With less than an hour before graduation, clusters of seniors formed outside of Hill Auditorium. Students ran to greet familiar faces while dressed in full gowns and caps — many of which featured the logo of the student’s college next year — and posed for pictures with family and friends. These would be the last pictures taken of them as high school students. While some were wary of the transition out of high school, others were excited to move on to the next chapter of their lives.
Prior to the ceremony, senior Ria Thomas was nervous about getting on stage and shocked by how quickly the time flew by. Senior Phoebe Parmer shared this sentiment, expressing both awe and surprise at getting to this point.
“It felt so surreal, like living in a moment I never thought I’d get to,” Parmer said. “It’s slowly hitting me. I am gonna miss the little moments I had at this place, but I am ready. This school has prepared me.”
Others felt bittersweet at the prospect of moving on, aware of the people they were saying goodbye to. While senior Maura O’Connor was looking forward to taking different classes in college, she mourned the loss of close friendships she made at CHS.
“I’m definitely going to miss all my friends, but also the relationships you form with your teachers,” senior Maura O’Connor said. “It’s different than other schools because you really have close relationships.”
Senior Max Lawton also had goodbyes on his mind. When preparing himself for graduation day, Lawton tried to not think about it too much because he knew it would be sad to see people for the last time.
“[Graduation] has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a pretty long time now, since I was little,” Lawton said. “But actually being here today, it feels a lot different than I thought it would. As much as I’ve said before in the past that I’ve been very excited for this day to finally leave school behind and go on to college, it’s pretty sad to see it go.”
At around 7:00 pm, the crowd rose as the seniors of the 2025 graduating class entered the auditorium. Smiles flashed and tears rolled down cheeks as the seniors walked to their seats to the sound of the CHS Jazz Band’s rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Shortly after, Dean Marci Tuznisky welcomed the crowd. She introduced notable attendees such as a former CHS dean and members of the AAPS Board of Education before launching into her commencement speech.
“Tonight, we are here to celebrate and give diplomas to these amazing people,” Tuzinsky said. “This will be like no graduation you’ve seen before.”
In her speech, she thanked the teacher assistants, office professionals and other staff who had left an impact on CHS this year. She also reflected on the effects that the pandemic had on this graduating class.
“Do you know you are the first Community High School class since 2019 who has spent all four years learning at CHS?” Tuzinsky said. “Think of how much has changed since then.”
Tuzinsky mentioned that in her time as a forum leader, she used to read poems to each of her students. Now, as a dean, she considered all of the seniors to be her own forumettes, and felt it was only right to commemorate that with a poem.
“The true joy of life is the trip,” Tuzinsky read from “The Station” by Robert J. Hastings. “Watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less,” she continued on. “Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.”
“To the class of 2025, I wish you an incredible journey,” Tuzinsky said. “A journey of caring for each other in this world, a journey that’s meaningful, a journey that’s joyous, a journey that provides others to care for you when life presents not so joyous times, a journey where you continue to crave lifelong learning, and a journey that allows you to meet the best possible view of this world.”
After Tuzinsky finished her speech, AAPS Superintendent Jazz Parks took the stage. She thanked AAPS educators and parents and then turned her attention to the graduating class.
“Your journey has prepared you for this moment ahead,” Parks said. “You have everything it takes to make your mark in the world in profound and positive ways.”
The tight-knit bonds formed at Community High School are shown through a unique tradition where forum leaders introduce their forumettes and stand beside them as each graduating senior gives a 30-second speech. Some students take the time to thank their friends, family and teachers, while others reflect on their journey at CHS and what it has meant to them.
Jessica Whiteside’s forum kicked off the first round of diploma distribution. Next, the Stern, Vial, Landrum and Brent forums took the stage.
Landrum forumette senior Julien Wyngard reflected on how much forum teacher Laurel Landrum has meant to him.
“You have become so much more than a teacher to me,” Baker said. “You were the primary reason I went to school, and you are what I will miss most from Community.”
Few could anticipate what senior Elias Kirschenmann would do in his speech. After reminiscing on his time at Community, Kirschenmann went on to talk about his haircut, and about how as he moves on from Community, he would also like to move on from his mullet. As Kirschmann finished his speech, fellow Landrum forumette senior Eliam Rosenberg took a pair of scissors and cut Kirschmann’s hair on stage.
Senior Jacqueline Boynton reflected on what she is most grateful for from her time at Community.
“The first thing I’m grateful for is the memories that I will cherish forever,” Boynton said. “Second, I will always miss the treats I get from White Lotus every Wednesday morning. Third, I thank Community for allowing me to pursue my dreams, and finally, I’m grateful to this school for giving me all of the meaningful relationships I’ve made over the past four years that will last a lifetime.”
In his speech, forumette Elliot Mason from the Brent forum touched on how parting with Community is a bittersweet experience. Mason read a famous Winnie the Pooh quote: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Next, the CHS Jazz Band waltzed on stage for a brief intermission. After one song, Jazz Director Jack Wagner and a few other seniors took the stage and joined them for a surprise rendition of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, featuring senior Jacqueline Boynton as a soloist. As the song went on, seniors, parents, and teachers stood up and danced in their seats. The performance concluded to deafening applause.
The first forum to go up after the performance was the Mosher forum. They were followed by the Johnson, Anderson, Lavelanet, Yager and Starkey forums.
“I can’t thank this school enough for everything it’s given me,” Mosher forumette Ionie Steudle said. “My best friends, my role models, my past and most importantly, my future. Thank you to this school for challenging me and pushing me forward in unimaginable ways.”
Senior Kyrie Garwood used her speech to provide a piece of advice for the underclassmen. She talked about the importance of cherishing your time in high school and to not fret about broken times along the way. Her speech was followed by Kyra Kahana’s, who recalled a game of Dungeons and Dragons the Lavelanet forum had played the previous night.
“One clue we got read, ‘The light in the dark is the shadows trapped. Make the shadows fear you.’” Kahana said. “It reminded me of Community, because here I learned how to face uncertainty, trust myself and move forward even when things get hard.”
Following the second round of diploma distributions, Dean Marci Tuzinsky and Assistant Dean Rebecca Westrate took the stage to present CHS’s six senior awards. This year’s winners are listed below.
The Jill Award honors a student who made the school a “happier place” and is named for Jill Donnellan who did just that for many years in CHS’s ILC department: Sara Jo Grover
The Community Resource Award honors the student who used the CR Program to its fullest and is a tribute to the many volunteer instructors who make the invaluable program possible: Elias Kirschenmann
The Judith DeWoskin Award honors excellence in creative, analytical writing or journalistic writing and is presented by the English Department: Nina Tinney
The Nathan Lydell Hall Memorial Scholarship honors a student who was active and involved in academic, community service and athletic pursuits. It is a tribute to a CHS graduate who died in a swimming accident shortly after his graduation in 2000: Eleanor Farrell
The Dean Al Gallup Scholarship honors a student who has worked to create programs or lead projects that have bettered the school and community as a whole. It recognizes outstanding service to CHS: Bee Whalen
The Bruce Bartman Memorial Scholarship is CHS’s oldest and most prestigious award. Honors the student who best exemplifies the ideals of CHS by being a full participant in alternative programs and contributing to the betterment of the school community. Bartman, the award’s namesake, was a member of CHS’s first graduating class: Lucia Page Sander
After the intermission, the Eldon forum took the stage. They were followed by the Hamstra, McCormick, Kiley, Richmond and Silvester forums. As the Kiley forum had won the Tug of War competition at Field Day earlier in the month, senior forumette Sam Austin proudly displayed their trophy on stage. He referenced their path to victory in his speech as a reflection of his time at Community.
“It wasn’t always easy, and I tried my hardest, but my contributions were very little compared to those who helped me on this journey,” Austin said. “Thank you to everyone who’s been with me these four years, it’s been an honor.”
For the final intermission of the program, senior Claire Lewis took the microphone to recite an original poem titled “Elegy to CHS.”
“There will be no mourning when you’re gone,” Lewis said. “Only celebration of what was.” “Time moves in one direction, but love has no definite path,” she continued on. “It can move any which way you want to go.”
The final round of diploma distribution was kicked off by the Root forum, followed by the Hunscher-Young, Crabtree and Hechler forums.
One of the last senior speeches of the night belonged to Leila Durrie. She reflected on how far she’s come and the love she feels at Community.
“My first time on this stage was when I was five years old performing my end of the year violin recital,” Durrie said. “I remember it felt like the scariest day of my life. Today, on this stage once again, it doesn’t feel scary because I’m surrounded by all of the people I love and have grown up with. Thank you to Community for being the best place to call home.”
With the final diplomas distributed, Dean Marci Tuzinsky took the mic one last time to give the final speech of the night. She thanked CHS faculty again, mentioning the counselors and jazz director by name, and ended with a personal thanks to Kevin Davis. She concluded her speech with congratulating the class of 2025 once more and with that, the 2025 CHS graduation ceremony came to an end.
