BETHEL – A bit warm for caps and gowns at 85 degrees, perhaps, but Gould Academy’s Class of 2005 made it through Saturday’s commencement exercises like true sports.
Led by a bagpiper, and beneath a fleckless blue sky, 51 graduates marched from Hanscom Hall across Church Street onto Alumni Field.
A strong bond between the graduates was palpable.
In her valedictory address, Amy Gaidis, who will attend Tufts University this fall, praised her classmates’ unique talents, and said that a profound lesson she had learned while at Gould Academy was the importance of being true to oneself.
“Your loves and passions are what make you the accomplished individuals that I know you all to be,” she told her classmates. “Never compromise these things. No matter how busy and distracted by the real world you may get, always be sure that there is a half-hour everyday that no no can touch or interrupt.”
Loie Merritt said that Gould had helped her discover her real passion in life. Because of a class trip last year to New York City, Merritt said, she got hooked on theater, and very much looks forward to majoring in theater studies at Northeastern University. Asked if she’d miss her Gould classmates while in Boston, Merritt said, “These are the best friends I’ve ever had.”
Curtis Daniels will head south to Boca Raton to attend Florida Atlantic University this fall. He described Gould as a “real nice community” that had helped him blossom. “I’m a lot more mature,” Daniels said confidently. “I’m not really afraid of speaking my mind anymore, I’m pretty opinionated now.”
Kim Tremblay, who will study business at Bentley College in Boston, echoed Daniels’ sentiment about positive transformation. “Gould gave me a sense of responsibility,” Tremblay said. “My parents think this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I do, too,” she added.
Head of School Dan Kunkle said he felt a deep connection with Saturday’s graduates because he came to Gould when they did, in 2001.
“I sort of grew up with them; they’ll always be a special class to me,” Kunkle said, adding that they are a “deeply, thoughtful, wonderful group of kids.”
The head of Gould’s science department, Todd Siekman, went so far as to say that the Class of 2005 embodies Gould Academy’s educational mission.
“They’re a good example of what we try to do with the school,” Siekman said.
The following graduates received academic awards Saturday: Amy M. Gaidis for English and French; Kyle S.C. Pereira for history; Douglas H. Pearce for mMathematics; Finnian C. Donovan for science; Callan J.Burzynski for Spanish; Anna L Merritt for drama; Stephanie J. Means for drama technology; and Kristopher D. Curtis and Lewis G. Feuer for art.
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