WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After leaving one more cheer in a gym where his teams inspired so many cheers, Mount Greylock Regional School's Teacher of the Year Saturday said, "So long," to the Class of 2023.

 

Robert Thistle, a math teacher and boys basketball coach at the school, offered his valedictory remarks after receiving the annual honor bestowed on a member of the middle-high school faculty by the graduating seniors.

 

"If I have to graduate from Mount Greylock at some point, what better class to be connected with than the class of 2023," he said.

 

Thistle offered the 83 graduates three wishes in his emotional remarks: Know yourself, find something you love to do and laugh.

 

He then relayed some words of wisdom.

 

"My mother said to me all throughout my life, 'Don't say goodbye,' " Thistle said. "And I said, 'But Mom ...' and she said, 'Don't you say it. Say, 'So long.'

 

"As in, let it not be so long until we see each other again. So, class of 2023, congratulations, I'm proud of you, best of luck and ... so long."

 

Thistle was chosen by the graduating seniors as an example of the many educators who helped them on their journey to Saturday's graduation day.

 

Repeatedly at Saturday's ceremony, the grads were reminded that none of them got where they are on their own and that they now, more than ever, have an obligation to help others on their journeys.

 

Altan McIntosh, who was picked by his classmates to speak at the ceremony, noted that during the COVID-19 lockdown that hit during their ninth-grade year, it was the support of others that he missed the most during long weeks of "virtual" school.

 

"By the end of quarantine, I could barely stand another online class and couldn't wait to see my friends in person," McIntosh said. "I never realized why that was until we got back. i learned the same material online and had many of the same teachers. I had all the free time in the world and an extra hour of sleep. And ofr the first time since elementary school, I even ate breakfast.

 

"Now that we are out of high school, I realized that the part I missed most about physical school was not the place itself but the people who inhabit it."

 

The Mount Greylock faculty selected Molly Sullivan to be the other principal speaker at Saturday's ceremony.

 

She framed her remarks around all the things she learned outside of books and outside of formal classroom lessons.

 

"I remember a day so clearly this fall," Sullivan said. "It was windy but warm, and I was eating Goldfish before soccer practice. I had had a really horrible day, and I came to practice frustrated with my personal life. I got into a small argument with two of my close friends, and I lost it. Tears filled my eyes, and my coach, the one and only Tom Ostheimer, sent the rest of the girls to warm up.

 

"Tom pulled me aside, gave me a hug and told me that I don't have to be OK. You don't have to be strong every second of every day, Tom told me. Those words have stuck with me all year. It's OK not to be OK. Resilience is important in life, but, sometimes, you just have to accept that what you're going through is tough, take a deep breath and try again tomorrow."

 

Sullivan talked about the lessons she learned from her parents, from her third grade teacher and from her siblings.

 

And she offered a new spin on the old saying about making lemonade when life gives you lemons.

 

"I'd like to argue that, sometimes, life gives you the rottenest of lemons" she said. "They're moldy and old and unsalvageable. There's no way to make lemonade from the lemons you were handed by life.

 

"You go into your pantry and find the lemonade powder that your mom always buys. You call your neighbors for sugar and your brothers help you mix it up with water, and the lemons sit unused in the trash can. Because when life gives you the toughest of moments and you think you've hit rock bottom, there will always be people around you to pick you up and support you."

 

And, the graduates were reminded on Saturday that they can be that person for others.

 

Superintendent Jason McCandless shared some of his favorite words from the poet Countee Cullen, who wrote, "Everything counts. ... Everything. Everything we do and everything we say. Everything helps or hurts. Everything adds to or takes away from someone else."

 

He told the graduates that living a life with that in mind is not a burden. But it should be a natural consequence of the lives they already have lived.

 

"I have seen you show your love and care through authentic support, kind words and holding others accountable in ways that allow their dignity to remain in tact and grow," McCandless said. "I have witnessed countless examples of your deep humanity and your commitment to others in our three years together. The challenge of Mr. Cullen's words is not another thing to do but is instead a way to be — a way that comes naturally to every one of you."

 

The Mount Greylock Regional School class of 2023