BETHEL – The Gould Academy class of 2004 will receive diplomas on Saturday, May 29, during 168th commencement exercises. The Rev. Virginia S. Rickeman of the West Parish Congregational Church will give the invocation, and the keynote speaker will be Federal Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

Valedictorian Quinn McAllister and student speaker Gabe Ohlson will also address their classmates prior to the awarding of honors and diplomas.

Young, a federal judge since 1985, is a native of Huntington, N.Y., and received his undergraduate and law degree at Harvard University and Harvard Law School respectively. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964, and after finishing his military service he began his career as a law clerk for Raymond S. Wilkins, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, before going into private practice from 1968 to 1972.

Young was then appointed as a special assistant attorney general for the state of Massachusetts and served in that position before he became chief counsel to the governor of Massachusetts. Young was first appointed as a judge in 1978, when he became an associate justice in the Superior Court of Massachusetts. He served in that position until 1985, when he nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a new seat on the federal bench, where he continues to serve.

Young has held the position of lecturer in law at Boston College Law School for the past 36 years. He has held the same position at Boston University Law School for 25 years, and he also lectured at Harvard Law School from 1979 to 1990.

McAllister is the son of Scott and Sharon McAllister of Bethel. He is a member of the National Honor Society and a student proctor, and he has attended Gould for five years, including an eighth-grade winter term during which he pursued competitive alpine skiing.

He has been active as a peer tutor in the Math Center and a member of the varsity baseball, basketball and soccer teams. He plans a career in engineering and will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall.

Ohlson has been chosen by his classmates to speak at commencement prior to the awarding of diplomas. Ohlson, who has attended Gould for the past four years, is a student proctor, an accomplished freestyle skier and has been active on the men’s varsity lacrosse team.

He is an avid potter and did an independent study in the Gould communications office during his senior year. He is the son of Marc and Jill Ohlson of Conway, N.H. He will attend Montana State University in the fall.

On Friday afternoon, May 28, Rickeman will deliver the invocation at the traditional baccalaureate ceremonies at the West Parish Congregational Church. Senior Katie Reed will present the class banner, and the graduating class has chosen classmate Charlie Edwards and faculty member Peter Southam to address them.

Edwards, a four-year student at Gould, is the son of Martha and Clark Edwards of Montague, Mass. He is a head proctor and a member of the National Honor Society. He was the captain of the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams in his senior year. He plans to attend either the University of Massachusetts or the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in the fall.

Southam has taught biology at Gould for the past three years. He is co-leader of the farm and forest program and coach of the mountain biking team. He is an accomplished musician and a member of the Mahoosuc Community Band.

On Friday evening, the Gould Academy music department, under the direction of James McLaughlin III, will present its annual spring concert in Bingham Auditorium. The concert, which will begin at 8 p.m., will feature instrumental and vocal selections. It is free and open to the public.

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