Drury High School - We Hold the Western Gateway

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Drury High School graduates were urged to consider failure just another step in reaching their goals.  

"I'm sure that everyone here at some point, has had dreams about what we want in our lives to be like, but achieving dreams can be harder than we might want," said valedictorian Colin Daly. "It takes a lot of persistence and effort to give yourself a chance, and still, your success is not completely in your control. While it is certainly possible to overcome difficulties, it's even more certain that doing so isn't easy. It is easier to fail at your dream than achieve." 

Plenty of successful people have had failures along the way — Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and Michael Jordan — Daly told his classmates on the high school stage.

"The answer is that by chasing the perfection we imagine, we achieve the dreams we really want," he said. "If you can't quite finish a marathon, even if you fall miles towards the finish line, you still have gone great distance."

Daly used the example given by a Navy SEAL in a commencement speech, of how a trainee can quit by ringing a bell at the camp three times. All the class would at one point want to ring that bell, he said. 

"Life is not easy, no matter who you are or where you come from," he said. "But no matter how hard it is, we must always remember that we can never ring the bell, because by ringing the bell, you give up on your dream, and you can never, ever give up on your dream."

There were 72 graduates of the class of 2025 but 73 would graduate on Thursday night. 

The family of Marine Pvt. First Class Erwin Shaftsbury King of Clarksburg were presented with his diploma, 83 years after King would have graduated from the high school. He dropped out in January 1942 to enlist in the Marines, and was killed at Guadalcanal the following September. 

Bradley Chapman and Noah Wilhelm introduced the presentation, saying 173 high school students had taken part in the memorial service King last September in Southview Cemetery across the street. The presentation was accompanied by a color guard and the band played the "Marine's Hymn."

Daly later said his speech that it was an honor for the class and that "we are grateful for his example of courage, patriotism and sacrifice." He also asked the class to remember Alison Felix, a 2020 Drury graduate, who was killed in a car accident last December. 

The presentation of diplomas was made by Mayor Jennifer Macksey, Superintendent Barbara Malkas and Principal Stephanie Kopala. Abigail Hamilton lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Class President Jacinta Fox welcomed the gathering, and Jaime Hamilton presented the scholarships. 

The yearbook was dedicated to Kellie Lahey, family outreach and attendance coordinator, for her "kindness, compassion and caring," and the senior class made a special acknowledgement to Ashley Mirante, for going "above and beyond every day to make students feel welcome and safe."

Salutatorian Atlas Lescarbeau noted the ups and downs the class had had through its four years of high school. "Some of my defining moments in high school are tainted by stress," he said, but also found thrills and life and laughter. 

"If I could go back to 7-year-old Atlas, before I even was Atlas, I would take his hands and tell him everything was worked out OK.  ... I would tell him he has a lot to learn about others in the world around him, certainly, but also about himself. The people of Drury, unique and vibrant are not meant to be terrifying. People change. The people around him will change, and he will have to learn to deal with that. We are all still learning to deal with that still."

Lescarbeau said he it would be good if they all think of their younger selves -- when they first entered Drury "maybe bright-eyed and ambitious, timid and shy, reckless and wild." Would that younger you be proud of you?

"I assume many of us would like the answer to be yes, but I believe it's more complicated than that," he said. "Maybe the younger you needed to better yourself or learn something important. I hope through high school, we have all gotten a little wiser, or at the very least a little kinder to both ourselves and those around us. ...

"The answer doesn't have to be yes, and that's OK. We don't need to follow what our younger self first thought, perhaps, instead of it's better to ask, am I, the person I am now proud of myself. I hope for each and every one of you, the answer is and always will be 'yes.'" 

Jacinta Maria Moulton Felix

Haley Autumn Rose Anderson

Seth James Besaw

Jordyn Elizabeth Biagini

Grace Eileen Boland

Kaydence Ann Brazee

Dominic James Campbell

Ava Rose Cariddi

Bradley William Chapman

Zackary Thomas Hillard

Jenna Paige Clay

Reagan Ashley Cornell

Lyla Lynn Crews

Cheyenne Cusson

Colin Matthew Daly

Ahnajae Shanece David

Kaleb Michael DeCarolis

Dakota  Arthur Deschaine

James Joseph Dupre-Harris

Sydney Rose Goodell

Emily Rae Goodhind

Gregory Michael Hall

Nacari Nasir Headley

Jayden Reese Hohn

Keira Shea Jzyk

Keatyn Alison Kane

Paul Richard Karmazyn

Jeremy Mark Kastner

Tiara Lasheye Kastner

Harmony Nicole Knockless

Hannah Lily LaCasse

Jesse Jacob LaRose

Marc Anthony Layme

Taryn Marie Layme

Atlas Donovan Lescarbeau

Ethan Michael Loholdt

Madison Rosemarie Saunders

Colby Michael Malloy

Rita Ann Malloy

Bella Jennifer McCollum

Dawson Daniel McLain

Laurel Jane Miller

Hunter James Mongeon

Isabella Gail Moore

Samuel Jerome Moorman

Miguel Angel Pabon

Kylie Rose Palumbo

Olivia Marie Perry

Anaiyah Destiny Phillips

Dominick Joseph Pisano

Courtney Marie Pontier

Jayden Alan Pratt

Savion William Price

Ariana Ellen Rivard

Lindsy Ann Robare

Logan Shawn Rogers

Elijah Gavin Sommer

Miaah Lynn Southard

Isabella Lynn Spooner

Jordin Madeline Sullivan

Evette Camille Sumner

Sasha Amara Taft

Emily Rose Therrien

Payton Marie VanderWoude

James Peter Varellas

Emma Grace Vareschi

Marialis Vazquez

Trenton Scott Wandrei

Benjamin Michael Wentz

Noah Christy Wilhelm

Reese October Wilson

Jalena Ann Wright