Hello everyone and welcome to the graduation of the class of 2016. As excited as we are to be sitting before you today, ready to take the next step in our lives, there is something we must do first, and that is say thank you. Thank you to the town that has helped us grow and that has shaped us into the individuals we are today. The saying, it takes a village could not be more relevant. Every person in this room has played some role in molding us into the adults we have become. For many of you, you probably still can’t believe we are adults. Today is not only an important day for us as students, but for us as a community, for we students have made it through with your help.

Through the years we have seen our community achieve great things, whether it be voting our schools coaches to receive national recognition, being able to sustain a high school which has ranked among the top ten in the state, being able to support students in enjoying once in a lifetime experiences, being able to rally together to raise thousands of dollars for families who are in need of help, or being able to have an organization which donates hundreds of thousands to the youth looking to further their eduction.

Many of us will be leaving the security of the peninsula. Whether it be an hour away or all the way to the opposite end of the east coast. We will be thrown into a place that will seem scary and unknown to us. While some of us will be staying on the peninsula it will be a big change. Those who are going into the workforce will be given a whole separate set of challenges that they will face despite whether they leave or stay on our peninsula, but I am confident that we will flourish. All of us have been given the necessary tools that are needed to succeed and no matter where we are going, we will carry the lessons we have learned here with us forever.

The support we receive is unable to be matched anywhere else, whether it be at a sporting event, at a school play, at an art show, or any of the other countless events, we have noticed your presence and we thank you. We thank our teachers, as tough as they may have been, for preparing us for the roads ahead in college, at technical school, or entering the workforce. We thank our friends, whether they be sitting next to us on stage or in the crowd for helping us keep our sanity through these years we’ve shared together. We thank the local businesses for donating to so many causes I couldn’t begin to count and for opening their doors and allowing us to work. We thank our parents and family members for pushing us, helping us, and always being our number one fans.

So as people begin to enter our tiny coastal town, and walk around and visit the many shops, they will appreciate the beauty this town has to offer, but what many do not get to experience is what it truly means to be a resident of Boothbay Harbor. The feeling of being apart of a close knit community. The privilege we have of knowing everyone personally. And while some may not appreciate it now, it will be with us for the rest of our lives. We will always be able to say we were apart of the BRHS and Boothbay Region community. Which is why, all of us here on this stage owe you all a thank you, for the endless support we receive, the countless opportunities we’ve been given, and the everlasting love we feel. Thank You.