Mohawk Trail Regional School’s 28 grads reflect on ‘the strongest of roots’

BUCKLAND — The 28 graduates of the Mohawk Trail Regional School Class of 2026 were told to keep their roots in mind as they crossed the stage and entered their next chapters during Friday’s graduation ceremony.

“Roots are, whether literally or figuratively, a prerequisite for all living things to reach adulthood. Just as a daffodil sends roots into the earth around it on its way up to the world, we build relationships, memories and passions, which tether us to our lives as we grow. Those of us lucky enough to graduate from Mohawk Trail Regional School have the strongest of roots,” Salutatorian Hazel Foucault said. “Our small community lends itself to the formation of bonds between students, families and faculty, which will stand the test of time.

“But what really pulls us all together are our memories of the same small things,” Foucault continued. “These moments, individually, were trivial. Ridiculous or frustrating at the time. But together, they built in each of us an empathetic, resilient and open-minded approach to the world, which will serve us immensely going forward.”

Keynote speaker Kat Briggs echoed Foucault’s sentiments about community and shared that the Mohawk Trail community rallied around her and her family, including her son, Malcolm Briggs, vice president of the Class of 2026, after her husband died. She told students that at the end of the day, they are not measured by their grade-point average, awards or scholarships, but by their character and how they show up.

“You showed up after difficult losses. You showed up through challenges in times of uncertainty. You showed up for each other. 
You showed up in classrooms, on fields, courts, stages and in this community. And tonight, you showed up one final time together as graduates,” Briggs said. “Tonight is proof that love, consistency and simply continuing to move forward matter more than perfection ever will. Graduates, your story is only beginning. 
Some of you know exactly where you are headed. Some of you are still figuring it out. Both are OK. Life rarely follows the exact plan we imagine at 18 years old.”

Speakers said the Class of 2026 faced its share of challenges and losses, from facing the COVID-19 pandemic as they transitioned to middle school, to losing their classmate Summer Steele, who would have graduated this year had she not been killed in a bus accident in 2016 at 9 years old. 

Pam DuPree presented the annual Summer Steele Scholarship, saying that this year, instead of one award, the family is awarding two scholarships to two of Summer’s closest childhood friends, Cleome Gardner and Camryn Thompson.

“They are both amazing young women who have always shown us and her family that they will forever celebrate Summer,” DuPree said. “Thank you for remembering Summer always and for carrying her with you. Continue growing into the people that you have already become to make this world a better place. No doubt, Summer is watching over you right now, as you are graduating, celebrating and planning for your futures.”

Valedictorian Alex Niquette said that despite the losses the graduates faced, they believed they would do great things in life, and the Class of 2026 was just waiting to ignite their sparks.

“For 18 years, you have been the gunpowder wrapped into the shell of a firework, itching for any spark, any action, and then it’s when we light that fuse, ready to explode into a dazzling array until that sky of our future will never forget our names,” Niquette said. “We will end in beautiful constellations, always tethered together, but still belonging to ourselves in our own small solar systems.”

Graduates

May Armstrong, Malcolm Briggs, Emma Canaday, Zachary Canaday, Maya Colbeck, Izabelle Finn, Hazel Foucault, Megan Gabaree, Cleome Gardner, Charles Georgantas, Crystal Godfroy, Peter Healy, Ivan Hillenbrand, Jesse James, Addison Loomis, Emily Mason, Braydn Marcoux, Alex Niquette, Kylah Perras-Howard, Anya Read, Rowan Richardson, Guinevere Silva-Ryan, Emerson Spence, Noah Sprague, Camryn Thompson, Ella Thompson, Aryannah Thurman-Boltz and Logan Weigand.

Scholarships

Alex Niquette: The Ian Fletcher-Lynch Spirit of the River Scholarship; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship.

Hazel Foucault: The Ian Fletcher-Lynch Spirit of the River Scholarship; Shelburne Falls Eagles Scholarships; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; Arms Academy Scholarship Fund Trust; Charles E. White Scholarship; Colrain Community Church Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship.

Addison Loomis: Coach Bob and Pat Hinds Scholarship Award; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; Arms Academy Scholarship Fund Trust; The Shelburne Falls Kiwanis Club, Key Club Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship.

Malcolm Briggs: Doug Turner Memorial Scholarship Award; Shelburne Falls Eagles Scholarships; The Larry Rancourt Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; The Jarred Richard Bolognani Memorial Scholarship; Colrain Community Church Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship.

Emma Canaday: The Edgar Walter Martin II Memorial Scholarship; The Barbara and Herbert Purington Scholarship; Arms Academy Scholarship Fund Trust; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; The Colrain PTO Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; Helen E. Long Memorial Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; Ruth & Alfred Carpenter Sr. Memorial Scholarship; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship.

Cleome Gardner: Colrain Community Church Scholarship.

Maya Colbeck: Friends of Robert Strong Woodward.

Izabelle Finn: Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; Shelburne Falls Area Woman’s Club Scholarship; Heath Ladies Aid Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship.

Megan Gabaree: The Raymond and Agnes Starkey Endowed Memorial Scholarship; Arms Academy Scholarship Fund Trust; The Colrain PTO Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship.

Emily Mason: Gertrude Streeter Fund.

Kylah Perras-Howard: The Dr. John B. and Lillian C. Temple Memorial Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship.

Anya Read: The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; The Carol Purington Woman of Words Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship; Sue Atherton Endowed Scholarship Fund for Agriculture and Farming.

Guenivere Silva-Ryan: The Kelly M. Broughan Memorial Scholarship; The Shelburne Falls Kiwanis Club; Shelburne Falls Kiwanis Club Memorial; Colrain Community Church Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship; Jeannie L. Bascom.

Emerson Spence: Shelburne Falls Eagles Scholarships; Shelburne Falls Area Woman’s Club Scholarship; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; The Shelburne Falls Kiwanis Club, Alan Willis Memorial Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; Charles E. White Scholarship; Cowell Fund Award; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship; Liz Lebaron Memorial Scholarship; Shelburne Falls Eagles Auxiliary Scholarship.

Camryn Thompson: Coach Bob and Pat Hinds Scholarship Award; Doug Turner Memorial Scholarship Award; Shelburne Falls Eagles Scholarships; Shelburne Falls Area Woman’s Club Scholarship; The Arms Academy Endowed Scholarship; Arms Academy Scholarship Fund Trust; The Shelburne Falls Kiwanis Club, Rolland Gifford Memorial Scholarship; The Deane Jones Memorial Award from Trinity Church; Charles E. White Scholarship; Fred W. Wells Fund Scholarship; The Jarred Richard Bolognani Memorial Scholarship.

Logan Weigand: Heath Ladies Aid Scholarship; Carl H. Nilman Scholarship; John and Abigail Adams Scholarship.