LAKEVILLE — With a few steps across the Apponequet Regional High School football field, the class of 2023 entered the next phase of their lives.

Family and friends packed the bleachers to celebrate the graduation of the Apponequet seniors.

Senior Class President Alexander El-Ghadi and valedictorian Eoin Gallagher read their classmates’ names as each student walked to receive their diploma from faculty and staff members on Friday, June 2.

El-Ghadi introduced the ceremony and praised the graduates’ achievements in everything from fundraising to athletics.

“We’ve won so many South Coast Conference championships that the trophy cabinet is going to petition for an expansion,” he said to cheers from the audience.

Gallagher made the valedictory address, where he encouraged his classmates to follow their passions.

“Learning is everything,” he said, thanking the school and community for the academic and life lessons.

Amirtha Santhosh’s salutatory address praised the class’s persistence given their ninth-grade year was interrupted by the pandemic. That trait, she said, will serve the whole class well in the future.

“We are the future,” she said at the end of her speech.

The ceremony concluded with Principal Kahlan Dessert instructing the class to move the tassels on their graduation caps, signifying their achievement.

Then, the students let the caps fly in the air in celebration.