CCHS Class of 2026 urged to seize the day
“Today is not the end of something. It is the beginning of everything.”
Photos: Ken McGagh/The Acton Bridge
The moments that stuck with Layla White weren’t the ones that went according to plan.
Standing before Acton-Carlisle High School’s Class of 2026 last Saturday morning, the student Senate Moderator recalled inadvertently putting diesel in her gas tank, struggling through chemistry, friends desperately trying to help reattach her bumper, and tripping during a color guard performance.
“When I look back at high school, I’m not going to remember my GPA or AP scores,” she told her fellow graduates.
Instead, White said, she will remember the embarrassing moments, the people who laughed with her, and the friends, family, and teachers who helped her make it through.
That message of embracing imperfection echoed throughout a commencement ceremony that repeatedly challenged students to appreciate the time they have — and move forward despite uncertainty.
White acknowledged that many graduates were nervous about what comes next. But she reminded her classmates that they are not facing those challenges alone.
“There are only 300 graduating students, but there are over 3,000 people in the audience who helped us get here,” she said.
Co-Principal Katie Stahl described CCHS as a place that gave students “the time, the space and the grace” to struggle, fail, and grow. Co-Principal Brian Miller reminded graduates that “first tries are for learning, not perfection.”
“Our most valuable lessons rarely come from easy answers,” he said.
‘Beginning of everything’
Class President Sierra Fonte shifted the focus from past mistakes to future possibilities.
Fonte opened her speech with a confession: she procrastinates.
Throughout high school, she said, she often convinced herself there would always be another day to start a project or pursue a goal.
Eventually, she realized the problem was not laziness but the assumption that time was unlimited.
“There’s no perfect moment to begin,” Fonte said. “There’s no magical point where fear disappears and certainty arises.”
As she looked out at her classmates, she urged them not to wait for ideal circumstances before pursuing their ambitions.
“Today is not the end of something,” she said. “It is the beginning of everything.”
Graduate Charles Eck said after the ceremony that Fonte’s thoughts on procrastination spoke to something nearly everyone experiences.
“We’re all guilty of it,” he said. “I think it’s important to seize the moment. There’s only now that’s guaranteed.”
Another graduate, Fiona Noordzij, said Fonte captured what many students have been feeling as they prepare to leave a place that has shaped their lives for four years.
“I think just making sure that we all are aware of the time we have with each other and making sure that it’s a special time that we spend with each other and being present,” Noordzij said.
She described the spring months of senior year, after many students had finalized college decisions, as a defining period.
“Everyone was just happy for each other,” she said. “Happy to be with each other.”
Out into the world
In his address, science teacher Andrew Fall praised the class for its accomplishments, but said what stood out most was the students’ character.
“You’re an amazing collection of human beings who consistently displayed kindness and acceptance,” he said.
He encouraged graduates to recognize those who helped them reach this milestone and to use their talents to make a difference in the world.
As the ceremony ended, graduates posed for photos, embraced friends, brandished celebratory cigars, and searched for family members in the crowd.
Some eagerly discussed college plans and career aspirations. Others discussed where to go next, lingering indoors to avoid the morning’s cold rain.
Sumant Babu stood among the other graduates and their families, diploma in hand, tassels draped across his gown, trying to find the words to capture his tangle of emotions.
He felt excitement, he told The Acton Bridge, “but also just like, I don’t know. It feels weird.”
Asked what was on his mind as he prepared to leave high school behind, Babu paused.
“Satisfaction,” he said.
