AMHERST — After concluding her valedictory remarks reflecting on the last weeks of senior year, Daniella Sherman suggested taking a final high school selfie, which she did by taking out her cellphone and posing alongside her five fellow valedictorians and the full 190-member class on stage at the Tillis Performance Hall at the Bromery Center for the Arts.

“We have lots to be grateful for,” Sherman said just moments earlier during Friday evening’s graduation exercises for the Class of 2025, describing the senior sunset, the old school walk-throughs and the senior prank.

“Our class has accomplished so much and we should all be fulfilled by our achievements, lessons, friendships and memories throughout these eventful four years.

“Graduation marks the end of a voyage, but more importantly the endless possibilities of the future,” Sherman said.

The graduating class, said Principal Talib Sadig, is one that is both mighty and resilient, becoming the first class since the pandemic to spend all four years fully in person. It is also a class filled with champions and change-makers, he said, with cross country, Nordic skiing, tennis, lacrosse and track and field among the winners, along with elite actors, dancers and musicians.

And for change, the students did advocacy through a walkout in support of better school funding from the state in March, and then went to the State House in Boston to make further appeals.

“I know that wherever you go you’re going to make a positive and meaningful impact and leave whatever place you go to better than when you got there, just like you did at ARHS,” Sadiq said.

This theme of doing good was continued by Kyle Uysal, the class president, who said he sees talent in the class and the best moment, aside from Amherst beating Northampton in lacrosse, is the comfort of seeing familiar faces he has grown up with.

“Wherever we all go from here, please keep finding community and keep choosing kindness, be the person who holds the door open, be the reason someone smiles on a hard day, give without expecting anything back,” Uysal said.

“I want everyone to keep pushing to do what they want to do in life,” Uysal said. “Listening to the negative opinions of others should not even come close to influencing you. They will never understand how you feel, as you can’t describe passion, only live it, and I wish you all to continue to living your passions.”

The six valedictorians, which also included Cameron Baird, Isla Cusick, Noah Ferris, Felicity Goeckel and Yoh Morita, took the audience through the four years of high school, along with the periodic interruptions caused by a hall bell and announcements.

The commencement address was given by Eli Luberoff, who was in the Class of 2005 at Amherst Regional but never graduated. Luberoff now runs a math software company called Desmos, and in giving the speech became an honorary member of the high school class 20 years later, even earning a diploma.

“This is a special degree because Amherst is a special place,” Luberoff said, noting that it’s the hometown of Emily Dickinson and where McDonald’s moved in next to Antonio’s and promptly went out of business, eliciting laughs from the crowd.

Luberoff offered advice to the graduates to be patient because change takes time and to look after themselves and remember they are not alone.

“I can’t wait to see where you all go and bring ARHS energy with you,” Luberoff said.

The ceremony, expected to start at 6 p.m., was delayed nearly half an hour due to what Sadiq said were “technical difficulties” and asked for patience from those inside the auditorium.

Once underway, members of the Dance Theater Ensemble under the direction of Remy Fernandez O’Brien performed “Finding Home” and the High School Chorale and Hurricane Singers, under conductor Todd Fruth, performed both “Slipping Through My Fingers” and “The Road Home.”

Both Sadiq, with a moment of silence, and Uysal, saying “we miss you Nate,” paid tribute to Nate Squires, a member of the Class of 2025 who died in 2021.

Prior to the ceremony both graduates and their families came to the site in the midst of a thunderstorm and occasional downpours, with some of the seniors using their maroon robes as umbrellas. Among those gathered, with some posting for photographs with families, was Ty Beckett, who will be studying accounting at Western New England University and also playing on its football team.

“It was a very fun experience here, playing sports and meeting new friends,” Beckett said. “Everyone respects each other.”

2025 Graduates

Almila Simay Abban, Lujain Mohammed Alaa Aldin Abu Risheh, Shahd Ahmed Abadallah Ahmed, Rymas Majdi Aladmawy, Logan Andre Marcel Alfandari, Jose Baltazar Alfaro Rivas, Noor Fareed Jalal Al-Husseinawi, Luis Alicea, Cleidine Odmira Marques Almeida, Alfredo Geovany Alvarado Rosales, Lillian Marie Alvarez, Everett Curwen Armstrong, Ruby Branch Austin, Jayden Andrade Baessa, Cameron Patrick Baird, Tylahn Benjamin-Nasim Beckett, Violet Evelyn Berube, Laura Biff, Logan Elianna Leilani Blount, Finley Clarke Boerman, Marisol Pierce Bonifaz, Zuleica Evelyn Booth, Timothy Earl Bowman, Freya Esther Brody, Abdi Selam Byl-Brann, Zoey Marie Candito, Anna Judith Carlson-Belanger, Samuel Marley Castro McCauley, Samuel Owen Cavanagh, Eric Herui Chen, Gabriel Alexander Chester, Neena Lee Chinappa, Bill Tan-Vang Chu, Eva Lindsay Ciccarelli, Miles Jamison Corley, Kiara Soares Correia, Owen Thomas Cunniffe, Isla Sidonie Cusick, Gregory Owen Davidson, Kaylee Marie Lumbis DeJesus, William Ernest Desbien, Kelvianys Crystal Diaz Alicea, George Anderson Dole, Sabir Alexander Clarence Douglas, Henry Jacob Doyle, Jonah Frank Eggemeier, Insaf Elyjah Fazal, Noah Alexander Ferris, Olivia Hansen Fisher, Tyler David Flory, Entric Devon Xzavier Fluitt, Rhaelyn Sarah Foote, Skylar Marie Fox, Phia Addison Friedrick, Caroline Ross Garman, Eamon Beckett Giles-McCreary, Valeria Virginia Godoy Ramirez, Felicity Gwendolyn Goeckel, Anthony Elias Gomez, Lola Katherine Guidera, Keanajoy Gutierrez, Choesam Tsering Gyatso, Indigo Mae Halasz, James Clifford Hall, Allaijah T Hatfield, Shayna Belle Hayashi, Elizabeth Grace Hayes, Silas Joseph Hazen, Angel Gabriel Hernandez Castro, Ronald Geovanny Hernandez Duran, Ella Nicole Hinkel, Madeline Emma Hockman, Maeve Margaret Saoirse Hogan-Schrunf, Liam Ethan Hornick, Morgan Lynn Hughes, Alexis Jordan Isabelle, Eve Dowling Jacoby, Quentin Russell James, Miles Ellison Jeffries, Sanaa Veneah Johnson, Jordan Jones Debold, Dashaun Uriel Lee Joyner-Wells, Sara Elena Keene, Conner Donato Kellogg, Kai Kelly, Summyr Judith Kerin, Eli Joel Kern, Aubin Kevrekidis, Isabella Rose Kochan, Vaishali Rachel Rege Konowitz, Ivan Olegovich Kovalenko, Moniha William Krouch, Alexander James Lagrant, Ava Sinead Lau, Cai Virginia Lawler, Henry Phillip Lepak, Hongqin Liang, Amelia Cole Lingo, Iris Zi-Qi Liu, Jack Leland Long, Emilia Autumn Luetjen, Moriah Rose Luetjen, William Patrick MacDougall, Elizabeth Maria MacLeod, Addelaide Tremblay Mager, Carlos Gregory Marks Jr., Morgan Asher Martel-Santiago, Jack Gordon Kinney Marvin, Ella Kailee McDermott, Spencer Bleyler McDonald, Armani McGrigg, Bonifacio Abraham Mendoza, Marianna Mia Mendoza Torres, Saul Stephen Merino, Nisaya Krystal Moczo, Jeremy David Moffett-Smith, Nikiah Gloria Montgomery, Zoey Rita Mordecai, Yoh Morita, Cole Edward Morton, Devine Khalil Lateef Moyston, Jose Andres Muñoz Gomez, Andalucia Antonia Myles-Davis, Brooke Ann Nedeau, Victor Manuel Nuñez Saravia, Lily Yumi Oldford, Nathanael James Oliver, Aliya J Osman, Daniela Maria Osorio-Castillo, Ada Beatrice Paessel, Shaili Suresh Patel, Antonio Alejandro Perez, Adriel Jose Perez Torres, Andrey Alekseevich Peshkov, Quinn Michael Chiguichon Phakos, Thu Rachel Pham, Alden Jeremiah Pope, Junior Devante Ramsey, Josephine Martha Rasche, Myles Kane Redington, Liam Ruaigh Reid, Stephen Lee Rich, Daniela Valeria Rivadeneyra Vega, Raeesha Fathima Rizwan, Nolan David Sky Ross, Ana Catherine Ruiz, Elena Sofia Ruiz, Maiya Azzadine Salacuse, Luis Angel Santos, Janelys Carmen Santos Despiau, Cristian Diego Saravia Ayala, Alioun Sarr, Elizabeth Rose Sawicki, Pavan Opaso Seiha, Emmett Michael Semler, Mihir Prashant Shenoy, Daniella Eve Sherman, Bette Lynn Sherr-Garcia, Tyler Marcus Sproehnle, Shaniah Cheri Stockdale, Quinn Ryan Strehorn, Dalia Elodie Rafaela Strohmeidav, Naimah Osvaldini Tavares, Alana Marie Texidor Melendez, Jonas Cole Theis, Aidan James Thompson, Maya Tkachenko Coggeshall-Burr, Benjami R Torres-Hatch, Hayden Jarrah Triozzi, Kouta Ueki, Kyle Kayra Uysal, Ivanilse Rutiene Varela Vaz, Jaiden Pisey Vazquez, William Nefrititi Vennell, Raghad Abdella Wahhas, Matthew Wang, Willa Marguerite Warwick, Connor Leo Welch, Brian Ji-Seok Weston, Liam Pelle Whitcomb, Eve Star White, Evie Amanda Williams, River Nova Wolaver, Caelan Woodard-McNiff, Samuel Lee Woods, Tobias Paul Harold York, Daniel Joonyoung Yu, Sage Brook Zephyr, Sienna Jade Zephyr and Nathaniel Austin Ziomek