ORANGE — Who better to give a graduation pep talk than a former NFL cheerleader?

Robin Allain-Moody, a social studies teacher at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, was chosen as the keynote speaker for the 2025 class commencement and sought to inspire the 69 graduates sitting in the school’s auditorium on Friday with a short story of living her childhood dream of being paid to cheer on the New England Patriots, even gracing the field of a Super Bowl.

“I am a prime example of that the road to your dreams won’t be straight. You’ll take detours. You’ll fall. People might pass you,” she said on stage. “But if you get back up, every single time, and keep on pushing, you’ll go farther than you ever imagined. When the excitement fades, when things get hard, when people doubt you  – or worse, when you doubt you — stay the path.

“As you leave here tonight and you leave to write your next chapter, remember this: You don’t have to be the smartest. Or the fastest. Or the most popular,” she continued. “But if you can be persistent, focused, and honest with yourself, nothing is out of your reach.”

Peter Cross, who chairs the Mahar School Committee, spoke briefly to offer reflection on some lyrics in “The Garden Song” by Maine-born musician David Mallett, who died in December.

“Inch by inch, row by row / Gonna make this garden grow / All it takes is a rake and a hoe / And a piece of fertile ground / And inch by inch and row by row / Someone bless these seeds I sow/ Someone warm them from below/ ’Til the rains come tumblin’ down,” Cross recited, comparing the students to seeds growing in fertilized and loved soil.

Valedictorian Luan Lopez Baez, twin brother of Salutatorian Lian Lopez Baez, closed out the commencement with a touching message to his classmates.

“For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of being your class president. The title sounds formal but, for me, it’s just meant that I got to be there with you. You trusted me to represent you, to speak for you and to stand with you.”

Lopez Baez said some of his peers how may have figured out what they want for the future, while others have no idea. Either way, he encouraged them to embrace the new and unfamiliar, because they have what it takes.

“More than anything, you gave me something I never expected to find at school – a family,” he said. “I hate that we only realize how special something was when we’re standing on the edge of goodbye.”

He thanked all the parents, guardians and families that guided his classmates to the finish line.

“You’ve given us lost sleep, time, money and comfort so we could have a better shot at life. You are the reason we are sitting here tonight. This celebration is yours just as much as it is ours,” he said.

He finished his remarks with an emotional homage to his parents, addressing them in Spanish, and was met with encouraging cheers and applause whenever he got choked up.

Graduates

Marshall Coombs Ames, Jacob Alexander Barrett, Day Sean Bedward, Xavier Michael Bergmann, Dominick Edward Berry, Joseph Jonathan Bisceglia, Cole Trevor Britt, Tiffany Lanice Brown, Colby Alan Chiasson, Derek Jayden Collins Mitchell, Annabelle Julia Crossman, Ella Susann Croteau, Janaina Shahila Sales Davis, Jayden Nathaniel Delgado, Lela Rosalie Delgado, Jayden Pierce Dicato, Julia Maia Doyle, Aiden Leif Drake, Ella Marie Dresser, Beliah Kali Esteves, Delana Grace Fausett, Daniel Aaron Finch, John Howard Fortner, Jabari Odra Frieson, Tristen Lino Gaj, Abduli Nahayo Gilmore, Jenessy Storm Greenough, Malaki Latrell Grummell, Isaac Stephen Merrick Gunn, Turin Andrew Gurganus, Conor Anton Haggerty, Peyton Francis Hart, Shawn Patrick Jensen, Trevor Adam Kendrick, Brooklyn Monroe Kennedy, Mitchell Lindsey Krasco, Joshua Daniel Timothy Labonne, Charles Raymond Ledoux, Lian Lopez Baez, Luan Lopez Baez, Noah Joseph Lupien, Gabriella Joy Matthews, Fox Racing Minty, Rachel Rose Maia Montemor, River Joseph Myers, Aiden Michael Packard, Abigail Rose Parsons, Chance Thomas Parsons, David Scott Phelps Jr., Trevor James Priestley, Serenity Rain Qualters, Kayla Jane Quinn, Sean Carmelo Ramos, Matthew Bryant Rau, Dominic Michael Joseph Richard, Roberto Rosario, Hailey Sue Russell, Michael Joseph Schuster Jr., Alyssa Brooke Shaw, Mya Ruby Smith, Morgan Elijah Softic, Leighton Mark Soucie, Mathieu Rene Soucy, Coren Alexander Squire, Kona Danger Surprenant, Natasha Grace Teele, Mateo Carmello Torres, Thea Mayson Whitmore, Shea Lynn Woods.