The sun shines down upon the Keene Central School Class of 2024 on Friday, June 28 during the graduation ceremony. (News photo — Delainey Muscato)

KEENE VALLEY — Keene Central School District superintendent Dan Mayberry thanked Mother Nature for allowing the sun to shine down upon the 14 graduating students on Friday, June 28 as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas.

Mayberry said at the bottom of his email signature is the phrase, “Communication is at the heart of most problems and most solutions in our lives.”

He spoke to the students about the importance of communication. He asked the students questions about the way they have and will continue to communicate to show how many problems in their lives will be created and solved through communication.

“Always reflect on how you communicate,” he said. “Think beyond yourself and put yourself in the shoes of those that you share information with.”

Mayberry emphasized the importance of having a clear message that is factual and respectful. He encouraged students to surround themselves with good communicators and assured them they have the skills to help others become good communicators.

Keene Central School co-valedictorian Pia Morrelli receives her diploma from Board of Education President Jennifer Kazmierczak on Friday, June 28. (News photo — Delainey Muscato)

Mayberry also took a few moments to address the empty chair on stage draped in a cap and gown. In February of last year, Envy Coffin passed away in an accident. Coffin had attended KCS from pre-school until her junior year. The heart-shaped pillow sitting in her seat made a trip to Europe with the Class of 2024 last summer. Pins were placed on the pillow at each destination visited. The graduating class remembered Coffin throughout their trip, throughout their senior year and on their graduation day.

For the first time ever, KCS had co-valedictorians whose GPAs were identical, down to the thousandth point: 94.64.

Pia Morrelli thanked her teachers and friends for the title of co-valedictorian and spoke to her classmates about the dangers of negativity overshadowing the best parts of life.

“There are so many goodbyes and lasts that you experienced as a senior and it can be very upsetting,” she said.

Morrelli shared a statistic from the National Science Foundation that on average 80% of our thoughts are negative ones.

Co-valedictorian Madison Klotzko gives a speech at the Keene Central School graduation on Friday, June 28. (News photo — Delainey Muscato)

“Negativity is always surrounding us,” she said. “But it’s the way that you respond that can determine your quality of life.”

Morrelli warned her classmates about focusing too much on finances. She said money cannot buy happiness, encouraging her classmates to do what they love and love what they do.

Morrelli plans to attend the University of New Hampshire to study health sciences in the fall. She hopes to become a physician’s assistant.

“Negativity is inevitable, but you can control it yourself. Choose happiness and find the best in every moment,” she said.

Morrelli told her classmates to find ways to stay optimistic as they embark on their separate journeys in the next four years and beyond.

Keene Central School art teacher Stacey Van Campen gives the commencement address at graduation on Friday, June 28. (News photo — Delainey Muscato)

Co-valedictorian Madison Klotzko spoke next. She talked to her classmates about the importance and benefits of change.

“Change brings growth, progress and opportunities which are spread across our timelines of life,” she said.

Klotzko will attend SUNY Oneonta in the fall to study biochemistry. She wants to go into the medical field in the future.

She encouraged her classmates not to fear change and to take leaps of faith, as she did with the New Visions Medical program.

“At (KCS), the people around me allowed me to be myself. They didn’t try to change me or my personality,” she said.

Envy Coffin, a former Keene Central School student, is remembered at the June 28 graduation; she passed away in an accident in February of 2023. (News photo — Delainey Muscato)

Klotzko said she was shy growing up but her classmates still found a way to include her in the action. She loved taking pictures of her classmates and earned herself the title of class photographer.

“Slowly, over time (my classmates), kept pushing me little by little and broke the shyness away,” she said.

Though she is her own person, Klotzko said each of her classmates imparted aspects of themselves that she will always carry with her.

“All I know is what I have been surrounded by for 15 years,” she said of the students’ coming journeys.

Klotzko encouraged her classmates not to shy away from change, but to embrace it because it often fosters great things.

The Class of 2024 chose KCS art teacher Stacey Van Campen to give the commencement address.

In a glittering gold dress, Van Campen spoke to the students about a toolbox they should bring with them throughout their journeys.

“The tools are self-awareness and humility, purpose, passion and courage,” she said.

She spoke about each tool at length and encouraged the students to refine these tools as they grow.

Van Campen encouraged the students to dream big.

“When you allow yourself to get a glimpse of the bigger dreams you can begin to orient yourself in their direction and start taking small steps forward,” she said.

KCS Principal Bob Woughter presented awards and scholarships to students. Of the 14 graduates, 13 received a scholarship or award with many receiving multiple.

The seniors who earned diplomas this year were Isabella Blacksmith, Soren Jacobson, Lily Jones, Emily Juckett, Madison Klotzko, Avry LaVallee, Landan Lopez, Pia Morrelli, Ella Robjent, Jackson Ruppert, Ethan Sawyer, Grace Stephens, Addison Van Ness and Keenan Warner.