They were hard-working, kind team players with an impressive array of talents. Anyone looking to restore their faith in our future would have found great comfort at the East Hampton High School graduation on Junw 26, when 226 Bonackers flipped the tassels on their caps from right to left and officially became alumni.
Stella Brecker, the student association president and first-ever student school board member, shared some outstanding statistics about the class of 2026 in her remarks, recognizing the 25 students who graduated with an A.P. Capstone Diploma, the 35 students who earned a seal of biliteracy, the 114 who participated in varsity sports, and the 25,681 volunteer hours the class completed.
“I think our graduating number — 226 seniors — I think that’s something really important because as Charlie Stern said in his speech, a lot of people have faced their own hardships and being able to graduate is such a joy in itself,” Stella said after the ceremony. She is heading to the city this fall to attend New York University. Charlie, the salutatorian, will attend the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He pointed out how many firsts this class achieved.
“We were the first class to enter high school after Covid. We brought back Bonac traditions like homecoming. We experienced the first-ever virtual snow days and the first Bonac football playoff game in over 30 years,” he said.
Bonac football came up several times throughout the evening, particularly November’s Suffolk County Division III semifinal game against Sayville, in which the Bonacker fans outnumbered the Golden Flashes’.
“A memory that will stay with me forever is the football playoff game in Sayville and looking up in the stands only to see generations of Bonackers and of course, all the McKees,” said Sara Smith, the principal, drawing laughs from the audience.
The head coach, Joe McKee, retired after that game. His daughter, Colleen, is co-vice president of the class of 2026, and will attend Penn State University, where Coach McKee plans to enjoy plenty of football games next fall.
Livs Kuplins, a free safety and wide receiver on the football team, is also part of the class of 2026. He’ll attend Tulane University where he hopes to walk on the football team. Last month he represented East Hampton in the National Football Foundation 2026 All-Star Classic N.Y.C. vs. Long Island game at Hofstra University. “It was an awesome experience. They really made it feel like I was part of a college team. We were in the Hofstra men’s locker room and I had my own locker to myself with all the drip and the jersey and my name,” he said. “Very physical game. A lot of fun. Played the whole time on defense and Long Island got it done; 21-13 against the city. Strong Island!”
Livs marched into graduation behind Liam Knight, who had just returned from Oregon a few days earlier with his Bonac track teammates — Hudson Goulart, Jasper Samuelson, and Emmett Schumann. They set a new school record in the 4-by-400 relay, finishing in 3:25.65.
“Traveling all the way to Oregon to go to Nike Nationals was insane and then getting a medal, we did not expect it. The night before we ran, I looked it up and was like ‘Guys, if we get top six in our division, we get a medal.’ Everyone was just so pumped and we did it,” he said.
Kathy Masterson, the school’s athletic director, was honored at the ceremony, along with John J. Ryan Sr. She is retiring after 20 years as an athletic director, the last four of which she spent at East Hampton. He is leaving the school board after a combined 28 years of service, having lost his re-election bid in May by just 26 votes. Todd Gulluscio, of Shelter Island, will be the new athletic director; his term officially began yesterday. Meanwhile, the high school’s new indoor pool will be named the John J. Ryan Sr. Aquatic Center in honor of the man known as Big John.
Ms. Masterson called this year’s commencement ceremony a rock-star graduation. “Every speech had something to do with athletics because this class truly understands what the word teamwork means and they will go really far in life because that’s what makes you successful — learning how to work as a team.” When asked what she’d miss most about Bonac, she replied, “Everything, everything,” before starting to weep.
Griffin Beckmann, the valedictorian, gave a poignant speech about change, talking in particular about his own experience of coming out. “That fear of defining myself as different, as gay was useless,” he said. “Pushing down my voice never made me less gay.”
Griffin, who is attending Brown University in the fall, also talked about the importance of caring for our planet. “I don’t think anything we do is without concern for the environment,” he said. “We are here only because the earth lets us be here.”
He started thinking about his graduation speech in February during a 10-hour flight delay on the way back from the Bonac buildOn trip to Chipa, Malawi, where 20 East Hampton students, along with two teachers, Bill Barbour and Robin Jahoda, helped build a school. In remarkable news, last week buildOn announced that the school is now complete, and 144 students are already enrolled and learning in a building designed to last 100 years.
Shirley Jiang, who also took part in the buildOn trip, is attending Cornell University next year. “I’m so excited, but it’s going to be cold,” she said, laughing. Shirley was one of several students who carried canned goods into the graduation tent to help stock the school’s food pantry for the summer. She called the trip to Malawi and the science research program with Stephanie Forsberg and Paul Rabito her favorite high school memories.
Juan Torres will be attending the University of Rochester to study biomedical engineering. He was the captain of the Bonac Bots, East Hampton’s robotics team. Led by Urban Reininger and Trevor Gregory, the Bots — and their robot, the Claminator — won the Rookie All-Star award at their first robotics competition at Hofstra in March. Juan called it his favorite high school experience.
“All of these achievements come from your ability to embrace the process of hard work and place value on the process, whatever it is,” said Ms. Smith, in the principal’s remarks. “In a world where there is a quick fix for nearly everything, you have put in the work and learned to embrace the process at hand even when it is hard, finding this is where growth happens.”
Before presenting the students with their diplomas, the entire East Hampton community paused to remember a student who was tragically absent. Scarleth Milena Urgiles Samaniego, the girls varsity lacrosse goalie and a member of the class of 2026, was killed in a car accident in Springs last June.
Her family received an honorary diploma in her memory — an important reminder to everyone in attendance that life is both fragile and precious, that graduation day, while an annual tradition, does not happen for everyone. Her mother received a standing ovation from the entire audience.
Brynley Lys, the class president, who will attend the University of South Carolina, acknowledged what a truly remarkable night it was. “What makes tonight so special is that so many of us have truly grown up together. We became familiar faces in crowded hallways. We learned each other’s dreams and fears. We became a family. And that’s what makes growing up in East Hampton so special,” she said, before adding. “To quote Snoop Dogg, I think we should all stay young, wild, and free.”