2025 Alumni Graduation Address: Jonah Paquette '18

Good morning students, teachers, families, and friends.

Graduates, I’m incredibly honored to be standing here today not just as your guest speaker, but as someone who once sat where you're sitting now. I graduated from Park in 2018, and being back here brings up a lot of memories. Most of them unforgettable, some a little embarrassing, but all of them meaningful. Park was my foundation for the man I am today. I attended Park from PreK all the way through 8th grade which means I’m a “lifer,” and I’m very proud to be one.

Park helped me develop a compass for finding what I love most, community. It created a network of lifelong friends, and some I even consider brothers. Park created this network for me mainly through sports. From 6th-8th grade I was a member of the soccer, basketball, and track and field teams. I remember all of the bus rides to games, locker room chants, wins and losses, and of course the 8th grade basketball championship that we won. The more I think about it, the more I appreciate what Park gave me, and I hope you can all realize how fortunate you are to have attended this school. 

One of my favorite memories—and something I still carry with me—was playing sports after school. Whether it was basketball, soccer, or just goofing off at lunch with a football, those games weren’t just about winning or scoring points. They were about connection. About friendship. Some of the people I met on those teams are still some of my best friends today. We laughed together, we lost together, and we cheered each other on. But those experiences taught me what it meant to be part of something bigger than myself.

Obviously, there’s more to middle school than just sports. It was in these classrooms that I learned how to ask questions. Real questions. The kind that make your teachers pause and say, “That’s a great question, let’s talk about it.” It was here that I learned how to write, how to speak up, and how to have missteps and learn from them. Whether it was forgetting my homework or embarrassingly failing a quiz, I learned that growth comes from trying, failing, then trying again.

Something important to me is that even though I’ve moved on from Park, I still carry pieces of it with me. The lessons, the memories, the people—they don’t go away when you leave. They’re part of your journey. They show up when you need confidence in a college interview, when you’re faced with a tough decision, or when you’re trying something new and you’re nervous.

Not to brag, but when I was at Park, I was considered a stellar athlete. It was a large part of my identity and I take pride in that. But what most of you don’t know is that in my first week of high school I had knee surgery and my future in sports would never be the same. I had just begun attending a new school where I knew only a few people and I was faced with the challenge of making new friends, adjusting to a new environment, and not being able to play sports. I was the new 9th grader who was on crutches and had a gigantic brace on my leg who needed to leave a group of other students walking down the hallway just to take the elevator to the next class. I was afraid that this would be the identity I was labeled with for the rest of high school.  For a period of time, it felt like the worst thing that had ever happened to me, but then again, I was a dramatic 14 year old. 

As we were coming out of the pandemic restrictions my junior year, I finally got to play on the varsity basketball team. After a great season, with good playing time, and only three games left, I had another life altering setback. In a game against our biggest rival, Pingree School, I grabbed a defensive rebound, came down, and tore my meniscus in my other knee. I was back to having knee surgery.

At this point I thought my struggles would never end. Faced with going through another long and discouraging recovery, I pushed myself to keep my goal in mind, to close out my high school years back on the field and court. To return to two things I loved most and to be a member of a team. I stuck with it even when I truly didn’t think I could make it back. This part of my journey showed me who I am as it resulted in a comeback story. I was named captain of Beaver’s varsity soccer team my senior year and won the EIL championship. Following that major accomplishment, I made the varsity basketball team again.

After a while, I realized, that’s life. You get knocked down, but you learn to pick yourself back up. It’s when I came across one of my favorite quotes of all time from one of the Rocky Balboa movies. It says, “You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Being a born athlete it was incredibly hard being sidelined for two years, but the resilience and determination that Park instilled in me showed me how to embrace my love for sports in other ways, for example playing club soccer and basketball as well as studying sports media in college.

So graduates, your next step is high school, and to be blunt, there will be wonderful AND challenging new experiences that you will have to navigate all on your own. It’s a time when everything is changing—your voice, your friend group, your interests, your favorite color—it’s all in motion. But that’s not a bad thing. That’s growth. That’s discovery. And it never really stops. I’m still learning who I am today. But there will also be moments that surprise you, inspire you, and change you for the better. Just like at Park, it’ll be the small things that matter: the teacher who believes in you, the new friend who makes you laugh, the project that sparks an unexpected interest. I encourage you to embrace those moments. Say yes to new experiences. Stay open minded and curious. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or to help someone else. That’s how you grow.

I want to leave you with this: You have more power than you know. More kindness than you probably give yourself credit for. More creativity, more strength, more ambition than you’re aware of, and you're only just getting started. The road ahead might seem long, but trust me—it’s also exciting, unpredictable, and full of opportunities to discover just how incredible you are.

I had the opportunity to meet all of you on zoom, and you each gave me one word that you thought captured your class the best. The three words that stood out to me the most were resilient, dedicated, and decorum. I’m incredibly pleased to personally see that those words capture your class completely. 

To the graduating class of 2025, congratulations. You made it through a time that was weird, wonderful, difficult and amazing. I’m proud of you, and you should be proud of yourselves. No matter what grade you arrived at Park, I want you to think of it as a home, and I want you to bring everything this home taught you with you into the next chapter of your lives. Never forget this place as it has been the foundation of your youth. High school awaits you all, and so does the world. I’ll always be cheering you on along with your parents, families, Parks’ faculty and staff, and every other Park School graduate. 

Mark this moment in your heart and mind. Enjoy this accomplishment and always believe in yourself. I am honored to share this day with you, and again congratulations.

Thank you.

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