Hoosac Valley Valedictorian Tells Graduates to Live With Mistakes
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley High School valedictorian Brodie Lanoue asked his fellow graduates to live with the mistakes they make in life as they move on to their next chapter.
"The point I'm trying to make is that we all make mistakes, but no matter how big or small the mistake was, or no matter if it was athletic, academic or life related, I always persevered and tried to learn from it," he said. "No one is perfect, and mistakes are the best teachers."
The school awarded diplomas to 78 seniors during graduation ceremonies at the school on Friday. During his remarks, Lanoue shared several experiences of past failures, including scoring an own-goal in soccer and getting into a minor car accident while ordering fast food.
"When someone hears valedictorian, they probably think of an overachiever, a perfectionist or a nerd," he said. "While some of that is probably true, I think it is important to admit that I made plenty of mistakes along the way."
Lanoue thanked his fellow graduates for the year's worth of memories they shared. He said he could not be more thankful to grow up with them.
"Adversity can make you stronger, if you let it," he said. "And I hope that the hardships we endured only prepare us to better face the new challenges presented to us in the future, whether you come out of this graduation as an athlete, a scholar, an artist, musician, or perhaps all of these things, or none of these things."
Salutatorian Lillian Boudreau said her graduating class has had little time to celebrate over the last few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the times of celebration are what stands out most when thinking about her time as a student.
"As a three-sport athlete, I had the opportunity to compete in many games and races. Some of them wins, some of them losses ... The things that I remember are not the scores of the game or the times of races, but the people who were cheering me on," she said.
Bourdeau said she and the rest of the class are thankful for the support of the teachers, friends and family.
"It is a great honor to welcome all of you to our final race, our last match, our last curtain call, our last cross of the finish line ... Thank you for being our fans, our cheerleaders, our biggest supporters. We could not do this without you, and we finally did it."
Matthew Tassone gave the class of 2022 address. He said during his remarks that he struggled to write a speech that did not sound unoriginal.
"I didn't wanna fall into the trap of speaking to you in a way that everybody's already heard. The sentence that reads, 'Wow. We made it. We really graduated,'" he said.
Tassone said he and others would not be graduating without the support of Hoosac Valley's teachers, coaches and staff. Teachers often, Tassone said, are underappreciated for their work
"Teachers and coaches are some of the most important people ... I strongle feel that teachers are sometimes overlooked. But tonight, they surely will not be.
Hoosac Valley School Committee Chair Michael Mucci said he feels fortunate to be a part of the ceremony for this graduating class.
"It's been a real privilege to be part of the ceremony," he said. "I have watched many of today's graduates develop from young boys and girls into the adults that you see before you today."
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