MARION — At Tabor Academy’s 2025 commencement ceremony, Co-Head of School and Florida native Elizabeth Livaditis described the graduates as stars, “burning intensely and eager to be seen.”

“We became luminous, whether that was on the theater stage, on the football field, in the art center, at the debate podium or in a spontaneous game of spike ball,” she said.

The class of 151 graduates hail from 26 states and 24 countries, all seated together under one tent on the banks of Sippican Harbor to celebrate the end of their high school education. 

Co-Head of School and Marion resident Garrett Salit said the class has been through the “big moments” together, like having to wear masks when they first arrived on campus and also getting to the dining hall to find out there’s no more chicken tenders.

He states that one of the most important parts of studying at Tabor was finding “real relationships” with his schoolmates.

“You can fake your way through a math problem or a class discussion you haven't done the reading for. [I’ve] done that many times, but you can’t fake a real relationship,” said Salit.

This year’s commencement speaker, Caitlin McCormick Murray, Class of 2001, host of the podcast “Big Time Adulting,”  provided the graduates with four life hacks in her speech: how to marry someone who remains “eternally hot,” how to never win an argument, how to wake up on the right side of the bed and how to give zero “Fudgsicles.”

“In order to achieve what you really want, you have to be ready to give zero Fudgsicles if you fail or succeed because deep down, you already know the only failure ever is if you chicken out,” she said.

Two Tri-town students were recognized for individual awards at the ceremony.

Byron Jackson Gierhart III of Marion received one of two Cum Laude Awards for displaying “excellence, justice and honor in their work and efforts,” receiving a cumulative GPA of 3.9 in their junior and senior years, and for taking a minimum of 3 advanced courses senior year.

Leon James Stanley of Marion achieved the Faculty Award for Outstanding Extracurricular Contribution, participating in activities such as musicals, Bowsprit literary magazine and the Madrigals choral group.

Graduating senior Alyssa Ho of Hong Kong said it’s a unique experience to graduate from a school like Tabor.

“You live in a place with all of these wonderful people and you get so used to seeing them,” she said. “It’s scary but we’re all off to do great things and I’m excited.”