EASTHAMPTON — Confetti flew into the sky and whistles rang out as the Easthampton High School Class of 2026 graduates entered the next stage of their journeys, with hearts full of kindness and hope. Before the 74 graduates turned their tassels and threw their caps in the air, signifying the end of their high school careers and beginning of adulthood, messages of congratulations were given by many, including Principal William Evans. “What we need more than anything else are more kind, compassionate and caring humans,”
Evans said in front of hundreds of family and friends as the sun fell behind the high school on Friday night. “I feel great pride as your principal knowing that we are sending a group of humans into the world who get that and are striving to be the kindest, most compassionate and caring humans that they can be.” Evans had evidence to prove it. As part of graduation rehearsal, students recently stood on one end zone of the field at Mountain View School, and
on the other side, stood the Easthampton kindergarteners. The oldest and youngest members of Easthampton Public Schools walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of field. But the seniors had a special message hand-written on cut-out hearts for each youngster, with three main themes, Evans said. “One was, ‘enjoy it goes by fast,’” Evans said. “The second theme was ‘be yourself’ which I think is a lovely way to help students understand what growth is about… and the third one was ‘be kind.’ Almost
half of you [graduates] wrote something about being kind. Kindness is what we all need more than anything else right now.” Class President Michael Bachmann-Baez looked back at the moment during his first year of high school when he broke out of the middle school cage. “Going into freshman year, I really only talked to my close-knit group of friends, but that changed when I was given the opportunity to join the cheer team,” Bachmann-Baez said. “At that moment, I felt hope. I finally had
been given the opportunity to break out of the cage I found myself in.” Bachmann-Baez’s message to his fellow students was to never let go of that same hope he experienced. “I believe hope is the most important thing you can have. It’s a remembrance that there’s always a way forward. It reminds us all that our confinement is merely a figment of our individual perceptions.” Class Valedictorian Leia Halfacre read from Shel Silverstein’s poetry collection, “This is Where the Sidewalk Ends,” but made it
clear that the end of the sidewalk is not the end of the graduate’s journey. “Our sidewalk has ended,” Halfacre said. “The strict path grade school led us through is over. We now have the freedom to choose our own direction.” Class Salutatorian Logan Crasnick said he has experienced a lot of stress through high school, especially when it came to moments like when his car’s brakes failed mid-ride and having to write five papers in one day. But even in those moments of stress,
he saw the light. “I won the senior superlative for the shiftiest car, which doesn’t hold any logical merit until you find out it’s a goofy nickname that my friends awarded to my car for being so incredibly non-dependable,” Crasnick said. Crasnick continued, “What I find is that in every situation and especially those filled with stress, there’s beauty to be found during the times when my life was packed full of responsibilities.” Just before walking the stage, Graduate Elizabeth Doyle, 18, said she will
be attending Holyoke Community College (HCC) next year to study elementary education. She said she will miss the teachers from Easthampton the most. Graduate James Kaleta, 18, also will be attending HCC to study computer science, which he hopes to bring into the next wave. “I like how it is constantly evolving,” Kaleta said as to what interests him in computer science. “There’s always a new software or hardware and it fascinates me. AI [artificial intelligence] isn’t bad in hindsight, it’s just how people use
it.” Graduates Liam Zellen, 18, and Oliver Oparowski, 18, have been friends since they met in preschool. While Zellen will be attending the University of Rhode Island and Oparowski, the University of Massachusetts, they have a feeling that their connection to Easthampton will keep their friendship strong. “We’ve been friends for 15 years now,” Oparowski said. “You can take the boy out of Easthampton but you can’t take Easthampton out of the boy.” Easthampton High School Class of 2026: Michael Bachmann-Baez, Aiden Favorite, Samone Young,
Leia Halfacre, Logan Crasnick, Brianna Chartier, Iyana Cooper-Baez, Brody Donovan, Anthony Incampo, Jake Kostek, Oliver Oparowski, Ravi Price, Morgan Wijnhoven, Tyra-Sheen Yankson, Nathaniel Blanchard, Logan Boyle, Jayden Brown, Gabriel Buri, Jasmine Buscan, Grady Cerruti, Yahel Crespo Juarbe, Bailey Davis, Aidan DeLisle, Christian Deshaies-McFadden, Collin DiCarlo, Liam Dopp, Elizabeth Doyle, Mark Drejsa, Owen Drysdale, Seth Durant, Madison Fortin, Asiana Grady, Armani Gutierrez, Nicco Gutierrez, Ryan Guyette Jr., Isiah Hernandez, Zachary Hinkle, Wesley Holota Oliveira, Jacob Jablonski, James Kaleta, Thomas Kane, Josiah-Rae Lambert, Jagger Lloyd, Elijah Love,
Jeromy Lovern, Jian Ke Ma Huang, Terrance Mabry, Muhammad Mannan, Faith Mastorakis, Leila Mateo, Felix McMahon, Sommer Meyers, Dylan Mistark, Brayden O’Connor, Jose Orfila, Krish Patel, Mahi Patel, Mahir Patel, Jacoby Pelkey, Evan Robare, Vivica Robles, Julian Rodriguez, Duaa Amina SadiKoune, Wilselino Salgado III, Alegen Santa, Rose Santander, Lilliana Santiago, Niomi Sorbi, Emma Stortz, Maria Valdes, Gabriel Wilson, Faith Yankson, Madelyn Youmell, Liam Zellen
Easthampton, Easthampton High School, Class of 2026, graduation, Principal William Evans, kindness, Holyoke Community College, computer science, elementary education