BURRILLVILLE – Members of the Burrillville Excessive Faculty Class of 2025 took a couple of moments for reflection on the faculty’s 124th graduation Friday night, with this 12 months’s high college students advising their friends to concentrate on what’s necessary within the years forward.
“My experiences in highschool taught me that abandoning a legacy will not be at all times about wealth or fame, however fairly our influence on these round us,” stated Salutatorian Emily Cook dinner in her deal with to the category. “It’s the quiet, on a regular basis selection we make, those that form how others really feel when they’re round us. It’s the best way you make folks really feel understood once they really feel invisible or the smile you give a stranger within the hallway. These small acts, those that play like mushy background music, are those that persist with folks.”
Cook dinner’s recommendation echoed by way of a sizzling Levy Rink crowded with family and friends of the 146 graduates. The ceremony featured the category poet, a rendition of songs from The Lion King by the Burrillville Excessive Faculty Band and some phrases of knowledge from city and college officers.
“To our graduates: you’ve crossed the finish line of one journey, and you’re standing at the gateway of the next. But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a moment to look around—at your classmates, your teachers, your families, and your neighbors,” said Supt. Michael Sollitto. “This rink, this town, this school—they’ve all been part of your story.”
Councilor Stephen Rawson advised the graduates to set personal priorities and to remember the value of service, noting that charity and volunteerism are hometown values, and that many in the rink had helped the students along their path to success.
“In the future, I urge you all to give something back,” Rawson said.
Sollitto also advised the students to remember how the town had shaped them.
“The Burrillville community is a family – a family that supports one another, lifts each other up, and takes pride in the values we hold dear: hard work, kindness, resilience, and respect,” he said. “Tonight, you are graduating from a school supported by a community that comes together for athletic games, school plays, extra-curricular activities, and town events. You’ve learned lessons not just from textbooks, but from conversations with teachers, from hands-on, real world application, from volunteering at community events, and from watching your parents and neighbors lead by example. That’s the Burrillville way.”
School Committee Chairperson Terri Lacey noted that as a member of the Burrillville High School Class of 1975, the event marked the 50th anniversary of her own commencement.
“I will forever be grateful and proud to be called a Bronco,” Lacey said, offering the students some perspective on their years ahead. “Failure give you the opportunity to rethink, understand and then correct. I guarantee you will fail at times. In every failure there’s a hidden message.”
The event marked a celebration of achievement for the 2025 class, with 45 percent headed off to four year schools including U-Mass Dartmouth, Anna Maria College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Suffolk University, Wheaton College and many more.
“The graduates who sit in front of you today are all on track to take the next step in their lives,” said class co-president Jaime Allen. “From future teachers to nurses, to workers in the trades, and all of those in between, we are ready to write our next story.”
Class Valedictorian Alex Pristawa called on his peers to find meaning in their future, noting that their decisions should be motivated by more than just the desire for financial gain.
“Money solves money problems. But meaning solves everything else,” said Pristawa. “Money without meaning is worthless”
“As we all go our separate ways, find meaning in the journey ahead,” said Pristawa. “Take on this next chapter with courage. Expect to
fail. But recognize that that’s okay. Overcome the hard moments.”
Cook reminded her classmates that they are all are worthy enough to leave something behind in life, using music as a metaphor for the feelings that even small interactions leave behind.
“To the friends in the audience and the graduates here today, I ask you: What is your legacy song? Is it a sweet melody? A tune of encouragement? Or an anthem of perseverance and strength?” Cook asked. “Whatever it may be, let it echo in the hearts of those you surround yourself with.”
