Nantucket High School Class Of 2025 Graduates 148 Students

The Nantucket High School held their graduation ceremony Friday evening with 148 island students walking across the stage to receive their diplomas from superintendent Beth Hallett, NHS principal Mandy Hilemn, and school committee chair Laura Gallagher Byrne.

The festivities began with each graduate receiving notes of advice that were written by kindergarten students at Nantucket Elementary School. When Hallett presented her remarks, she referred to those notes and a book written by Robert Fulghum called All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. She said many lessons we learn at that stage of our lives – from share everything to playing fair to standing up when something is not right to cleaning up your own mess among many other lessons – if put into action, will help this year’s graduates succeed in the future.

“I know you spent the last 13 years learning algebra, writing essays, analyzing the themes in Shakespeare and navigating everything from lab reports to band rehearsals to athletic competitions to MCAS to final projects, but the real foundation for a good life, how to live, how to work, how to treat others, was already laid down for you in your earliest years of school," Hallett said. "But it has transformed and developed into something much stronger throughout your public school career. In a world that sometimes feels increasingly complicated, those early lessons ring truer than ever. They sound so simple yet also so profound.”

Hallett then used some of those lessons and equated them to real-life situations these graduates will one day face as the years go on.

"Share everything. That isn't just about toys or snacks anymore, it's about sharing ideas, giving credit, offering help,” Hallett said. “It's about generosity of spirits and collaboration. Play fair means doing the right thing, even when one no one is watching, it means advocating for yourself and for others. Standing up when something is not right and making sure that everyone has a chance to be heard. Clean up your own mess is about accountability. Take responsibility for your own choices and when something goes wrong - and it will at some point or another - be the person who shows up to fix it.... not one who expects others to do that for you.”

Hallett was just one of several speakers at the ceremony. The commencement speaker was Casey Neistat, a tenth-grade dropout who has since gone on to become one of the most famous and respected content creators in the country with a following of over 12.6 million people on YouTube. Neistat, a seasonal island resident who at one point in time lived in a trailer park with his infant son and worked as a dishwasher for a seafood restaurant, recalled a moment in time when he was called to the vice principal’s office after getting in trouble at school that sticks with him to this day.

“I was in the vice principal's office and he was heated and he said to me, 'I don't know what to do with you, Casey. I don't know what to make of you. You're either going to end up in prison or you're going to be a millionaire," Neistat said. "And he wasn't wrong. I've never been to prison. I look back and I think about that moment often because I'm sure this is what he meant, and I didn't get it then, but I look back now, and it makes sense. What he was saying is that I had a choice. I had a decision in front of me to go one way, and maybe it takes me to a darker path, or to go out the other door, to go the other way and maybe find a life that was more full of fulfillment, and the life that could be more meaningful. That's something that has become a bit of a mantra for me throughout my life and raising my family and my career, which is that it is simply this set of decisions, and it was a set of really bad decisions that led me to dropping out of high school so I could work two full-time minimum wage jobs. Poor decisions is what led me down that path.”

At the age of 19, Neistat moved to New York City with his entire net worth of $800. Three weeks later, the apartment he lived in was blown up during the September 11^th terrorist attacks in 2001, and his father urged him to come home.

"I called my Dad that morning to let him know I was okay and he said to me, 'It's time to come home Casey," Neistat said. "I can hear the tone in his voice now when I say that. That decision right there was a big decision for me because everyone I trusted, everyone I loved was encouraging me to go home. It was the right thing to do, and the choice in front of me was to do that - the safe thing - or taking inventory of my life. I was still a teenager. I had no money. I had no education, no prospects, no discernible skills and no career. But I said you know what? Nah, I'm going to see this one through.”

Neistat remained in New York and become an internet celebrity who has since built his net worth up to an estimated $16 million. He said when he looks back 25 years ago to now, he can connect everything that he’s done to making that decision to stay in the city.

“Today I was trying to make a decision of what do I have to offer to you, Nantucket High School graduating Class of 2025, what piece of advice can I give to you? It goes something like this,” Neistat said. “Your decisions are your own, and your life will be an aggregate of those decisions. You have to own those decisions, and the path that I've found, the recipe I've found to make the best decisions is to seek knowledge wherever you can find it. If that's in school, you listen to your teachers. If it's at a job, you listen to your boss. If it's in a book, you pay attention to every word. You seek knowledge wherever you can find it. And when you hear something, when you're told something, when you learn something that's meaningful to you, hang on to it.

“Everything else? Reject it,” Neistat continued. “Throw it right in the garbage. No matter who is telling it to you, if you don't like what you're hearing, if it doesn't make sense to you, deny it, reject that. You come to realize when you grow up that the world around you, the institutions that you will be a part of, the companies that you will work for, the schools that you will go to, all of this was created by people that are just like you. No one has superpowers. This whole universe that we live in is something that we all created together. There is no person that's bigger than any of you that created this and therefore it's up to you to find the flaws. It's up to you to find the things that don't make sense and to change them. And if you do that, that's when you have an impact. That's when you find a life that is truly fulfilling. In the absence of that, you're simply a cog participating in this thing. When you push back against it, that's when you really define your own path.”

The Salutatorian Address was made by Billiana Dountcheva, who was also named as one of two Nantucket Scholar recipients in April. Her remarks were short but precise. She said while the Class of 2025 has experienced their ups and downs, what matters in the end is all of the fun times they’ve experienced and the friends they’ve made. She urged her classmates to cherish the support system they have now and into the future.

The Valedictorian Address was made by Tinita Sirisophapong, who used her time to thank all of the Nantucket Public School teachers for being the foundation of their education. She then told her classmates to embrace the new era ahead and to not back down whenever adversity strikes.

“This is an end of an era,” she said. “We are stepping into an era with no syllabus, no bell schedule, and no late passes. But no matter where we go, college, career, traveling the world, or taking a gap year, we will do great things. Not everyone will believe in us. Some people will doubt us, underestimate us, try to box us in. We will prove them wrong. We may fall sometimes but we will get back up again and again… because we were built for this. Take risks, make mistakes, laugh loudly. If ever feel lost, don’t look back in regret. Look back to remember where you started and how far you have come.”

Hilemn addressed the students ahead of the presentation of diplomas, providing them with some words of advice to use in the days and years ahead.

"Smile at strangers and offer a compliment. You never know whose day you might brighten," Hilemn said. "Sing, even if you're off key. Even if no one joins you. Sing because you're alive and that's worth celebrating. And to steal a page from Mr. Cothran, be kind. Be a kind person. Not just when it's easy, but especially when it's not easy. Kindness is strength in its purest form. And mostly, be kind to yourself. Count your blessings, even on the hard days, and especially on the hard days. Gratitude changes how we see the world and how the world sees us. Mostly, don't let the hard days win. Most importantly, just chase a life that's good. Create a life that feels good, that reminds you to love yourself every day. Always take the road less traveled, hold tight to your memories, and remember, you only have one life to live. Go out there and live it.”

Suz Peraner, the Class President, capped off the evening with some remarks before each of her classmates tossed their caps high into the sky to begin their graduation celebrations with one another and their families, which included a car parade all around downtown Nantucket.

"I stand here holding immense gratitude and many memories from my time at Nantucket High School," Peraner said. "We've had a journey full of growth, challenges, laughter and friendship to decorating floats, Homecoming, prom, powderpuff games and senior celebrations. Each of us has a story, a lesson and a memory that has shaped us into who we are today. Today, we say goodbye to the familiar halls of NHS where we shared laughter and tears, successes and setbacks. Remember, today marks a day of a new journey with endless possibilities. Life won't always be easy, but the lessons we gain from this school, the lessons of perseverance, compassion and curiosity will guide us through whatever lies ahead. As we step into the world beyond NHS, let us remember all we have learned here.

"To my fellow graduates, I am honored to have shared this journey with you," she continued. "Wherever life may take us remember, this is just the beginning of the incredible things you can do. The world beyond NHS is vast and filled with possibilities. While our paths may diverge, the community of this island and the memories we've created together will always be with us. I wish you all success and happiness in the future, and I know the best is yet to come. We finally made it."