PEABODY — Just in time for the sun to peer out from gray skies at Donaldson Stadium on Thursday evening, Bishop Fenwick High School celebrated its 64th commencement ceremony, honoring 112 graduates in the Class of 2026. 

Senior Class President Stephen Colwell delivered a welcome address to the crowd before Salutatorian Jacqueline Dormer of Marblehead gave a speech reflecting on the experiences, teachers, and friendships that shaped her time at Fenwick. Dormer, who attended Marblehead Middle School and will continue her studies at Barnard College-Columbia University, structured her speech as a walk through each year she spent at the school. 

She described arriving at Fenwick as a new student before gradually becoming more involved in clubs, athletics, and the arts. 

“I felt an eagerness to join clubs like the Math Team, the Women’s Leadership Club … as well as the tennis team,” Dormer said. “Regardless of my lack of tennis skills at the time.” 

Dormer recalled helping the tennis team reach the Final Four and shared memories from her favorite classes, including one AP European History lesson that left a lasting impression. 

“A teacher who impacted me as a new student was Mr. Daniell,” she said. “I was struck by his excitement for the subject and enthusiasm for teaching. I will never forget when he crawled underneath his desk and banged his head during a medieval character reenactment.” 

Following Dormer’s speech, President Thomas Nunan and Dean of Academics Marybeth Mahoney presented distinguished awards before graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. Among the school’s top honors was the Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick award, presented annually to two students who best represent the values of the school. This year’s recipients were Anne Swanson and Gavin Russell.

The school also recognized Director of Technology Chris Russell with the John J. Meehan Service Award for exemplary service to the Fenwick community. While presenting the award, Nunan praised Russell’s steady support for students and faculty alike. 

“There was something about his presence that makes people feel safe and respected,” Nunan said. “He is the person students turn to when things go wrong.” 

Valedictorian Julia Davis of Newburyport followed with a deeply personal address, where she focused on grief, love, and learning to embrace life’s uncertainty. Davis reflected on the loss of classmate and friend Emily Shann, who passed away in 2023 and whose memory was honored during the ceremony with blue remembrance cords worn by graduates. 

“She’s so much more than a memory,” Davis said. “Emily was one of my best friends at Fenwick. … I’m sure that because of these incredible qualities and the connections she made at Fenwick, I’m not the only person Emily changed for the better.” 

Davis said the loss shaped the class and changed the way many students understood life and relationships. 

“Grief changed our class,” she said. “It taught us how fragile life is.” 

While acknowledging the mark that Shann and her passing left on the student body, Davis encouraged her classmates to not let fear prevent them from embracing life. 

“Life is too short to bury what we’ve been given out of fear,” she said, citing the Parable of the Talents. “We are given time, talent, relationships, passions, opportunities, and the ability to love other people.” 

She repeatedly returned to the idea that life’s uncertainty is what gives it meaning. 

“If the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that life can change in a single moment,” Davis said. “We have to make the most of it while it’s still ours for the taking.” 

Davis, who will attend Boston College in the Fall, closed by urging graduates to “live fully and love deeply.” 

Graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas in front of family, friends, and faculty members. In keeping with longstanding Fenwick tradition, each graduate also received a sunflower, a symbol connected to the Sisters of Notre Dame. 

After the final graduates received their diplomas and the class officially turned their tassels from left to right, the crowd erupted in cheers as the Class of 2026 was formally recognized. 

The ceremony ended with remarks from Nunan, who reflected on the friendships, traditions, and sense of community that defined the class’s four years at Fenwick. He praised students for maintaining a positive spirit throughout the daily grind of high school life, and for supporting one another along the way. 

“You kept each other going, and you kept us going,” Nunan said to the graduates. “Keep grinding, and keep smiling.” 

Nunan spoke about the friendships formed through the lens of prom and other senior events, speaking about the affection students showed one another throughout. 

“Many of our students, before saying goodbye to each other, even when acknowledging they might see each other in an hour, said ‘I love you,’” he said. “There was deep affection there.” 

Toward the end of his remarks, Nunan compared graduation to teaching a child to ride a bike, telling students that while there had been moments of struggle and uncertainty along the way, they had ultimately reached this milestone, together. 

“There were moments when you fell. You struggled. Perhaps you doubted you could do it,” he said. “Well, you did it.”