BUCKLAND — The 2021 graduating class of Mohawk Trail Regional School was given simple advice: “Live a fulfilled life.”
That is what commencement speaker and girls ski coach Brandon Boucias offered to the graduates during his address on Saturday. Boucias returned to the phrase multiple times, highlighting how even simple acts “can have a life-changing effect.”
“Life is not a straight line,” Boucias said. “Embrace the twists and turns. Always keep moving forward.”
Class President Mackenzie Sarage asked early on in her speech, “Who makes history?” As she continued her address, she talked about the lessons the pandemic has taught her and her classmates.
“One of these lessons being how resilient my generation is,” Sarage said. “And the impact that my voice and my classmates’ voices have on a nation. Moving forward, this pandemic left my classmates and I resolved to stay vocal.”
After asking who makes history earlier in her speech, Sarage answered her own question.
“Mohawk Trail’s graduating class reaffirms that the next leaders of the world will be brilliant,” Sarage said. “My classmates and I are the world’s future, and we will make history.”
Valedictorian Amelie Rowehl emphasized the importance of community in her speech. She said the pandemic made her realize how helpful her family, classmates and teachers are.
“We were isolated from one another, forced to stare at computer screens all day long to interact,” Rowehl said. “But our communities, whether they’re made up of friends, family, neighbors or teammates, were always there.
Rowehl said these communities will be with the graduates every step of the way.
“It may not be easy deciding what we want to do next, but we won’t be doing it alone,” Rowehl said. “The decisions we make next will be our own, but our community of friends and families will still be there to help and support along the way.”
Mohawk Trail Regional School’s awards night was canceled, so each student’s awards and accomplishments were read before they were handed their diploma.
Taylor Loomis, who will be pursuing an international relations degree at Boston University, said her senior year experience felt abbreviated, but she enjoyed getting to socialize with her friends again.
“It feels like I went to school for four weeks,” Loomis said. “It didn’t feel real.”
Sarah Close, who plans on moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, said graduation went well and the four weeks of in-person learning helped things feel somewhat normal.
“It was interesting,” Close said. “Definitely being in a structured space was helpful.”
Remick Bakey, who wants to be a history teacher and is attending St. Lawrence University in New York, said he wasn’t really sure what to think about graduation until it happened.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Bakey said. “It was nice because a whole year locked away changes how you think about seeing people.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or at 413-930-4081.
For more graduation coverage, including graduates’ names, award winners and speeches, see the Recorder’s June 30 special section commemorating the Class of 2021.