Hayden Paquette hugs her father Joe Paquette and presents him with a flower. 
Cailin Swett Tetreault marches to the graduation stage. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Vito Anzalone marches to the graduation stage. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Graduate Taylor Cole presents a flower to her mother, Lisa Cole. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Graduate Delaney Dowling hugs her father, Scott Dowling, in tears, after presenting him with flowers during a Rose Ceremony. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Principal Tom Ronning welcomes families to graduation. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Valedictorian Madison Labrecque gives her address. 
Valedictorian Madison Labrecque gives her address. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Guest speaker and WLC alum Kimber St. Lawrence gives congratulations to the class of 2026. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Secretary Kasey Rondeau gives her address. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Salutatorian Jason Benn gives his address to his class. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript 
Korey Begley, left, and Jonathan “JJ” Benson, march to the graduation stage. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript
On Friday evening, 27 Warriors walked the graduation stage, leaving high school behind to take on adult responsibilities.
The Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District ceremony included recognition of the class of 1976, several of whom attended to mark the 50th anniversary of their graduation, and a speech by Kimber St. Lawrence, a 2005 WLC graduate who is now an author.
School board member Brianne Lavallee said she prepared for graduation day by speaking with the teachers and staff who have worked with the class of 2026 over the years. What she heard again and again, she said, was that they were “a joy”: a joy to teach, a joy to watch and a joy to be around.
“As a school board member, our role is to create policies and help steer the vision of the district. But honestly, being here today, being a spectator to your success, is my favorite part of the job. It’s the reason I’m a volunteer.”
Valedictorian Madison Labrecque thanked her family, friends and teachers, including William Comerford, her most challenging teacher, whom she called both an adversary and a friend, and Catherine Blais, who offered emotional support and nurtured her passion for science.
“We all took different paths to get here, and we will all take different paths after tonight,” Labrecque said. “Some of us are going to big universities, some to community college, some to the military, some into the trades, and some into the workforce, and the truth is, every single one of those paths is valuable and meaningful. Don’t follow a path just because someone expects you to. Follow it because it makes you happy.”
Class secretary Kasey Rondeau recalled what the class had been through together: the hard times during COVID-19, as well as the pranks and games. Among them, a suspected gas leak that prompted a school evacuation turned out to be a particularly odorous fart spray. She also recalled class trips to Lake Winnipesaukee, Boston and Six Flags.
“I believe that we all made the most out of this last year we had together,” Rondeau said.
Salutatorian Jason Benn said he remembered the early days after moving to Lyndeborough and that he wasn’t thrilled about it.
“I was so nervous on the first day. I’d left everyone behind at my old school, and I was basically starting from scratch. It was a lot,” Benn said. “But slowly and surely, I came to love WLC.”
Benn spoke about the pressure of exams, the struggle of masking during COVID-19 and now trying to figure out what to do after high school. It’s not easy, Benn said.
His words to his classmates: Keep trying.
“It’s hard, it seems almost impossible, even, but always try,” Benn said.