Speakers at the Hopkinton High School graduation ceremony on Friday alluded to the Boston Marathon and movies to make key points in their remarks. They also emphasized the need for self-care and keeping an open mind as they move forward in life.

Class president Sean McCann kicked off the speeches by recalling the good times going through the Hopkinton schools, mentioning the challenges of Zoom classes during COVID and enthusing about recent fun senior activities like a boat cruise.

He urged his classmates to make connections with people, noting that even small actions can make someone else’s day better. McCann also advised his fellow students to take risks, be good to others and help make the world a better place.

“Be proud you are a Hiller. We are a family always,” McCann said.

Class president for the past four years, McCann also was awarded the Marion T. Harris award, given to the student who exemplifies true compassion, demonstrates respect for others and excels in academics and extracurricular activities.

The award is named for a longtime Hopkinton educator who held several roles ranging from chemistry teacher to coach to acting superintendent.

Presenting the award, special education teaching assistant Katharine Hesse noted that McCann was the type of student who would break painful silences in class with answers to questions and humor.

“He is universally liked and welcoming to all classmates,” Hesse noted of the honoree.

No place like home

In her address, Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh said it seemed late to give students advice after all the life lessons that had been imparted to them “overtly and subtlety” during their 13 years in school.

She praised all the district personnel for being thoughtful, compassionate and caring toward the students. Cavanaugh also spoke about the “cultural proficiency” in the schools and acceptance she sees — which is especially poignant considering the current “global turmoil,” she said.

Moving on to messages directly to students, the superintendent talked about the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” when Glinda the Good Witch tells Dorothy she has had the power all along to control her fate.

While the movie’s heroine looked at her ruby slippers to get back to Kansas, the class of 2024 “is wearing Hiller green and orange … which is far more powerful.”

“Tonight’s hard-earned diplomas can take you wherever you want to go,” Cavanaugh said.

She said the students would always find friends, family and faculty in Hopkinton who love and support them wherever their passions lead them.

Like Dorothy wished herself home, Cavanaugh said, “I hope you find joy in coming home.”

Boston Marathon parallel

Student Council president Caroline Kane’s address included some of her favorite quotes, including, “We rise by lifting others,” and, “It takes a village.” But most of Kane’s speech centered around how the students’ years in school can compare to the Boston Marathon.

She noted how runners need others to lean on to get through the race, just like students rely on those around them for encouragement to “keep us moving along” as they grapple with life.

Kane talked about the “starting line” of kindergarten and first grade at Center School, making their way to the next stops of Elmwood and Hopkins, where they forged friendships and made decisions like what musical instrument to play.

She compared the Newton point of the marathon to Hopkinton Middle School, where COVID hit, she experienced an injury and the students felt isolation like “Heartbreak Hill.” It took “resolve and patience” to overcome those challenges, and she recalled having to ask for help and having a “whole village” respond.

Finally, Kane noted that like the marathon, life will have good and difficult parts.

“Find your people. Keep an open mind. Our race has just begun. Make every step count,” she said.

Teacher presentations

Class vice president Christina Galego paid homage to retiring drama teacher Valerie von Rosenvinge, crediting her with helping to build students’ confidence in her public speaking class. She noted that the yearbook is being dedicated to her.

Class secretary Stephanie Johnson presented the class gift of a sign depicting the athletic fields. She spoke about how the four years of high school were like the quarters of an athletic event.

Treasurer Nina Brookes paid homage to teachers and class advisors Michael Webb and Steven Spiegel, presenting them with cards and gifts.

Adam Sandler words of wisdom

Principal Evan Bishop acknowledged that the class of 2024 included multiple published authors, a 2024 Boston Marathon runner, award-winning inventors with a patent, a podcaster who hosted a show with the Boston mayor as a guest, entrepreneurs, talented athletes and musicians, and a certified rescue diver.

Bishop gave advice while crediting several Adam Sandler movies. His “deep messages” included:

“Being perfect is overrated” — don’t be afraid to ask for help;

“It’s OK not to be everyone’s favorite” — don’t compare yourself to others;

“Take care of yourself emotionally and physically” — hydrate;

“Have a growth mindset” — keep all options open, including your mind;

“Find your people” — lean on and listen to your friends.

Bishop acknowledged the retirements of Hesse, von Rosenvinge and Adelaide Greco, a longtime counseling department coordinator.

During the ceremony, a group of students performed Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun.” The HHS band, under the direction of Craig Hay, played the national anthem and “Pomp and Circumstance.”

List of graduates

Jacob Adams
Saumit Addepalli
Suchnoor Ahuja
Abdul Alashabi
Lillian Anderson
Jan Antvelink
Ines Aqdim
Sravya Aravapalli
Jonathan Arteen
Jack Arthur
Camryn August
Jahan Bahri
Katherine Balster
Thierry Barbosa
Chloe Barnes
Abigail Baskin
Jakai Bellofatto
Eva Bennet
Jordan Berner
Virendra Bhawsar
Andrew Bialobrzeski
William Bialobrzeski
Camille Bianchi
Brooke Birtwistle
Rylee Blair
Natalie Bouffard
Alice Brambati
Annelise Brookes
Nicolette Buonora
Caleb Burke
Tyler Butkus
Jason Callery
Chancard Cammisa
Edward Campbell
Chiara Campoverde
Noah Cann
Loryn Canty
Damon Carboni
Aidan Cassidy
Liam Cassidy
Mahnoor Chaudhry
Grace Checkosky
Olivia Chen
Yu Tong Chen
Anthony Cherubim
Connor Cho
Nicholas Chyten
Georgina Clarke
Lucas Coffman
Aiden Colleary
Sasha Collins
Hannah Connors
Cecilia Corti
Jasmine Crook
Cecilia Dauphinee
Elena Davies
Katherine Decoulos
Sophia DellaCioppa
Aaron Delorey
Logan DelPonte
Anthony DeLuca
Isabella De Mello
Julia Desrochers
Lauren Dever
Sidhi Dhanda
Connor Dorfman
Charlotte Dowd
Delaney Doyle
Johanna DuPont
Seth Durand
Declan Durocher
Lucas Edmond
Mazin Elgabry
Dhruvaa Embar
Luis Faria
Brody Feldmann
Kate Finnegan
Abigail Flanagan
Bethel Flanagan
Marianna Flores
James Flynn
Cooper Fossbender
Courtney Fraser
Christina Galego
John Galego
Lillian Gallagher
Hannah Garesche
Matthew Gaughan
Brendan Gelbwachs
Elias Ghodrati
Bableen Gill
Jason Girard
David Gitelson
Nehemias Gonzalez-Munoz
Charlotte Goodman
Landin Gouin
Peyton Gould
Renee Gowda
Lucy Graham
Ian Febles
Juliana Grontzos
Sinjini Gupta
Humza Haider
Tareq Haque
Derek Hatherley
Abigail Hebert
Donovan Heggs
Carlos Henkle
John Herlihy
Samuel Holly
Rocco Horgan
Caleb Huang
Annika Hutto
Jack Ianelli
Wyatt Iantosca
Reese Interrante
Aleksandre Japaridze
Aditya Jhalavat
Emily Jiang
Jory Joharji
Stephanie Johnson
William Johnson
Benjamin Joyce
Caroline Kane
Christian Kapelos
Sanova Karim
Liam Kassab
Nathan Kassab
Eva Katyan
Ethan Kaufman
Kevin Kauzens
James Kayan
Farhan Khwaja
Rithika Kilari
Emily Kimball
Shritan Kondaveti
Sophie Kratzsch
Anya Krishnamony
Zachary Krymgold
Aman Kumar
Isaiah Kuruvilla
Federico La Gamma
Youness Lahlou
Aidan LeCrone
Jeffrey Lemos
Alison LePage
Kyra Levenson
Lucille Levesque
Kate Linde
Carlos Linton
Kiley Locke
Grace Losada
James MacCarthy
Keenan Macdonald
Mario Machin Estevez
Aditya Machiraju
Peter Mahon
Emily Mailloux
Jack Malone
Jandell Marcano
Grace Marino
Dawson Markey
Ethan Martin Paz
Luke Martin
William Martin
Evanya Mathur
Sophia Matsoukas
Sean McCann
Abigail McFarland
Sean McGowan
Bridget Mell
Aniketh Mikkilineni
Yasaa Mohammad
William Morgan
Nicole Mousad
Disha Mudenur
Tenneille Munn
Nandini Muralidharan
Jacob Murasko
Vidya Narendra Ramakrishna
Kate Nation
Navaneet Nayak
Ella Nel
Abigail Newman
Brynn O’Brien
Angela O’Leary
Leah O’Rourke
Odundo Omondi
Lunar Ottinger
Cameron Owen
Anay Pachori
Matthew Pantera
Ava Pappalardo
Gwen Parduhn
Zachary Parrow
Isabella Pattie
Zachary Peace
Davis Peishoff
Ryan Pepin
Jack Peppard
Christian Pereira
Camille Perlov
Russell Perryman
Charles Petruney
Jason Piccioli
Paolo Pola
Jack Provencher
Sophia Radaelli
Nandita Ramesh
Bhavya Ravi
Lynn Reichert
Liam Reilly
Isabella Resteghini
Logan Richardson-Kneeland
Andrew Riesenberger
Jake Rogers
Federico Rossi
Maya Rossin
Olivia Roux Azevedo Gomes
Samantha Ruggles
Sabrina Russo
Sooraj Sambasivam
Tamim Samrout
Gabrie Sanchez
John Sanda
Antonio Sanjurjo
Ana Scalora
Olivia Scalora
Michael Scardino
Savannah Schemmel
Nathaniel Schneider
Presley Schuler
Charlotte Schuster
Benjamin Scott
Rowan Scott
Rathish Senthilkumar
Esha Shah
Rohan Sharma
Allie Sheehan
Jude Shorbaji
Prisha Shrivastava
Isabella Silva
Robert Silva
Emily Skaff
Keara St. Fleur
Benjamin Stefanov
Veronica Stolyar
Lauren Strechay
Kelly Strickland
Christian Sullivan
Jack Sullivan
Karen Tang
Praneel Tare
Roma Tewari
Holly Thompson
Sienna Van Buren
Justin Vaughn
Caterina Vecchio
Srilakshmi Venkatesan
Prithvi Venkatesh
Siena Verna
Matthew Vidil
Charan Vijay
Ruggere Vitoria
Justin Viveiros
Jordis Vogel
Olivia Wade
Sanidi Waduthanthri
Jacob Walsh
Eve Weatherhead
Sophie Weeden
Callie Weston
Daniel White
Dean Wickramasuriya
Alexander Williams
Andrew Winslow
Settakarn Wongprakot
Yuanjie Wu
Amanda Xie
Yeon Yoo
Alixandria Young
Samuel Young
Demyana Youssif
Evan Yurewicz
Ciela Zhang
Romy Zinman
Gabriel Lee
Gregory Chesmore
Paige Hughes