Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Maria Lapa celebrates the moment as she walks onstage to receive her diploma at the Nashua High School South graduation Sunday.

The rather unique description drew some laughs from his listeners, who numbered roughly 365 in caps and gowns and thousands watching from their seats in the SNHU Arena.

Ovalle was brief but pointed, thanking teachers and “faces around the hallways” he will miss going forward, then promptly telling his fellow grads that people “in my culture … come to America for a better life … to seize the opportunities.

“I want to see all of you do the same thing as immigrants do: Work your way to the top.”

The roughly 90-minute ceremony capped the second half of the all-Nashua graduation doubleheader at the Manchester arena, which until recently was known as Verizon Wireless Arena.

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Anushka Ray delivers her valedictory address to fellow Nashua High School South graduates at Sunday's ceremony. Diplomas sit ready in the foreground for distribution.

Class president Clay Medling began his comments by citing “some unfinished business” that needed tending to: the fact the “Clash of the Classes” competition ended in a tie this year, “and you can’t just end in a tie.”

So with the help of principal Keith Richard, who agreed with Medling’s suggestion that “our class should get one extra point for being the most attractive class at South,” he produced a large, gold belt and held it aloft to cheers.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s really been a great four years. I know I will look back on these four years,” Medling said, mentioning specifically “those school-store cookies” and “the one thing that helped me the most – sparknotes.”

“Each other,” and “our great teachers,” are among the “great resources” the South grads had available to them, Medling said.

“But our biggest resource of all would probably be the people sitting around us today – our families and friends,” he added.

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Nashua High School South graduate Gleb Zhuravlev poses for photos as other graduates are greeted by friends and family members following Sunday's ceremony in Manchester.

Class of 2018 valedictorian Anushka Ray called it “an honor to be given this opportunity to bestow some words of encouragement to my class. …”

Throughout all four years at South, Ray said she “witnessed a culture of support and helping. … I have received so much unconditional love and support from my teachers and peers.”

Looking out over the sea of graduates clad in purple and white gowns, Ray said she was speaking to “incredible scholars, talented musicians, creative artists and great athletes, who will be pursung their unique and special goals.

“And I am extremely confident that we will find success wherever our paths lead us.”

South CTE teacher Sara Paling, called upon to pinch-hit for Lisa Yates as this year’s faculty speaker, mixed humorous quips with poignant observations over the course of one of the longer addresses of the afternoon.

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Mortar boards sporting a wide variety of themes, from photos of dogs to college and university logos, were on display during Nashua High School South graduation Sunday.

Admitting her “fear that I am not fully able to fill her shoes,” Paling called Yates, who is recovering from a recent medical procedure, “an extraordinary woman” and promised to “do my absolute best for you.”

Paling called her colleagues “the incredible teachers you see surrounding you … they inspire me, support me, listen to me rant about you guys … sometimes they make fun of me,” she said to laughs.

She praised the students who “showed up and willingly became a part of what’s going on despite the distractions in today’s world,” recalling classes “where I looked forward to seeing those students every day (and) was sad when we were done.”

When her 4-year-old daughter fell ill, it was “a group of my current and former students who … immediately reached out to me … helped me through a very difficult time,” Paling said.

She may have raised an eyebrow or two by addressing “a small group of kids who think I have overlooked them … these are our ‘bad’ kids, our ‘delinquents,'” she said.

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Nashua High School South Class of 2018 president Clay Meddling shares a lighter moment with his fellow graduates during his address at Sunday's graduation.

Recalling having doors slammed on her, magazines thrown at her and being “sworn at in colorful ways,” Paling said she was once “called a name so vulgar, and new, that I asked the student to repeat it for me.” As an English teacher, “I was intrigued by this new usage of an old swear,” she said, adding that she asked the student if he could “define that word for me.

“To which he replied, ‘the definition is you,” Paling said to laughs, which continued when she recalled how “that student had no idea how special he made me feel” for “being the only one of my kind.”

But in the end, Paling said, encountering the occasional difficult student makes teachers better. “We do not become the people we are without them.

“Those kids who sleep through our classes, sit on their cell phones, shut us out at every turn – they are the reasons we get better,” she said.

“We challenge ourselves to find ways to reach them.”

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Faculty speaker Sara Paling, who substituted for original speaker Lisa Yates, addresses graduates at Nashua High School South's graduation Sunday.

Richard, the principal, told the graduates in brief remarks that they “couldn’t have made the people here today any more proud.

“You worked hard in the classroom and are reaping the benefits with the wonderful places you are headed after today. It has truly been amazing to see you grow,” Richard said.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.