EASTHAMPTON — As thunder rumbled outside, 93 Easthampton High School seniors prepared to take the next step into adulthood.

Members of the Easthampton High School Class of 2025 graduated on Friday in the school’s gymnasium. A common theme throughout the evening’s speeches was the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the students’ education.

“Do you all remember your ninth grade year?” asked Principal William Evans. “Cause I sure do. You had just spent all of eighth grade in your rooms, pretending, or maybe not even pretending, to attend Zoom classes. You didn’t spend eighth grade in a school, with adults, continuing to develop your school skills, and when you arrived here in ninth grade, it was like you forgot everything you had ever learned about how to be a student. It was kind of wild, and I look back on it fondly.

“Fast forward to your senior year, and, oh my, what a difference,” he continued. “Seriously, what a huge difference. Somewhere along the line, you figured it out.”

Class President Christine Raymond echoed the thought, saying that some changes hit a lot harder and faster.

“From going to school every day and having to spend our days at home doing schoolwork online and the only way of communication with our friends was over phone or Zoom, it feels like we’ve been through it all, and yet, we haven’t even scratched the surface,” Raymond said.

Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle told the students, “You just made it through something big, and I don’t mean just high school. You’ve been coming of age in a time that is nothing [sic] but ordinary — global pandemics, climate chaos, political gridlock, memes that age faster than bananas, and yet here you are. You didn’t just survive it. You showed up, and that’s more than what most people can manage.”

LaChapelle urged the graduates to consider how they planned to fight against “maybe one of the biggest [messes] we’ve seen in a generation” by remembering to “ask questions, get curious, speak up, even when your voice shakes.”

“And for the love of all that is precious,” she said, “vote.”

The evening’s commencement speaker was Jared Orne, himself a graduate of Easthampton High and a longtime teacher of history and sociology (“and even Spanish I, once”) at the school.

“I have never thought about leaving and moving to a different school, and the reason is simple,” he said. “It is because of you, the students of Easthampton High School.”

Samuel Barr, vice president of the Class of 2025, ended the evening on a lighter note with a story of how he and a few EHS friends had discovered a free couch waiting to be claimed on a sidewalk.

“Not only was it a couch, it also reclined into a futon, and — wait — it had cupholders,” said Barr, to applause.

Barr loaded the couch into the Subaru Forester he shares with his sisters, and, having no firm plan for where it’d go next, took the couch on a series of adventures, including getting ice cream downtown.

“I tell the story of the couch not only because it’s an incredible couch — I mean, cupholders, can we have [more applause] — but also because it’s one of the best memories that I’ve had from these four years. That stretch of doing something so arguably absurd and then having a possible dorm furniture piece to go with it — like, I couldn’t have drawn it up better myself, so I’m sharing it with all of you to help keep the story alive.”

“Our lives may just be getting started,” he added, “but these are the stories we want to remember. Tell your stories and make them last forever.”

After his speech, Barr led his classmates in turning their tassels, signifying the end of their road to graduation.

Caps flew into the air. Gold confetti cannons popped. Air horns blared.

A new group of graduates — a group who’d already weathered their fair share of storms — was about to take on the world.

2025 Graduates

Jasper Enzo Alvarez, Joshua Aiden Arocho-Cote, Sophia Raven Baker, Addison Grace MacDonald Barr*, Samuel Francis MacDonald Barr*, Ella Rose Belcher-Timme*, Lidie Eileen Vanzyl Buttrick*, Jordan Matthew Cady, Trevor Canon-Smith, Kierra Ashley Carson, Ryan Lawrence Carson-McDonald, Colby John Clapper, Shelby Jean Clark, Willa Mae Copperthite, Cameron William Cormier, Andersen Elizabeth Craven*, Dalton Shane Dahlquist, Jocelyn Marie Dean*, Zyesha Marie Del Rio Flores, Connor William Delaney, Raegan Lynn Delisle*, Kaiden George Dion, Connor Louden Donnis, Brayden Matthew English*, Sadie Amelia Fink, Sebastian Stanslaw Galicki, Christopher James Gallagher*, Finn Foran Garvey, Osh Goldstein-Dea*, Nelson J Gomez, Katelyn Lee-Ann Green, Benjamin Lohr Guertin*, Mayuri Gupta*, Abigayle Rose Gustafson*, Caellum Dooley Brown Hague, Brianna Rose Hardy, Kaitlynn Marie Hinkle, Sean Rexford Hopkins, Grace Evelyn Kalin, Abigail Rose Kane*, Elizabeth Kate Kapinos, Thomas James Kapinos, Serena Marie Kelly*, Jintha Son Kim, Ava Ryleigh Kulon, Angelina Beverly Little*, Kike Ma Huang, Julianne Domingos Markee*, Molly Louise Marsh*, Jailyn Jean Martinez, Dylan Jacob McGinn-Stevens*, Aziza Grace Menendez, Brenna Rose Meyers*, Jason Edward Michalik, Aliana Victoria Morales, Ethan Patrick Mullaly*, Brentton J Murch, Ashton Ronna LaPenn, Hannah Marilyn Neumann*, Nathyn Craig Novotny, Devin Leigh O’Brien*, Samson Elias Fried Oppenheim*, Grace Anna Pappadellis*, Aastha Chandresh Patel*, Yug Darshan Patel*, Rita Amelia Pereira*, Naizejha Daniel Perez, Roman Maxim Powers-Moran, Veronica Camille Rapoza*, Christine Marie Raymond*, Amelia Faith Richmond-Cayen*, Ava Grace Roberts*, Eva Solenne Romero*, Zamairy Jemaylee Salgado, Haydyn Mathew Savoie, Chad Thomas Scheehser, Jackson Charles Scott*, Emma Serifa Shea*, Addison Jean Sigda*, Jason Francis Sigda, Hailey Flora Siv*, Sophie Lena Slaghekke*, Nicholas Ryan Smith, Aaron Scott Sparko*, Brittany Alexys Sumba, Dreese Charles Tauscher, Anthony James Torchia, Peyton Jade Ulrick, Millie Jacobson Vaillancourt, Adell Lydia Vittum*, Haiden Jack-Lee Ware, Braelyn Mary Willett*, Oscar Daniel Zagorski.*

* An asterisk signifies a member of the National Honor Society.