June 4, 2025

They walked onto the stage as high school seniors and walked off as high school graduates. The Unionville High School Class of 2025 changed their tassels and tossed their caps into the air at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on June 4.

Among the 328 who walked across the stage to get their diplomas, 55 were National Merit Scholars, the most in school history, according to Principal Amy Jenkins.

In her remarks welcoming the class and their families, Jenkins noted the hard work the students had put in over the years, work that included scholastic achievements, athletic, and performing arts, but said she hopes the new graduates remember “the moments of connection, of empathy, and of kindness.”

“When the school year started in August, with good vibes and high energy, the district announced the theme of kindness. Kindness is not always flashy. It’s not always about grand gestures. More often, it’s found in the small, everyday interactions. It’s in the encouraging words to a classmate struggling with the difficult concept. It’s in the willingness to lend a helping hand. It’s in the courage to stand up for what is right, even when it’s unpopular,” she said.

“As you leave the walls of Unionville High School, you are entering a world that can often feel divided, a world that can sometimes seem harsh, but it is in your power to change that it is in your hands to choose kindness over indifference, compassion over judgment, and understanding over division.”

Superintendent of School John Sanville, who is retiring at the end of July, said during his 14^th and final graduation ceremony address, told the class members to maintain the friendships they made. He told the class a story about how he reconnected with an old soccer-playing buddy many years after the fact, and that they didn’t recognize one another because they hadn’t kept in touch.

After catching up, he reflected, feeling sad because that friend had once been important to him.

“Class of 2025,” he said, here’s what I wish someone had told me at your age. Relationships don’t require grand gestures to survive. They need frequency, a quick call, sharing a memory, or inside jokes online. These small acts are what actually keep friendships alive. Think about that. The research shows that it’s not the quality of each interaction that matters; it’s simply staying in touch. The best leaders and the happiest people understand this. Relationships require maintenance, not perfection. As you head off to your next adventures, remember that the technology in your pockets gives you something my generation never had: the ability to check in with almost no effort.

“I hope none of you have to accidentally bump into an old friend and wonder where the time went. Instead, I hope you’re celebrating how your friendships evolved and grew because you understood something powerful at 18 years of age: that people and relationships are worth connecting with. And even when life gets busy and life will get busy for you. Graduates, congratulations, we are all excited to see where you go from here, take care.”

Student speakers included Lilah Brennan, Christiana Koncir, and Aliz Uejima.

Brennan spoke about moving into the district during COVID and only knew her classmates through a small Zoom screen. And she referenced the Danelo Cavalcante escape.

“I wish I’d gotten to know all of you for longer because the class of 2025 is made up of the most remarkable people. All of you are so incredibly hardworking. Talented. You’ve overcome countless obstacles and adapted to frequent change from global pandemics, escaped convicts, and even slow technology. You faced it and came out stronger. I hope that you carry on with the confidence that you will not be stopped from achieving your goals by any person or challenge that comes your way.”

Koncir’s message was one of looking toward family and friends now and before, and looking ahead to the future. And she, too, invoked the idea of kindness.

“As seniors in high school, these past few years have flown by. Just like our parents said. With that in mind, today’s the day we’re leaving home to discover ourselves, to find our purpose…Today, we take their love with us, leave them behind. And that is terrifying. But the best part is we’re not doing it alone. So it’s the class of 2025 as we stand at the threshold of our own…I ask you to live to change. If the world chooses to be evil and mean, selfish and without empathy or reason, I ask that you be the reason someone believes in pure hearts, true love, and kind souls, with that love with your whole heart. Because whether you believe it or not, somebody out there wants to be just as accepted as you.”

Uejima, who had been a student representative on the school board, spoke of “fits,” as in articles of clothing worn in youth, Halloween costumes, athletic uniforms, etc., but also what other types of “fits” there are in the future.

“While you may only wear a certain set of clothes for 24 hours, you wear the emotional and intangible parts of your outfit for years. We wear our emotions, our identity, and the quality and content of our conversations. We wear our expressions to the world. We wear humor one day and responsibility the next. We wear kindness. And with each item we put on, we affect those around us. We have the power to impact others, to make them smile and laugh. Have the ability to enact true change and make the world a better place.”

The final speaker was Educator of the Year Jessie Findora, an English teacher.

She told the graduates that she had spent her life competing against the world, “striving unsuccessfully to be the smartest, the prettiest and most accomplished, the best athlete, the best,”

But in doing so, she felt alone and maybe broken.

“But the truth is, I wasn’t. I wasn’t broken. The places where I failed were actually my cracks and, probably, allowed others to see my weaknesses and, in turn, to share their light with me. And just as my failures were not shameful, neither are yours…Every weakness, every flaw, is what makes you human and what makes you beautiful. And you all, you are stunning…As you cross this threshold to the next stages of your lives, I hope you will grant yourselves some grace. Remember, you are an amalgamation of all the gifts and the mistakes of those who shaped you, most of whom were trying their best…I hope that you will love yourselves enough to show the world your broken places and let others grow flowers in the darkest parts of you.”

After the speeches, it was time to flip the tassels from right to left, then throw caps in the air before retiring from the floor to the tune of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”