ORANGE — Members of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s Class of 2018 walked along the track on a sunny Friday afternoon, dressed in their blue caps and gowns, past family, friends and community members there to recognize their accomplishments.
Some students sported decorated caps bedazzled with glitter, candy and motivational sayings.
Speakers during the ceremony called on the students to express their gratitude for those who’ve helped them along their educational journey.
“To your parents, I want to express our thanks for entrusting your most precious gift with us all these years. You should be extremely proud for these graduates that sit before you are the result of love and dedication,” said Superintendent Tari Thomas.
She also thanked the faculty and staff of Orange’s schools for fostering a home for the graduating seniors all these years.
Mayte Torres-Zelaya, vice president of the senior class, told her classmates to pursue their dreams despite any hardships they may face along the way. She also reminded the seniors to thank those who’ve helped them in working toward graduation.
“Tonight is also the night where we must reflect upon our own journey coming here; did we really make it this far on our own? The answer is no. There has been somebody who has walked beside you on this path to guide you, or even to catch you when you fall. We have been molded into who we are by those who have surrounded us,” she said.
Keynote speaker and Mahar teacher for the past nine years, Christopher Bailey, shared his experience of growing alongside the Class of 2018.
“I’ve had the privilege of watching you grow more than any other class that I’ve taught. Tonight, I feel like a proud parent,” he said.
Quoting the words of journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Bailey read: “Every person is the sum total of their reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different person, and hence your perspective changes.”
202 Street Hockey Association-James D. Rockefeller Memorial Scholarship – Brennan Mailloux;
AARP Mt. GRACE Chapter 3673 – Ushna Saeed; Athol Lions Club Scholarship – Madison Leary & Lura Misner; Athol Masonic Charity & Educational Society Scholarship – Katelyn Page; Athol-Orange Fraternal Order of the Eagles Auxiliary 4545 – Shayla Bannon & Skilah Britt; Athol-Orange Rotary Club Scholarship – Hannah Paul & Gwen Perkins;
Christine Lavigne Wallen Scholarship Committee – Madison Leary; Cohn & Company Real Estate Agency Scholarship – Kiah Swan; Disabled American Veterans Chapter 46 Scholarship – Lura Misner & Cecil Talbot; Dr. Herbert L. Aaron Scholarship – Madison Leary; Dollars For Wendell Scholars – Cole Emery, Aidan DiDonato, Aaron Hendry & Hugo Frost (Honorary Scholarship); Don Maynard Memorial Scholarship – Madison Leary; Gem Industries Scholarship Fund – Madison Leary; Janine Holston Memorial Music Scholarship – Brittney Brown;
Kessler Investments Scholarship – Connor McCarthy; Kyle G. Flood Scholarship at the Community Foundation of North Central MA – Hannah Birch, Brennan Mailloux, Katelyn Page, Kailyn Patria & Mayte Torres-Zelaya; Kyle G. Flood Theatre Scholarship – Hannah Birch, Brittney Brown, Sean Doyle & Katelyn Page;
Mahar Key Club Timothy Donelan Memorial Scholarship – Emily Inman & Mayte Torres-Zelaya; Mahar National Honor Society Scholarship in Memory of Harold Tortensen – Hannah Birch & Ushna Saeed; Mahar National Junior Honor Society Scholarship – Katelyn Page; Mahar Touchdown Committee/Kyle G. Flood Football Scholarship – Hugo Frost, Quinn Gervais, Haley Jean, Madison Leary, Katelyn Page, Samuel Paul, Gwen Perkins & Kaitlyn Susen; Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation Scholarship – Jonalys Rosario;
Neil R. Burnham Memorial Scholarship – Gwen Perkins & Kianna Reilly; New Salem Academy Michael Tatistcheff Memorial Scholarship – Alexander Gurganus & Aaron Hendry; New Salem Academy Scholarship – Matthew Jenks, Connor McCarthy, Lura Misner & Gwen Perkins; New Salem Scholarship Fund – Hugo Frost, Haley Jean, Matthew Jenks, Connor McCarthy & Lura Misner; North Quabbin Chapter 340 Vietnam Veterans of America Scholarship – Kyle Monette; North Worcester County Quabbin Anglers Scholarship – Haley Jean;
Orange American Legion Post 172 Scholarship – Ryan Badgley; Orange Elementary Teachers’ Association Scholarship – Brittney Brown, Quinn Gervais, Madison Leary, Katelyn Page & Kianna Reilly; Orange Fireman’s Relief Association Scholarship – Madison Leary & Brennan Mailloux; Orange Senior Citizens Club Scholarship – Katelyn Page;
Parents for Mahar Students Group, Inc. Scholarship – Hannah Birch, Lura Misner, Katelyn Page, Kailyn Patria & Mayte Torres-Zelaya; Paula A. Joly Memorial Scholarship – Madison Leary; Petersham Agricultural Association Scholarship – Kianna Reilly; Petersham Ethan Clark Memorial Scholarship – Kianna Reilly; Petersham Police Association Scholarship – Gwen Perkins & Kianna Reilly; Petersham Scholarship Alliance – Kianna Reilly; St. Mary’s Women’s Club – Quinn Gervais & Haley Jean;
The Helen and Remo Cellana Charitable Scholarship – Cassidy Layton, Kianna Reilly, Kaitlyn Susen, Mykela Taylor, Mayte Torres-Zelaya & Jessica Walker; Tully City Council Scholarship – Haley Jean & Gwen Perkins; William S. Modzeleski Jr. Memorial Scholarship – Sean Doyle & Vanessa Leh; Women of the Moose Chapter 316 Scholarship – Kianna Reilly.
Christopher Patrick Annear, Sarah Renee Augeri, Kathryn Elizabeth Avery, Ryan David Badgley, Kayla Virginia Baker-Lafrennie, Shayla Marie Bannon, Allannah Denise Barber, Emma Elizabeth Barrett, Cassandra Catherine Bates, Elysha Murray Bedard, Kyleigh Ann Berge, Hannah Elizabeth Birch, Javin Tyler Blanchard, Jonathan Michael Blattenberger, Morgan Noelle Blavackas, Peter Richard Boisvert, Ryan Mathew Bombard, Cameran James Merchant Boyd, Dawson Grazziano Brady, Scarlet Dawn Bridges, Skilah Meghan Britt, Brittney Erin Brown, Javier Burgos, Dylan James Cernoia, Nolan Jesus Chalas, Kayla Marie Cleveland, Connor William Clinkscale, Skyla May Connor, Gillian Patricia Cormier, NatasiaJewelle Cox, Kylie Morgan Crowley, Emily Ann Demers, Timothy Alan Demers, Ashley Elizabeth Denio, Victor RemusatDeoliveira, John Matthew DeWitt, Aidan Stanley DiDonato, Kellianne Elise Dodge, Ryan Thomas Donaldson, Sean Patrick Doyle, Michael Patrick Duffy, Richard Boniface Egan III, Abigail Rose Elbourn, Cole Brown Emery, Allison Taylor Erbeck, Kaitlyn Rose Fales, Tyler Michael Ferrazza, Daniel Alejandro Ferreira, Merrideth Danielle Fontaine-Ehlen, Brandon Scott Foshay, Joseph James Fries, Hugo Dillingham Frost, Shey-Anne Gadwah-Alonso, Quinn William Gervais, Elizabeth Hope Gilbert, Matthew Paul Grant, Brandon Johnson Green, Timothy Paul Griffin Jr., Alexander CosworthGurganus, Nicole Katherine Hahn-McCauley, Evan Michael Hamlett, Aaron Reeves Hendry, Olivia Grace Hough, Parker Jeffrey Houghton, Olivia Rose Howes, Chayne River Hurlburt, Madison Rose Hurlburt, Emily Elizabeth Inman, Jeffrey Stephen Jasukonis, Haley Elizabeth Jean, Matthew Ryan Jenks, Lilac Rain Keenan, Kirsten JahennaLadeau, Cassidy Rose Layton, Madison Olivia Leary, McKenzie Jean LeBlanc, Stephen Earl Leger Jr., Vanessa Kathryn Leh, Dana Marie Linnan, Ashley Christine Loseman, John Joseph Love Jr., Brennan Joseph Mailloux, Tabitha Delight Manjourea, Adam Christopher Maselli, Connor Andrew McCarthy, Destiney Leigh Michelin, Lura Ashley Anne Misner, Seth Andrew Mitchell, Kyle Robert Monette, Sean Francis Mooney, Mckayla Skye O’Malley, Katelyn Rose Page, Emily Rose Paglia, Ava Catherine Paine, Matthew John Paluk, Treyton Hyde Pasakinskas, Alexis Dawn Patchen, Kailyn Louise Patria, Hannah Susan Paul, Samuel Christopher Paul, Timothy William Paul, Gwen J. L. Perkins, Kiara Marie Perry, Maeve Marie Powell, Alison PeiyiRalls, Jeremy Ping-An Ralls, Taylor Emily Rameau, Kianna Rae Reilly, Owen Lee Rich, Andrew Louis Robertson, Grace LuowenRobichaud, Justyn Tyler Rockwood, Dylan Edward Romanowski, JonalysEneida Rosario, Samantha Leigh Rowe, Victoria Lee Ryan, UshnaSaeed, Josue Emil Salcedo, Isabel Taylor Salvatore, Corey Michael Sanderson, Erin Morgan Sandova, Anysmarie Santiago, Calista Serenity Sawin, Kathryn Jean Schatia, Alice AbadeSchwanz, Nicholas Bradford Sharp, Ash Gabriel Tobias Shaw, Sebastian Nathaniel Wyatt Shaw, Samantha Nicole Shippell Stiles, Tricia Louise Sicard, Patrick Harold Sidilau, Emily Jean Sinclair, Sophia Ann Smith, Brionni Theresa Spinazzola, Hunter Matthew Stanley, Eric Richard Stone Jr., Kaitlyn Nicole Susen, Leah Jean Swain, Kiah Marie Swan, Cecil Spencer Talbot, William Joseph Tattan, Mykela Heather-Marie Taylor, James Gardner Teele, Jacob Alan Temple, Mayte Torres-Zelaya, Laryssa Marie Truesdale, Sarah Esther Urbina, Laura Esther Urdaneta, Aileen Valerio, Matthew Scott Vieira, Jessica Ann Walker, Ella Joy Walsh, Rieley Joseph Wentworth, Russell James Wheeler, Arilyn Elizabeth White, Kyleigh Marie Williams, Ian Michael Winniwicz, Tyreece James Younger, Hannah Rose Zanni.