WESTHAMPTON — Friday evening was hot in Westhampton, but there was plenty of excitement and joy at Hampshire Regional High School nonetheless: the Class of 2026 was about to graduate.
The 95 seniors and their families gathered at the school’s Dorunda Field to celebrate the occasion.
Rachel O’Connell, the class’s vice president, honored the school’s 2026 staff member of the year, Kim Bush, a 10th-grade English teacher and leader of the school’s English program.
“She is the type of person who could name each and every student she has ever taught and genuinely cares about every person who walks through these halls,” O’Connell said. “She has created a sense of comfort and belonging that students will carry with them after graduation. It is no surprise that she was named staff member of the year, because she represents everything that makes Hampshire special. Her humor, compassion, and dedication has left a mark on this community that will never be forgotten.”
Class Secretary Eleanor “Ella” Cleary took the mic and asked the audience to check to see if they had any pockets: “This is something my dad would always ask me when I was younger — and not to see if I had room to hold something, but rather to see if I had an extra smile. Whether that smile was for me, or to give to someone else, my dad has shown me that no matter what comes your way, it never hurts to have a smile.”
“While not every moment at Hampshire has been all smiles, whether that was from being stressed about a test or losing three out of our four spirit rallies, I am confident when I say that Hampshire has provided us with unforgettable memories that have impacted each of us in so many different ways,” she added.
Augustus Nixwonger, the class’s valedictorian and treasurer, announced that the class would be donating to the school’s Better Together fund, which helps make activities like field trips affordable for Hampshire Regional students.
Principal Lauren Hotz spoke next, followed by Superintendent Vito Perrone. Hotz asked students to think about the notion of purpose — in others’ lives and their own.
“The adults who stand behind you today — your teachers, counselors, coaches, advisors, office staff, custodians — have chosen work that is not always easy and is rarely glamorous,” Hotz said. “They have stayed up at night worrying about you. They have noticed when something was wrong even when you didn’t say a word. They have celebrated your victories and supported you through setbacks. They did this because they have purpose. And that purpose has been you.”
Perrone began his speech by addressing the crowd first as “folks,” then “ladies and gentlemen,” with a comment about how he was “allowed to say that now” after three years — a reference to when he lost his candidacy to be the superintendent of Easthampton Public Schools in 2023 because he’d addressed two members of the School Committee as “ladies” in an email. His remarks drew widespread applause and laughter from the crowd.
Class President David Adzigirey told his classmates that the graduation ceremony represented a tradition — “one which dates back generations, is celebrated across borders and cultures alike, and in English, per the Merriam-Webster dictionary, can only be defined by six stark words: ‘Yes, Grandma, your flash is on.’”
Adzigirey’s speech also referenced the budget issues that the school faced earlier this year, which proposed to cut several full-time teaching positions at the school. In the face of those, he said, students “learned to cherish the precious nature of what we have here.”
“This school is unique and special,” he said. “It serves as an active example of education’s foundational and necessary role in life and allowed us to advance, with lessons and stories we’ll cherish for a lifetime.”
Adzigirey concluded by telling his classmates, “Your parents saw potential in you from the moment you put on your first backpack to the second you left home in your cap and gown — and the world of possibility that can seem so hard to find is just one bold decision away. There is no hurdle you cannot tackle, no challenge you cannot overcome, and no dream too large to realize. You have a world of potential, and your greatest day lies ahead of you.”
He then led his classmates in turning their tassels from right to left, representing the end of their path to graduation — and then the sky around them exploded with color, thanks to a school tradition that began in 2021, in which every graduating senior is given a confetti cannon to pop when the ceremony ends.
Friends swarmed each other with hugs; family members took photos.
The next stage of the seniors’ lives had just begun.
2025 Graduates
David Jeremiah Adzigirey, Pom Sonika Ang, Cody James Bean, Lauren Marie Benard, Ishetia Rose Black, Morgan Riley Blazejowski, Ava Keenan Bourbeau, Phoebe Mirabelle Bowser, Joseph Brian Breguet, James Patrick Bresnahan, Tessa Rose Burke, Keegan Grace Butler, Colin John Cahill, Glenn Wesley Cameron, Elliette Harmony Cerone, Jayden Michael Childs, Parker Franklin Christy, Eleanor Sophia Cleary, Joliena Marie Constantine-Massey, Isabella Elaine Coon-Drawe, Carter Corbeil, Gabriel William Couture, Isabelle Maya Couture, Laney Ryan Cunningham-Rochon, Maria Jaye DeJackome, Finn Thaddeus DeWitt, Chase Allen Eddy, Jenessy Marie Espada, Ian Rae Felty, Mariska Mae Felty, Abigail June Fisette, Alexander Zachary Fried, Cody Munson Gaida, Jaelynn Mae Garcia, Luke Joseph Gardner, Ezra Boothe Gilman, Jayden Kimberly Hamel, Delaney Marie Hamel, Amelia Grace Hanke, Alexandra Grace Henrichon, Eamonn Slaine Hilnbrand, Evan Jacob Hoffer, Colin Michael Hogan, Sarah Grace Hultman, Braylon Russell Jarrett, Emily Vera Jendrysik, Nicholas Bailey Jones, Rylee Mackenzie Joseph, Efrem Jacob Korytoski, Ethan Jacob Kudelka, Lacy Leigh Kuehner, Makayla Joyce Labrie, Jake Daniel Laurin, Madelyn Isabel Layman, Indie Shay Lewis, Sophia Lecko Lumbra, Emma Grace Lynskey, Layce Dawn Mancuso, Carlea Roze Manley, Josef Philip Masi, Kinnon Perry McColgan, Kiersten Elaine McKay, Lucy Catherine McVey, Noah Christophe Tavares Monteiro, Joseph Thomas Moro, Reagan Jessie Mott, Adam Muller, Augustus Lake Niswonger, Rachel Rose O’Connell, Reese Elinor-Janet O’Connell, Caitlyn Marie Packey, Evelyn Grey Honeyman Palmer, Andrea Madeleine Paszko, Lauren Elisabeth Pellegrini, Amelia Marie Perry, Jakob Charlie Pok, Elyse Kathryn Pompei-Axt, Lillian Marie Popham, Abigail Lynn Provost, Elizabeth Grace Puttick, Owen John Roch, Logan Ronald Rourke, Oscar Samuel Houlihan Schiff, Kiera Lynne Shea-Smith, Corinne Agnes Somes, Tristan Chauncey Somes, Elisabeth Ann Sturtevant, Bridget Maura Sullivan, Rachael Elizabeth Theroux, Bethany Grace Tobiasz, Avery Love Tudryn, Chelsea Victoria Vanasse, Paige Rose Walsh, Lila Mai Watkins, Lucia Rayne Winters.
