NASHUA, N.H. – The Nashua School District held a graduation ceremony for its secondary summer school program, where 34 students received diplomas from the Nashua Center for Lifelong Learning and 21 graduated from Nashua High School North and Nashua High School South.
The Nashua Center for Lifelong Learning offers community enrichment courses, personal interest classes and adult education programs held at Nashua High School North and Nashua High School South.
“The graduates are a unique group; they are both younger than traditional graduates and older than traditional graduates,” said Jacalyn Lesser, director of adult education for the Nashua Center for Lifelong Learning. “Some are born in the United States, some are immigrants from other countries. Some are earning a high school equivalency diploma, some are traditional high school diplomas, and some are the adult ed diploma.”
Regan Lamphier, clerk of the Board of Education, addressed the graduates. “You deserve to be recognized for your success, which is why we are all here to honor you tonight,” Lamphier said. “It takes a lot of courage to go back to school as an adult. It’s really hard to juggle work and responsibilities at home, never mind school. Every one of you had to overcome many obstacles and worked twice as hard to get here. I admire and respect your bravery, your resilience and your determination.”
Student speaker Mateo Marin, Class of 2026, described the significant challenges he faced before returning to school. “The moral of this speech is me trying to get you to understand that no matter how hard life gets, as long as you persevere, you will succeed,” Marin said. “It all takes time. Don’t let your past define you. Define yourself as the person you want to be.”
Jennifer Bishop, president of the Board of Education, was among the city and school officials attending the ceremony, held in the Nashua High School North auditorium. “These are the kids that work the hardest to get their high school diploma,” Bishop said. “We cheer and we hurrah for all of the other kids, but these students work ten times harder, and they need to be celebrated. It’s amazing to see. I think one of the things that we forget is that the school district is here for all students, and we want to make sure that everybody succeeds in whatever manner is best for them. We’re able to tailor our resources to meet the kids where they’re at.”
Lesser said one of the most important features of the program is its focus on encouragement. “One of our most fundamental approaches is to provide hope,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s going to take you. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing one credit at a time. It doesn’t matter if you got off track for a couple of years and you’re coming back. We can get you to cross that finish line if you want to get there.”
