Salutatorian Nicolas Regnault moved six or seven times before finding home in Marblehead during a global pandemic, but Friday evening he told his fellow 238 graduates that starting over again and again taught him the most valuable lesson of all: The courage to take that first step into the unknown.
Graduates march into the Marblehead High School field house on the evening of June 6 as family and friends look on during the Class of 2025 commencement ceremony. CURRENT PHOTOS / GREY COLLINS
Regnault’s message about embracing discomfort and new challenges resonated throughout Friday’s graduation ceremony, where speakers consistently urged the Class of 2025 to carry forward the courage and kindness that helped them navigate their four years of high school.
“Every once in a while you’ll stumble onto something that sticks, something or someone that changes your life,” Regnault told his classmates, sharing how joining sailing during the pandemic’s most isolating days sparked his passion for engineering and led him to Georgia Tech for aerospace studies. “Life rarely follows a perfect path, but no matter where you go or how many times you start over, it’s how you choose to begin again that defines who you become.”
While Regnault emphasized courage to step into the unknown, the evening’s dominant theme became kindness, woven through every speech from Superintendent John Robidoux to Valedictorian Olivia Goldwater. Robidoux opened the ceremony with simple but powerful wisdom from his Irish grandmother.
“She said to me, ‘You will be kind,’” Robidoux told the graduates in the high school field house. “Whether you decide to become a doctor, a hockey player, an architect or whatever you decide, remember to be kind — and good things will happen.”
Marblehead High School seniors in red caps and gowns cheer and applaud during the 2025 commencement ceremony inside the field house on the evening of Friday, June 6. Speakers throughout the evening urged graduates to lead with heart, courage and kindness.
Goldwater drew inspiration from Hermann Hesse’s novel, “Siddhartha,” to describe life as a spiral staircase rather than a linear path, reinforcing Regnault’s message about embracing new beginnings.
“My piece of advice: accomplish something each day, something that the view of tomorrow will be proud of,” Goldwater said. “Class of 2025, never forget there is nothing more powerful or true than your ability to turn your dreams into a reality.”
Class President Jared Kaplowitch, who overcame learning disabilities and color blindness to lead his class, reinforced that message by making kindness one of his three core principles alongside leadership and perseverance.
“The world we’re walking into, it’s beautiful, it’s broken, it’s complicated and it desperately needs people like us … people who know how to rise, people who lead with heart, people who don’t just survive challenges but transform them into purpose,” Kaplowitch said, adding “Be kind, because kindness is never wasted.”
Principal Michele Carlson echoed the kindness theme while highlighting the class’s defining qualities: resilience, academic and civic leadership — and an ability to “celebrate in style.”
“Always remember to be kind, support one another, offer grace when it’s needed most,” Carlson said, noting how the class adapted through starting high school during COVID-19. The class also endured a rare teacher strike.
Marblehead High School seniors embrace on Piper Field following the Class of 2025 commencement ceremony, held Friday, June 6. The 239 graduates were urged to carry forward the courage and kindness that shaped their high school years.
Behind Friday’s speeches lay an impressive academic record. Nearly three-quarters achieved academic recognition above the standard diploma. More than half the 239-member graduating class — 131 students, or 54.8% — earned high honors, while another 49 students, or 20.5%, earned honors. Perhaps more telling than test scores, though, was their embrace of service and scholarship beyond the classroom. Nearly half the class 110 students, or 46%, joined the National Honor Society.
The ceremony featured musical selections including “Time of Your Life” by Green Day and “You’re Gonna Go Far” by Noah Kahn, performed by the MHS Concert Choir. The traditional processional “Pomp and Circumstance” and recessional “Marblehead Forever” bookended the evening.
