Multi-talented Inter-Lakes High School class of 2026 will 'stay gold'

MEREDITH — The weather was about as good as it gets on Saturday, for the Inter-Lakes High School graduates to receive their diplomas, embarking on the first giant step of their adult lives.

A warm breeze swept through the audience, and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen, as the high school band warmed up and families and friends took their seats. Proud parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, and community members snapped photos while they held back tears of joy. Graduation day is of utmost importance to the students, and is also a reflection of a community who helped raise them.

Student speakers, administrators, and teachers alike all spoke about how talented the class of 2026 is, as well as being tight-knit, devoted and ambitious.

Outgoing Principal Amanda Downing commended the students, decked out on their graduation garb, some with caps decorated with college colors or other patterns. One graduate couldn’t be there — David Walker, ranked second in New England in the long jump. He was competing at the New England Track and Field Championship, and ultimately took the eighth spot regionally. Downing said missing something like the graduation ceremony shows just how dedicated he was to the sport he excelled at and loved.

Walker was one of the top 10 students in his class, showing this graduating group had not only top athletes, but also some of the top brains and skillsets. The school’s robotics team recently competed in the world championship; one student, Sam Fullerton, was an Eagle Scout; students are going into a variety of fields at top schools around the country; and others are entering the workforce.

“Each one of you has left an indelible mark on Inter-Lakes,” Downing said in her opening address.

“You are part of the fabric here.”

Downing told students to look under their seats, and each one pulled up a gifted hacky sack, a throwback relic likely popular in their parents’ days in school.

“Keep hacky sacking, just don’t forget time and place,” Downing said, followed by laughter from the crowd.

Downing told the students to just be themselves, and to keep their light on, even if it makes others squint. She said they are all part of the Inter-Lakes legacy, and will be missed dearly.

The school’s chorus sung Fleetwood Mac's “Landslide,” leading up to a speech by top 10 student Elise Beauboeuf.

Beauboeuf said she is grateful to have been the “social chair” for the class of 2026, and said it was nice to see everyone all dressed up instead of the usual sweatpants. She said most people think about what’s ahead at graduation, but she has been reflecting more on what made their current situation possible. For her, that perspective comes from her pepe, Guy Beauboeuf, who grew up in Haiti, in a life that looked far different from hers, with different means and expectations.

Beauboeuf said he had to be resilient in such a world, and by contrast, she grew up with stability, structure, and opportunity. She said being aware of this contrast is good, to be able to appreciate their freedom, which is not universal.

“The kind of freedom we are entrusted with is the result of sacrifice, of principal, and of people who believed that a life should be shaped, not by limitation, but by possibility,” Beauboeuf said. “But freedom is not just the absence of restriction, instead it is the presence of responsibility. Responsibility to choose wisely, to listen before we speak, to act with integrity, to choose what we’ve been given, not only for ourselves, but for something beyond us.”

Beauboeuf said the question now is what to do with their freedom, and the truth is, the impact of their lives won’t be reflective of huge achievements, but shaped quietly over time. She said freedom is a gift, and it’s time to prove they are worthy.

“As we leave this chapter of our lives, we step into a world that offers us more independence than ever before, and with that comes something greater than possibility,” Beauboeuf said. “It comes with a calling.”

This year’s commencement speakers were Mary Nyhan and Lori Donahugh, two beloved teachers in the high school English department named by several top 10 students in recent interviews as being influential. Donahue is also retiring, sending off her final graduating class as an educator.

Nyhan said between them they have more than 65 years of experience teaching high school English. She said some people think it is a daunting task to spend their entire day with teenagers, but they couldn’t be happier.

“Teenagers are smart, fun, challenging, curious and eager to prepare themselves for the future,” Nyhan said. “We can attest, after having taught the majority of the graduating seniors, that their future is bright. They give us hope.”

She listed off the first names of creators, musicians, scientists, athletes, voracious readers, great thinkers, writers, business leaders, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and carpenters.

Donahue continued with educators, engineers, mathematicians, and those who are hard-working, committed to community service, kind citizens, and the future healers of the world.

“These are the people, and these are the reasons we teach high school,” Donahue said. “They give us hope for the future.”

Donahue said she has been working hard with Nyhan on a speech about why they do what they do. She said they’ve read works that include humble characters who make their tiny corners of the world a kinder, gentler, more beautiful place.

“I have watched you do this here,” Donahue said.

She said teenagers can teach so much, including patience, and wisdom doesn’t always come with age. Donahue said it also comes with reflection. She referred to a book they read, “The Outsiders,” and in it, teenage author S.E. Hinton refers to a legendary poem by Robert Frost.

“Through her sensitive, often misunderstood, yet wise beyond-his-years character, she tells us that we don’t have to subscribe to the cynicism of a 48-year-old poet [asserting] nothing gold can stay,” Donahue said. “That while life can be challenging it is also beauty and grace, and we should continue to delight and wonder.”

She said there are so many things she has found to be “gold” in outgoing students. Donahue said this ranged from classwork, helping a friend pull a car out of a ditch, sharing their favorite month, May, because it is where the first serotonin rush comes in, and more.

Donahue is reminded we are all similar more than we are different, with challenges and triumphs. She said it takes courage to share vulnerability, admit when wrong, and ask for help.

“The fact that you are all sitting here today is evidence of your courage,” Donahue said.

Nyhan said last year they read "The Great Gatsby," reminding them of the main character, Nick Carraway, and advice he received from his father.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, remember that not everyone has had the same advantages you’ve had, and reserving judgment is a matter of infinite hope,” Nyhan said.

She said author F. Scott Fitzgerald began the narrative reminding readers to be grateful for the good, the fun, challenging and mundane.

“When we’re grateful, we tend to be kinder,” Nyhan said. “The world needs more of that.”

Inter-Lakes students hail from Center Harbor, Meredith and Sandwich.

Class President Kiera Moynihan was the final speaker before the 75 graduates received their diplomas, flipped their tassels, and tossed their caps in the air triumphantly. She called it an honor to be there, representing the class.

Moynihan said adolescence is a whole universal presence in everyone’s lives, and getting older comes with growing pains, physically and metaphorically. She said one constant is community.

“Maybe aging is not what we are meant to fear,” Moynihan said. “It’s true that these graduates in this class will not experience any more morning drives to the school, and may never take any more AP tests and reassessments, and might never say again, ‘I just have to make it to Friday.’”

Moynihan was sure, however, they will receive plenty of proud and loving comments. She said change is a part of life, but one thing that won’t change is the people the graduates belong with in this community.

“It will never be lost,” Moynihan said.

“The friends and memories made here will last a lifetime. We are connected by years of shared trials, tribulations, and triumph.”