Mount Greylock Regional Class of 2026 'Embraced the Unexpected'
Speaker William Apotsos says the class took the red pill, embracing the unexpected; classmate Madison Powell tells them they're still becoming the people they will be. 
The seniors queued up to enter the school gym with "Pomp and Circumstance" and scattered out the doors to "Choose Joy."
It was the choices to be present that had gotten the Mounties to this day, said William Apotsos, whom the class had selected as their graduating speaker. "They didn't just decide to be present, they refused to be absent."
When one little girl had thanked him for being there to referee a youth soccer game, it drove "home the importance of not only being present but refusing to be absent," he said.
Being present had been difficult in the transition between remote learning during the pandemic and returning to the school, when the class had to figure out how to be present together — physically, mentally and socially.
"There is always the safe route. Stick to what you know, stick around people you know, and never really leave your metaphorical shell that you built up over your time at home. ... Then there was the more dangerous: put yourself out there, embrace your impact option," Apotsos said.
"It's very much a red pill and blue pill situation, and what I am most proud of, that pretty much every single person on this stage took the red pill. They chose to embrace the unexpected and decide that they wouldn't let a couple years of isolation determine who they were going to be."
His advice was to keep up the good work, be present, insert themselves into as many different roles, situations, possibilities that they possibly could.
Class President Frances G. O'Leary Evans said she was grateful they had the time together to share triumphs and was excited to see "all of the amazing things" they would accomplish. Principal Jacob Schutz reminded them that bravery isn't just about heroism, it's "taking the first step when you don't know exactly where the path will lead."
Superintendent Joseph Bergeron told the class that every generation has graduated into a world mid-argument, using the example of 1969, when it felt like the world was coming apart at the seams but also when human beings traveled through space to land on the moon.
"Not because everything was fine, but because a generation decided to look up anyway, to build anyway, to believe stubbornly and against the odds that the future was worth reaching for," Bergeron said. "Go, knowing that your life here showed you something about how neighbors live with difference, how communities can hold together together, even when they disagree. How people who share in community find a way. Carry that with you."
English teacher Rebecca Tucker-Smith was presented with the Teacher of the Year Award. Class Vice President Jack Uhas took a moment to recognize every educator at the school and said Tucker-Smith in particular, "is notable for their relentless determination to create thoughtful, caring, and motivated adults."
The Staff of the Year Award when to Keith Jones, a social worker in the guidance office and adviser to the class officers, because "no matter what the topic is, he is eager to bond with the students."
The chorus sang the national anthem and "You'll Never Walk Alone" with "Climb Every Mountain," and the school band performed several compositions. Bergeron, Schutz and School Committee Chair Julia Bowen presented the diplomas as Assistant Principal Samantha Rutz called the students' names.
Madison Powell, selected by the faculty as speaker, reflected on classes growth during their Mount Greylock and how they shouldn't define themselves as high school stereotypes — the smart one, the quiet one, the funny one, the athlete, etc.
"Graduation means we're not permanently limited to those versions of ourselves," she said. "I think that many of us have felt like we're stuck under one of those titles at some point or another. I know I've seen myself in a few."
She felt she would have been the nice one, but noted she'd often confused kindness with avoiding conflict, and was more worried about what other people thought of her. But then then she heard her classmates talking about how they felt isolated, or dismissed, or worried.
"Everything you did, the things you're proud of, the things that seem insignificant, or things that you might regret, are the makeup of who you are now and will drive you in becoming your best self," Powell said. "You are not defined by your past. You are not defined by the person you were within your walls. It is entirely your control to become a version of yourself that you want to be. Never restrict yourself to a title. We are all still becoming."
Graduating class of 2026
Addison Elisabeth Abel
William Reed Apotsos*
Brady Norman Auger
Teigan Grace Brady
Alexander Carson Briggs*
Jaime Jose Brito+
Grady Nelson Brownell-Wilkins
Mason Andrew Canata
Molly Frances Cangelosi
Paige Elizabeth Cangelosi
Adriana Maroja Carasone*
Cooper Alan Carlson
Cora Elizabeth Chaney
Ava Rose Charbonneau
Siera Mae Clemo
William Cortes Everett
Ian Crowe+
Samuel Pratt Davidson
Shubham Shrikant Devre
Madison Rae Drake
Ruby Kate Dufour*
Manuel Jesus Dupras
Maxwell James Easton
William Reed Apotsos*
Brady Norman Auger
Teigan Grace Brady
Alexander Carson Briggs*
Jaime Jose Brito+
Grady Nelson Brownell-Wilkins
Mason Andrew Canata
Molly Frances Cangelosi
Paige Elizabeth Cangelosi
Adriana Maroja Carasone*
Cooper Alan Carlson
Cora Elizabeth Chaney
Ava Rose Charbonneau
Siera Mae Clemo
William Cortes Everett
Ian Crowe+
Samuel Pratt Davidson
Shubham Shrikant Devre
Madison Rae Drake
Ruby Kate Dufour*
Manuel Jesus Dupras
Maxwell James Easton
Frances Grace O'Leary Evans*
Chloe Rose Fleury
Cyley Loueleanor Getzlaff
Arianna Henderson++
Skylar Riley Johnson
Emilie Hodges Jones*+
Maxwell Quinn Kennefick Killam
Violet Chloe Kornell
Kiera Louise Kristensen
Alexander Luke Labendz
Nora Grace Lopez*
Amelia Polly Madrigal+
Krishiv Malhotra
Brandon James Mason
Luca Richard Mellow-Bartels*+
Reed Alexander Miles-Harris
Teresa Noelle Moresi
Roman Laird Nixon+
Natasha Mercia-Madeline Nugent*
Akosh Laszlo Olchvary
Audrianna Judith Pelkey*
Madison Ann Powell*
Kofi Tayeb Roberts*
Chloe Rose Fleury
Cyley Loueleanor Getzlaff
Arianna Henderson++
Skylar Riley Johnson
Emilie Hodges Jones*+
Maxwell Quinn Kennefick Killam
Violet Chloe Kornell
Kiera Louise Kristensen
Alexander Luke Labendz
Nora Grace Lopez*
Amelia Polly Madrigal+
Krishiv Malhotra
Brandon James Mason
Luca Richard Mellow-Bartels*+
Reed Alexander Miles-Harris
Teresa Noelle Moresi
Roman Laird Nixon+
Natasha Mercia-Madeline Nugent*
Akosh Laszlo Olchvary
Audrianna Judith Pelkey*
Madison Ann Powell*
Kofi Tayeb Roberts*
Murphy Morgan Sayers
Indira Elisabeth Semon Pike
Otto Henderson Sharon
Jacob Brede Shelsy
Lincoln Richard Simpson
William Gray Svrluga+
Dana Marie Taylor
Fanny Thomas
Jesse Noah Thompson
Honor Tidmarsh
Charlotte Noelle Durant Towler*
Jack Heekin Uhas*
Xavier Sovereign Velazquez
Thomas James Warren*
Carter Michael Wescott
Mateo Douglas Whalen-Loux*
Antonia Carlstrom Wied*
De'Andre Javon Wiggins
Evora Xu++
Andy Zheng
Olivia Debra Zoito*
*National Honor Society; + Seal of Biliteracy; ++ Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction
Indira Elisabeth Semon Pike
Otto Henderson Sharon
Jacob Brede Shelsy
Lincoln Richard Simpson
William Gray Svrluga+
Dana Marie Taylor
Fanny Thomas
Jesse Noah Thompson
Honor Tidmarsh
Charlotte Noelle Durant Towler*
Jack Heekin Uhas*
Xavier Sovereign Velazquez
Thomas James Warren*
Carter Michael Wescott
Mateo Douglas Whalen-Loux*
Antonia Carlstrom Wied*
De'Andre Javon Wiggins
Evora Xu++
Andy Zheng
Olivia Debra Zoito*
*National Honor Society; + Seal of Biliteracy; ++ Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction
Tags: graduation 2026, MGRS,
