LEWISTON —Olyvia Mckellar beamed as she sat in her cap and gown before the Lewiston High School summer graduation ceremony.
“It feels awesome,” Mckellar said with a huge smile. “It’s a big accomplishment.”
McKellar was one of 13 graduates receiving their high school diplomas Thursday evening, joining the rest of the Class of 2025 who got theirs in June. A total of 22 students needed the summer months to complete their course work.
“You earned this,” Lewiston Superintendent Jake Langlois told the graduates. “No one can take that away from you.”
The ceremony took place at The Green Ladle, the site of Lewiston Regional Technical Center’s culinary arts program.
The graduates were led to their seats by 2025 Class President Adryanna Viles, who reminded the summer students that they were also members of theto class.
While Ava Theriault admitted to feeling some frustration with having to go to summer school, many of the students said the experience was not too difficult and credited their teachers for helping them earn their final credits for graduation.
” My experience was pretty easy,” Salima Ali said. “My teacher helped me a lot to walk me through it.”
“It was pretty good,” added Paulo Sousa. “It was pretty simple and straightforward. We had to read a lot and write quite a bit. It wasn’t too hard. The teachers were pretty nice. Even at home if we needed any questions answered we could email the teacher.”
Theriault, with flowers covering her cap, credited her psychology teacher Abigail Peaslee with helping her during the school year and this summer to graduate.
“She was really nice and easy to work with,” Theriault said. “She knew how I worked with certain things and how I’m a physical learner. She made things easier for me.”
Mckellar said she took three courses this summer, including one online course in U.S. History. The other two classes were English and citizenship.
“I kind of struggled a bit in school,” Mckellar said. “I had a lot of support in these classes. A lot of teachers were willing to work with me and help me out with a lot of one-on-ones.”
Mckellar plans to work as a certified nursing assistant before going back to school to become a radiology technician.
Ali, like several other classmates, had to complete her government credit to earn her diploma. She said her instructor kept her on her toes.
“He was a good teacher, but he went through things a little fast,” Ali said. “He was one of those teachers who didn’t like to go back. If you missed something, it was kind of hard to make up. And every class was a new thing. If you missed one class, you missed a lot.”
After taking a gap year, Ali hopes to study to become a stenographer.
After Sousa finally put on his cap and gown before the ceremony, the importance of the moment finally struck him.
“This is pretty great,” he said. “I feel proud.”
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.