Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP An animated Kristen Ellspermann, a class adviser chosen the faculty speaker by Nashua High North Class of 2021, makes a point while delivering remarks to grads and guests at Wednesday's commencement. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA – As “just an 18-year-old kid,” at once “excited, conflicted, and frankly terrified about the uncertainty of the future,” Nashua High School North salutatorian Stephen Norris wondered aloud, “who am I to provide any wisdom?” to his fellow members of the Class of 2021.

But a couple of minutes later Norris, the grandson and namesake of the late longtime music teacher and band director, declared he was about to “go back on my word” so he could leave his fellow grads “with this one idea to remember: Take advantage of the time you have … take risks, love your friends and family, and take advantage of every second we have here together.”

Norris, bound for Harvard University later this summer, was among the speakers who imparted congratulations, best wishes and praise for a job well done upon the roughly 400 Titans who arrived at Stellos Stadium Wednesday evening as seniors and walked out about two hours later as graduates ready to take on the world.

The ceremony, which had been postponed from Monday due to weather conditions, also featured talks by valedictorian Carson Goh, who will enter Dartmouth College later this year, senior class president Kate Conley, and Kristen Ellspermann, a senior class adviser who the graduates chose to be their faculty speaker.

“What else can I say but ‘wow!'” North principal Nathan Burns said with a big grin as he stepped to the microphone for his welcome message.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Nashua High North graduate and Senior Class Secretary Brian Messalti addresses his fellow graduates and the guests who attended Wednesday's commencement at Stellos Stadium. Listening at right are principal Nathan Burns, assistant principal Jason Lonergan and class valedictorian Carson Goh. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

“I couldn’t be more proud of you all!”

The majority of Burns’s pride stems from the way the students, and teachers too, came together in the face of an unprecedented development called COVID-19.

“Who could have predicted your junior year would have been cut short … and many of you would be learning remotely for over a year?” Burns said.

“But you persevered through it all,” he said, ticking off the list of sudden changes that seemed to come one after another as the virus grew into a pandemic.

From losing loved ones to missing out on opportunities that seniors typically participate in, the Class of 2021 “made it here, today, to receive your diplomas … to embark on the next part of your life.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Nashua High North principal Nathan Burns welcomes graduates and guests to Wednesday evening's commencement at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

“‘Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out,'” Burns told the audience, quoting the late Art Linkletter.

Ellspermann, the class adviser and faculty speaker, greeted her “esteemed colleagues,” the “beloved family and friends” of graduates and “the most epic, yet tragically under-celebrated, Class of 2021” with an emphatic “que lo que,” an informal greeting of Spanish origin.

An animated speaker with bright red, shoulder-length hair, Ellspermann nevertheless said she “fancies myself an introvert” who “would never have thought of myself as someone who would, willingly, get up in front of some of the greatest people I have ever met and speak words of ‘wisdom … ‘

“Nor would I have thought a year of teaching from my house could be so incredibly isolating and draining,” she added.

Ellspermann shared how much she missed “all of you and our conversations … how much I missed being a part of my home at Nashua High School North,” and urged the grads going forward to “surround yourself with people … who are truly worthy of your time and energy.”

Goh, the valedictorian, told his fellow grads he recognized “in each and every one of you” how all their freshman-year fears “have been transformed into the confidence and smiles I see in each of you … .”

Quoting at different junctures author Stephen King, Walt Disney and the Canadian rapper Drake, Goh heaped praise on the teachers, administration and staff “who might not get as much visibility but still play a vital role in our success,” such as guidance counselors, nurses, librarians, cafeteria workers, security and secretaries.

During the pandemic, Goh said, the teachers “stepped up in ways we could never imagine, from teaching virtually, to hybrid, to in-person learning.

“I can say this with complete confidence that we have some of the best teachers in the state right her at Nashua North,” Goh added.

He also told his fellow grads to “never be afraid to speak up for the injustices you see in the world, never let anyone stop you from dreaming big.

“Never stop being yourself.”

Conley, the Senior Class president, recalled asking her fellow students to vote for her as president on the message of “help us see a clearer future.”

But, she continued, “if this past year has taught us anything, I think it’s that the future is never really ‘clear.'”

Not knowing what lies ahead, Conley said, “can be absolutely terrifying … but also incredibly exciting.” Life, she said quite pointedly, “is going to be brutal. It is going to throw challenges at all of us because, frankly, no one else owes us a happy life.

“We owe it to ourselves to find happiness,” Conley added.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.