Nipmuc Regional High School conferred diplomas on the Class of 2025 in a commencement ceremony that featured student speeches, musical performances and remarks from district leaders emphasizing resilience, identity and purpose.

Class president Maureen Yen opened the program, calling the night “the very first page of a brand new story” and urging classmates to trust themselves as they step into uncertain futures. Principal John Clements told graduates that “what you need is not a roadmap. What you need is a compass,” a metaphor several speakers returned to when describing how students should make choices after graduation. Student speaker Mark Calabrese urged classmates to remember their core identity, saying, “Do not forget who you are.”

Superintendent Maureen Cohen, speaking for the Mendon-Upton Regional School District, closed the formal remarks with the ceremony’s repeated refrain: “We see you,” and she told graduates they are “more than just a diploma.” Cohen asked the class to claim broader identities — innovator, global citizen, solution seeker — rather than letting a single test or label define them.

The program included musical selections performed by student vocalists and the wind ensemble, and the presentation of diplomas by principals John Clements and Mary Anne Moran, Superintendent Maureen Cohen, School Committee member Sean Nicholson, senior class advisors Tara Bennett and Rachel Robbins, and school counselors Meredith Heves, Kendra Swenson and Lisonbee Town. The ceremony named Valedictorian Isabel Rose Nicholson and Salutatorian Julia Madeline Lemphist and read the graduating seniors, many noted as graduating “with honors.”

At the close of the ceremony, attendees were asked to participate in the traditional tassel movement. Acting on authority conveyed by Superintendent Cohen and the Mendon-Upton Regional School District School Committee, graduates were instructed to move the tassel on their mortarboards from right to left to signify their new status as graduates.

Speeches highlighted student-led clubs and activities — including a restored Red Cross Club, a Friendly Faces Club, athletics and DECA participation — as examples of how students built community and leadership during high school. The graduates’ remarks ranged from reflections on shared memories to practical advice for navigating change and the unknown.

The ceremony did not record votes or formal policy actions beyond the diploma presentations and the ceremonial tassel movement. No budgetary or statutory matters were discussed during the formal program.

Looking ahead, district leaders and the speakers encouraged graduates to carry the ceremony’s central themes — resilience, community and an internal sense of direction — into the next stage of their lives.