Cruz gave a speech expounding upon the journey she took from her freshman year to the confidence that comes from having a good support system while reminding her peers of their own abilities.
“Our dreams may change, just please remember what you can do, we’ve all earned being here today,” Cruz said. “Don’t let your fears hold you back, you are powerful.”
Savage echoed similar sentiments of reassurance that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it and spoke to his struggles with a learning disability and other diagnoses that put him in special education for most of his life.
“Life is full of challenges,” Savage said. “But it’s essential to put yourself out there in the face of failure because mistakes are what make you.”
Hufnagel commended her classmates on beginning school during the global COVID-19 pandemic that presented significant challenges.
“We started high school in a challenging time,” she said. “Yet, despite the initial barriers, we have managed to build a strong sense of class spirit, community, and identity.”
Students and faculty received awards for their academic, professional, and service-based excellence before the ceremony proceeded to the graduating of the class of 2024.
There were three musical performances from members of the class of 2024 between speeches during the ceremony.
Joined by juniors Mariana Janik and Sophia Scott, seniors in the school’s audition choir, Lincolnaires, Cruz, Tristan Gammon, Benno Hennig, Marley Neptune-Benner, Jasper New, Mitchell Straus, sang the national anthem. Neptune-Benner sang “Slipping Through My Fingers,” by ABBA, and Straus, Hennig, Gammon, Connor Parson, Will Clark, Toby Clarkson, and Quinn Straus performed “Forever Young,” by Alphaville.
Once the diplomas had been conferred, class marshals Emma Abbott and Gavin Peck led graduates out of the field.
