CHARLEMONT — The Academy at Charlemont thanked its 10 graduates for “showing up for the community” time and time again during Saturday’s commencement ceremony.

In celebrating the Class of 2025, school leaders thanked the graduates for their role in bringing the school community back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When COVID hit in March of 2020, this was a group of seventh graders, and only two of you here today were a part of that group. Suddenly, we were all deeply isolated from one another, turning inward just as you were diving headlong into adolescence,” Co-Head of School for Community Nora Bates Zale said. “And then, as some measure of safety became easier to ensure at the start of your ninth grade year, and we were back on campus full-time in-person, we began to ask you to do the opposite of that — to unfold from that inward space where we’d all gone, and to show up, over and over again, in every way possible, increasingly so as you advanced through the years.”

Bates Zale said through their work in the arts, athletics, academics, and their daily interactions with faculty and fellow students, the Class of 2025 built a strong community at the academy. She is excited to see where they go next.

“I am so grateful to know it is you showing up to be among the next builders of this society,” Bates Zale said.

After faculty thanked the students for their work and wished them luck in the future, the graduates announced they would like to thank the school for supporting them. The Class of 2025 presented the younger students with their class gift — a tetherball court — and offered a few pieces of advice.

“I know you all are going to go so far in life and I am so proud of each of you for all of your accomplishments. The academy has not only been a place where I met all of these incredible people, it also has been a place where I grew to learn how to love myself,” graduating senior Eva Matilda Morse said. “Learn to love yourself, be gentle, always, always try your best, and know that your best is all you can do. There is only one of you in this world, and you are extraordinary, so please have patience, have compassion and enjoy all of the little things.”

Graduates added that younger students should make the most of their time at The Academy at Charlemont, because before they know it, it will be their turn to graduate and face all the emotions that come along with endings and new beginnings.

“Life is so unexpected, and you don’t always need to know why it makes you feel the way it does. Be excited to turn to the next chapter of your life, but remember that you can never predict how you’ll feel making that transition,” said graduating senior Jack Nayak.

“I love this place, I love the people in it, I love the people who brought me to it, and whatever happens next, I know this school will be a part of me somehow,” graduating senior Oleander Brenizer added. “I’ll always appreciate the ways in which it has shaped the person I’ll become.”

Graduates

Oleander Brenizer of Colrain, Mabel Chesnes of Turners Falls, Parker Lane of West Halifax, Vermont, Raia LeBreux of Shelburne Falls, Emlyn Mitchell-Bates of Montague, Eva Matilda Morse of East Dover, Vermont, Jack Nayak of Florence, Jonah Pollock of Cummington, Maceo Ballesteros Raker of Northampton, and Lucas Watkin of Wilmington, Vermont.

Awards and scholarships

Jonah Pollock: Academic Excellence Award, Fine Arts Award for Work in Visual Arts and the Spirit of Zephyr Award.

Raia LeBreux: McKay Art Scholarship.

Oleander Brenizer: Spirit of Zephyr Award.

Eva Matilda Morse: Robert Jaros Citizenship Award.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.