Good afternoon everyone, on behalf of the class of 2016, I would like to thank all faculty, alumni, friends, family and other dignified guests for attending this year's BRHS graduation ceremony.

Well class, we made it, but before I get in too deep, I would like to disclose, that after tonight, this school is saying good-bye to one very determined, dedicated and quite attractive class. The theme of this speech is the four stages of high school; a story of our rise to glory.

Now, it wasn't long ago that BRHS saw the class of '16, a small, goofy minded group, eager to enter these red brick walls. We didn't know what to expect, we didn't know that Cathy would "put you in your place boy!" if you wore a hat in her lunch room, or how especially precious Mr. Pinkham's calculators were, and we only begun to hear cautionary tales of Mr. L'Heureux's hammer. I still don' t know how to spell his name. Above all, freshman year was a time to create those first memories; there was first homecoming, the first football game, the first prom ... that I totally had a date for. Yeah, never mind. Freshman year was kind of a flop. Granted, we recovered both physically and mentally, but one other thing we didn't know was that we would support each other through even the most awkward times and high school would do the same.

But time was moving fast. My little brother, Eli, is a sophomore this year (Hey Eli!), and ironically enough, sophomore year is almost like being a middle child; no one notices you! Transitioning from a newbie underclassman to a slightly overconfident underclassman isn't really a conversation starter, like, in the midst of things juniors were busy taking AP classes and getting ready for college, while the seniors undermined us with their "real life" challenges and amazing plans for the future. No one really knows what the sophomores were doing, but quietly our class was preparing to secure more powerful positions as team captains and school leaders; junior year was approaching.

Although meager inheritance of the upperclassmen status did not make us feel more powerful, no, it was Mr. Gorey's foolproof lessons on persuasive rhetoric that gave us the upper edge. But I think our accomplishments spoke for themselves. Our class proved it efficiency both as a team and individually junior year. With a Christmas tree raffle, spaghetti supper and prom, we raised enough money for graduation before the year was even up. We defeated the SAT, invited Q97.9 to one of our best proms ever, not to mention the drama club put on a memorable adaptation of "High School Musical" starring many of us as lead roles. As individuals, our junior class had seven all-star athletes, one all-star singer/actress, and eight National Honor Society members. We had begun growing and prospering into our own people.

Accordingly, our class remained strong by the time senior year came around. This past year we have nearly doubled the amount of all-star status athletes, mathletes, and thespians in our class. Many of my classmates have participated in work study mentorships with professionals, and have one hundred plus community service hours. Some of us have even won personal awards for craftsmanship and engineering. Collectively, we have contributed to bringing home nearly a dozen various trophies in the past four years.

Longing to wrap this speech up, I must say, it's been pretty hard to say good-bye to these guys 'cause, remember, this is Boothbay, Maine. We will coincidentally bump into each other until the end of time! So, in 20 years, I expect to bump into some of you as professionals: Matt will be running Sea Pier University; we'll find Samantha healing ill puppies as the local vet; and, hopefully, Abel isn't town manager.

Anyway, today is not just about celebrating education, rather a celebration for all of your notable achievements. They don't call it the glory days for nothing. So class, I leave with this message: For the rest of your life, strive to be the best version of yourself; each one of you have worked hard in your own way to get here. Will Smith said, "Money and success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there." No matter what your future plans are, don't let today be your peak, keep thriving. But right now, be proud of yourselves because you deserve it. And when you walk across the stage to get your diploma, don't forget to smile, look out at the crowd, and revel, because all those tears being shed are provoked by your excellence.