Valedictorian Olivia Ellis recontextualized her class’ reputation. Were they rebellious? No, she said. They’re just not letting anyone dictate their lives or determine their future.

“If someone says I can’t achieve something, I will work 10 times harder to prove them wrong. My mom likes to call this ‘being spiteful.’ I just think of it as being highly motivated,” Ellis said. “Like a sort of spite success, if you will.”

When she was in eighth grade, her family was driving back from shopping in Plattsburgh a few days after the class of 2019’s graduation, talking about the speeches.

“My dad said that in my graduation speech I should say this completely made-up word that him and I found hilarious,” Ellis said.

Meika Nadeau claps during her salutatory address at the Tupper Lake High School graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

She agreed, but never really planned on having the chance. That was until her mom called her bluff, said she would never do it and even bet her daughter $100 it wouldn’t happen. Ellis said from then on she worked on her grades to become the valedictorian.

This mentality can be applied to anytime someone questions your ability, she said.

“Boosheegaga. Mom, pay up,” Ellis said.

Senior Class Vice President Meika Nadeau gave the salutatorian address. She said high school was a stinky, loud and stressful time, but a memorable one, too.

She recalled the day before the opening night of her junior year play — Beauty and the Beast — her teacher Mellissa Savage told her to “soak everything in” and enjoy every moment. Nadeau apologized to her teacher, admitting she didn’t remember to do this until late in her senior year. Time moves so fast, and now they are graduating.

Haley Denis cheers for the cameras after getting her diploma at the Tupper Lake High School graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Nadeau told her fellow seniors it is never too late to start soaking it in, and told them to start now, creating memories to reminisce on years later.

This was the first Tupper Lake graduation in many years where there were no references to the infamous “ranch incident,” a cryptic folk legend and a mainstay of the school’s graduations for several years now.

Senior Class Secretary Lauren LaMere talked about how school has been their lives for the majority of their lives. The ceremony brought things full circle, as it was held at the Rotary football field at L.P. Quinn Elementary School, the place where they got their start in public education in 2010.

TLCSD Superintendent Russ Bartlett said the majority of this senior class was born in 2005.

LaMere gave her fellow grads some advice Nancy Merrihew ended each class with — “The choice is yours, make it a good one.”

Valedictorian Olivia Ellis leads a class of 38 Tupper Lake seniors to graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Senior Class President Jamin Whitmore told his classmates if they can all change 10 people’s lives by being themselves, and those 10 people each change 10 people’s lives, this change can expand out and quickly exceed even the population of their town.

Middle High School Principal Amanda Zullo wrapped up her first year in the position at the ceremony. She said she was nervous and it was a “bittersweet” moment for her.

She talked about how the younger high school students looked up to the seniors and asked them to continue to be role models.

Several senior singers joined the rest of the Middle High School Chorus to sing the ballad “Long Live” by Taylor Swift. When the backing track cut out midway through the song, some thought it might have been an audio error, but as the voices of the younger classes rose to fill the space, their voices swelled and they ended with a powerful a cappella performance.

Bartlett said he’s given several of these graduation speeches now and struggled to find a new topic, so he turned to a controversial bit of technology that has been in schools recently — the artificial intelligence writing program ChatGPT.

Liam LeBlanc is seen here at the Tupper Lake High School graduation Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

He didn’t have the AI write his speech, but he did ask it for a unique graduation speech topic, and promised himself to take it no matter what it gave him.

And it gave him … the art of tying shoelaces.

Bartlett extolled the values and virtues of the art of tying shoelaces, relating it to the life lessons he wanted to impart to the young adults.

Tracy Klossner, the guest speaker, already knew most of the students. She was a sixth grade teacher, so she brought with her memories of their childhoods, several of them embarrassing, and a few gifts from her “teacher bag.”

Though Klossner retired in June 2021, she said she still keeps up with her former students’ lives, watching their sports, arts and academic accomplishments, and cheering them on. Klossner told the seniors to go see the world, but come back to live or visit, because Tupper Lake is a beautiful place to be.

Isabela Centenaro Cabral (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“Congratulations to the sixth grade Class of 2017 and the senior Class of 2023,” Klossner said before the grinning seniors walked up to get their diplomas.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article included an incorrect name for Lucas Shaheen in a photo caption. The Enterprise regrets the error.

Lucas Shaheen and Tupper Lake Central School District Board of Education Vice President Jason Rolley shake hands at the Tupper Lake High School graduation Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Tupper Lake seniors clap as they await their diplomas at graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Cade Rolley lifts his diploma into the air at the Tupper Lake High School graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Emily Roberts sings the Taylor Swift song "Long Live" with the Tupper Lake Middle High School chorus at graduation on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)