From the moment graduation began on Saturday afternoon in Rangeley until the moment it ended, it was clear this was an event like no other.
Almost immediately after the school’s 17 graduating seniors marched into the small gymnasium at Rangeley Lakes Regional School, the traditional playbook for graduation ceremonies was thrown out the window.
Senior John Weisz, long red hair stretching nearly to his waist, pulled out a pair of scissors and beckoned Jim Alyward, a former teacher and the guest speaker Weisz was charged with introducing. Weisz told the crowd he would be donating his hair to Locks of Love, a charity group that provides hair to children.
A steady mix of applause and shouts of “No, John, no” came from the crowd, but Weisz didn’t back down. As soon as he finished getting his new haircut, the ceremony pressed on but didn’t lose its unique style made possible by the class’s intimate size.
“Thirteen of the 17 students graduating here today went to kindergarten together just down the hall,” said Valedictorian Abigail Madeira, who gave a speech alongside her cousin, Ashley Morton, who is the class salutatorian.
After listening to a few speeches and receiving various awards and scholarships they had won, the students moved from their spots on stage to a makeshift TV lounge, where they watched a 20-minute movie produced by the class that documented their time together at Rangeley.
Baby pictures and other photos of individual students were shown, as well as photos of the class as it progressed together from kindergarten all the way through until graduation.
“We laughed when they said we wouldn’t want to leave; we cried when they said we had to,” remarked Morton.
“We fight, we cry, we argue like children,” she added. “But no matter how many times we’ve claimed to hate our class,’ the simple fact that we’ve made it this far and we’ve done it together proves that it can’t be true.”
Alyward told the graduates to value the time they had in school and to apply the lessons they learned as they prepare to move out into the world.
“You have been truly blessed to grow up in this beautiful land known as Rangeley,” he said. “This community has loved you, nurtured you and supported and applauded your efforts over the years.
“There is a misconception that teachers mold young lives,” he added. “I disagree. I believe a true teacher receives as much as they give, if not more. I’d like to believe these youngsters behind me helped mold me into the man I am today.”
After the students received their diplomas, they all proceeded to walk outside the building to the front entrance. Once there they waited patiently in a long line to get congratulations and good wishes from those who had come out to support them and to exchange hugs with fellow classmates.
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