GSA celebrates its graduating class at sun-filled ceremony
Art teacher Melissa Rioux delivers keynote address to Class of 2026
Confetti marks the beginning of a new chapter for graduates of George Stevens Academy on June 14. Photo by John Boit.
June 15, 2026
By John Boit
BLUE HILL—The sounds of steel drums and the glitter of confetti filled the air as George Stevens Academy graduated its 53 seniors on Sunday afternoon.
With parents, families and friends packing the lawn in front of the high school, graduation speaker Melissa Rioux, one of the school’s art teachers who was also a GSA graduate 25 years ago before heading off to art school at Pratt in New York City, delivered the keynote speech on June 14.
Rioux gave the students three pieces of advice: Be yourself, be kind, and love yourself.
“It might sound crazy, but I believe that by being kind you can change the course of the entire world,” said Rioux.
Lillian Landrum, the class salutatorian, encouraged her class and the audience to “give grace” for others’ chapters, setbacks, successes and never-ending changes in their lives.
“There’s this idea I think people our age like to lean on sometimes, especially at times like this, times of transition, that we’re meant for something, that we have a destiny, that we’re guided, we’re chosen, that we’re supposed to follow some golden path. Like we’ll all just glide into the right life if you listen hard enough. But we’re not earth angels. We’re people, and we’re inconsistent, we’re unsure. We’re brilliant one day, and we’re lost the next. We make decisions that only make sense years later–or maybe they never do.”
GSA class salutatorian Lillian Landrum, diploma in hand, at this weekend’s graduation. Photo by John Boit.
Landrum said that perspective has helped her see “how small I really am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go. And I don’t find that discouraging. I think it’s almost freeing. It means we’re still figuring it out. We’re figuring ourselves out. We’re allowing [ourselves] to be unfinished.
Valedictorian Violette Hermans talked about her fond GSA memory of creating art works out of simple materials in various classes, including furniture made out of sticks.
A car in the GSA parking lot on graduation day. Photo by John Boit.
“From the smallest material, we build the most extraordinary parts of our lives. May what you all build next bring you the greatest joy,” Hermans said.
Other speakers included First Honor Essayist Elizabeth McGaha, who mentioned her favorite classes, saying, “It’s the teachers that made them special.”
Second Honor Essayist Anna Dovhanych, a student from Ukraine, talked about the challenges of being shy in an unfamiliar country, and how being a part of the steel drum band helped her “find her people.”
“Looking back, when I came here two years ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I would leave here having made so many friends, learn to play this instrument, speak English well, and find another home thousands of miles away from my country,” Dovhanych said.
As the new graduates were presented by head of school Dan Welch, the GSA steel drum band played a celebratory tune. Confetti popped into the air from the stage, fluttering down in multi-colored petals through the spring sunshine and heralding the start of the next chapter for the graduates.
To see the full list of graduates and where they are headed next, be sure to check out The Rising Tide’s graduation section.
