WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional School's class of '25 Saturday reflected on the meanings of individuality and collectivism.

 

The tone was set by interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron, who chose "uniqueness and commonality" as the themes of his introductory remarks. And each of the members of the class who addressed the ceremony echoed the sentiment in her own way.

 

Polly Rhie and Malia Koffi spent much of their time at the podium sharing personal anecdotes about their time at the school and in their formative years in the community.

 

Rhie then talked about how the collection of characters on the stage behind her helped bring her to this moment.

 

"I have navigated my time here at Greylock with the safety net that people know who I am," said Rhie, who was chosen by her classmates to speak at the ceremony. "I was born and raised in the Berkshires and have known many of you for as long as I can remember. Teachers have known my parents since before I was born, and I entered Greylock with a pretty cool older brother.

 

"That feeling of security has allowed me to grow into the person I am today, letting me make space for myself here without fear that mistakes or embarrassing moments will define how you all see me. … As we all head out into the world and leave the safe bubble of Greylock behind, we are venturing into entirely foreign, new worlds filled with new people to get to know and who will need to get to know us. Many of us for the first time. And that is so exciting in its own right. But I want us all to remember how special the relationships we have now are, how special it has been to grow up here."

 

Koffi, who was selected by the Mount Greylock faculty to address the graduates, told her classmates, "we grew up here." But in that shared experience, she asked them to remember the things that make each member of the class — and each person they will meet in their lives — special.

 

Koffi chose for her theme the neologism "sonder," which she noticed blowing up on social media as a popular tattoo choice.

 

"Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as complex and vivid as one's own," Koffi said. "And as I was thinking about what to say today, I thought about how true that is. It emphasizes that every individual, even those we might not know well, has a rich and detailed life story.

 

"In this moment, as we are all here on this stage, we are sharing an experience that connects us, our high school graduation. Even though each of us can't fully understand the feelings of the classmates sitting next to us, and we certainly can't understand the feelings of the people we'll interact with throughout our lives, we can recognize their humanity and the complex emotions we all share."

 

Bergeron stressed each graduate's humanity as well, telling them, "Don't let anyone or anything tell you that you need to dim your light to fit in."

 

"But here's the paradox," Bergeron continued. "As unique as each of you is, you also have an incredible amount in common. You've worked as teams, persevered, navigated coursework and activities and relationships and juggled too many things, stronger together. You've experienced the triumphs of victory and the lessons of defeat, collectively."

 

"In our increasingly polarized world, remembering our commonality is more crucial than ever. It's about recognizing the spark of humanity in every person, regardless of their background, their beliefs or their journey. It's about understanding that your well-being is intertwined with the well-being of your neighbor, your community and, indeed, the world."

 

Like Bergeron, Mount Greylock Principal Jacob Schutz used a "light" metaphor.

 

"I recently came across a painting in an old yearbook, accompanied by an artist's statement," Schutz said. "The drawing was of the memorial lighthouse atop [Mount Greylock], and the caption reads, 'It's like the tower lights the area the way the education at Mount Greylock lights the mountain.

 

"That sentiment from over 50 years ago still captures what you've done here now. That tower stands at the summit as a visible symbol of all that's been achieved and still lies beyond it. Today, you stand at your summit, looking out. The view's expansive. The possibilities, endless."

 

In keeping with tradition, the school reserved its top academic awards for the graduates until graduation day. Receiving their plaques at Saturday morning's ceremony were:

The Class of '25 also handed out a couple of awards of its own. The Teacher of the Year went to Blair Dils. The Faculty Member of the Year went to custodian Ryan Skrocki.

 

"You guys didn't mess anything up too bad this year, so we're good," Skrocki said in accepting his honor.