CHARLEMONT — They are moving on. Nine different seniors — now alumni — are going to nine different colleges, but only after having made their collective mark on the Academy at Charlemont.
On a sunny Saturday next to the Deerfield River, each student had the chance to talk about their special relationship with the school in its 38th year, before leaving the outdoor stage with their diplomas.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard,” Emily Grace Comeaux quoted from Winnie the Pooh, just having emotionally thanked her teachers, classmates and family for their support throughout high school.
One by one, they made it clear that they had not only learned in an academic sense, but in a social and spiritual way, too. They did it as a team.
“Who would’ve thought that I’d be here right now?” asked Macy Kasbo, who left her homeland, house and belongings in war-torn Syria at a child, and moved to America.
“The academy opened its doors to me and offered a second home,” she said. “Faith has helped me make my impossible possible, because I’m standing right here today.”
From Jaromil Enam Topolski’s appreciation toward his teachers’ leniency — especially while goofing off — to Grayson Russell Rizzi’s respect for the tutors who helped him develop musically, they all had some reason to thank the private school and its faculty and staff.
They stood out as individuals — like Hendrik Pepermans, who joked about being the “random Belgian guy” at the school who’d already graduated in Europe — but they all had that shared special experience at the academy.
Together, and with their teachers, they sang “In my Life” by the Beatles on stage before heading into the adult world.
“Though I know I’ll never lose affection for the people and things that went before. I know I’ll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more.”
Academy at Charlemont
Class of 2018
Eleanora Boyd-Owens (Shelburne Falls); Sewanee – College of the South
Emily Comeaux (Conway); College of the Atlantic
Ella Deters (Shelburne Falls); Brandeis University
Lilah Feitner (Cummington); Clark University
Macy Kasbo (Conway); Smith College
Patrick Osborne (Northampton); St. Anselm College
Hendrik Pepermans (Belgium and Shelburne Falls); University of Leuven, Belgium
Grayson Rizzi (Colrain); Bridgewater State University
Jaromil Topolski (Shelburne Falls); Holyoke Community College
Academic Awards
7th Grade Rhiannon Campbell (Conway)
8th Grade Leo Wurgaft (Amherst)
9th Grade Cristy Kasbo (Conway)
10th Grade Claire Grunberg (Shelburne Falls)
11th Grade Leni Sperry-Fromm (Goshen)
12th Grade Macy Kasbo (Conway)
Robert Jaros Citizenship Award: Sophia Corwin, 2019.
Jane Grant Honor Council Award: Liam Neeley, 2019.
Ellen MacLeish Zale Community Service Award: Francesca Ruggiero-Corliss, 2019.
Athletic Awards
Outstanding Athletes, Lower School: Charlie Por, 2023; Ruby Chase, 2022.
Outstanding Athletes, Senior School: Nathaniel Boyd-Owens, Tucker Zakon-Anderson.
Coaches’ Award: Eleanora Boyd-Owens.
Kerlin Conyngham Fine Arts Awards
Performing Arts: Lila Goleman.
Visual Arts: Francesca Ruggiero-Corliss.
Mount Holyoke College Book Award: Sophia Corwin.
Smith College Book Award: Calla Jones.