HEBRON — The theme of Hebron Academy’s 213th graduation ceremony on Saturday was Laughter — and there was plenty of it.

The ceremony began with the sound of bagpipes, and as the audience got their first glimpse of the underclassmen making their way along the top of the Athletic Center, they began to cheer.

When the 83 graduates appeared — the stars of the show — the cheers became deafening.

Graduate Alaia Singh spoke of feelings in her salutation, and urged her classmates to enjoy their graduation day, and the unfamiliar emotions that come with it.

“(We) are here to celebrate something no picture can capture; no sentence can summarize,” Singh said. “It’s a celebration of a feeling — a feeling so vast and moving and scary and overwhelming we cannot describe it. It is the feeling that marks the end and the beginning.”

Senior Class President Taylor Leech incorporated the Laughter theme in her graduation message. Leech chose to speak of the past in her speech, and the laughter within it. She told stories of bonding with her fellow graduates, and fondly reminisced about rafting mishaps and wardrobe malfunctions.

She ended her speech with a Hebron Lumberjacks chant and a final wish for her class.

“Never stop laughing — and know that your laugh may change someone’s day,” Leech said.

Head of School Daniel Marchetti kept up the theme of laughter during his speech that proceeded the presentation of awards, calling the graduates “vampires” in reference to their sleeping habits. He told the class that Hebron Academy had helped them find their voices, and he urged them to use those voices for good.

As the ceremony drew to a close, the Victory Bell rang out in Hebron Academy tradition, signaling the end of an era for the newest alumni.

But, as Leech wished, not the end of their laughter.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net

Class President Taylor Leech gave the graduation message at Hebron Academy’s commencement ceremony on Saturday in the Athletic Center.

Graduate Anton Andersen was presented the Outdoor Leadership Prize at the Hebron Academy graduation ceremony on Saturday.

Alaia Singh gave the salutation speech at Hebron Academy’s 213th graduation on Saturday in the Athletic Center.