My name is Cleyton Splaine, I am the now former Boothbay Region High School student body president, and today, your honor speaker and I am honored to be here today, with this class and you all.

I want to briefly discuss my favorite thing with you today.

Language is my life. When I first got to BRHS I was so excited for all the amazing hands-on learning opportunities in the Maker’s Space with Mr. Schwehm and Mrs. Hersom’s lab. And don’t get me wrong, these experiences were amazing. I persevered through math classes thanks to the help of both the teachers in the math department and my friends who are much smarter than me. But by senior year, I found my niche, my voice. Friends of mine have heard me say before that “all I really want to do when I go to school is read and write” and I stand by that. Maybe that make me strange, but Boothbay, this town and this high school, helped me find where I fit in and where my heart lies, and I know it did the same for so many of the lovely folks graduating with me here today.

We are about to graduate into a world where finding that voice, where that passion lies, is important and also a world where rhetoric and individual voice is becoming a commodity. Every week, it seems, there is a new headline about a school taking away a student's diploma for speaking out against global conflicts or participating in protests. And while my classmates and I are excited for our bright futures ahead, I also worry that this beautiful individuality that has blossomed from the class of 2025 may not be the norm in the future.

And so I want to say to my friends, classmates, and peers that are both behind and in front of me is that this world, this scary, dangerous world ahead of us is calling for you and I to be unapologetically our authentic selves, to find a voice and use it to sing, or just have conversations if that is more your speed. Use this language. Learn a different one. It’s not just words, it’s body language, and actions often speak the loudest.

From the river to the sea, our education here on the water has taught us that we are the captains of our own soul. To that privilege, I know the class of 2025 will hold on tight and answer the world’s call.

Thank you.