Greece Olympia confers diplomas to Class of 2025; speakers urge connection and resilience

Greece Olympia held its Class of 2025 commencement ceremony where Board of Education President Sean McCabe formally conferred diplomas and district and student speakers urged graduates to stay connected and resilient as they leave high school.

The ceremony matters because McCabe said graduates had “satisfactorily met all of the requirements set forth by the New York State Department of Education and the Greece Central School District Board of Education,” and the conferral made the students’ diplomas official.

Principal Jones opened the program and framed the day around relationships and gratitude, asking graduates to “stay connected to each other as you pursue your goals.” Jones credited families, staff and community members for helping students reach the milestone and called on graduates to maintain ties as they face future challenges.

Superintendent Jeremy Smalling told graduates the day marked his first Olympia graduation as superintendent and offered practical advice about attitude and response. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it,” Smalling said, and urged students to choose kindness and integrity when they face setbacks.

Student speakers delivered personal reflections on the class’s shared experiences. Jacera Hunter recounted the class’s journey through elementary, middle and high school and said the cohort had persevered through disruption: “the class of 2025 is fierce, strong, and determined,” she said. Hannah Rockstrom told classmates they had the confidence to move forward and closed by quoting a phrase she said her mother repeated: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Board of Education President Sean McCabe performed the formal conferral. “On behalf of the board of education of the Greece Central School District and upon the authority vested in me by the state of New York as board of education president, I do hereby confer the secondary school diploma upon the qualified members of the class of 2025,” McCabe said before the list of names was read.

Assistant Principal Chuck LaRae gave final logistical instructions to families about exits and closed the ceremony by inviting graduates to acknowledge the people who helped them reach commencement.

The ceremony included the national anthem performed by the school’s a cappella group and a roll call of graduates as diplomas were conferred. The district stated that students had met New York State Department of Education requirements; the number of diplomas conferred was not specified in the remarks.

Families and community members in the Greece community were present for the ceremony, which recognized students’ academic and extracurricular accomplishments and called attention to community and caregiver support as central to the graduation milestone.