Rain pushed Moravian Academy’s May 31 graduation into the Athletic Complex, where the gymnasium was transformed into a graduation ceremony hall with the addition of numerous rows of white chairs and a stage.

Lara Wulff, associate head of school, told the senior class, “you are standing on the threshold between the old and the new.”

Autumn Samir Nembhard was the Class of 2025 commencement speaker. “As a class we have stretched and recreated ourselves to be so undeniably good,” she said. Nembhard spoke of a difficult time in her freshman year and said, “My triumph came when I let people know what was going on with me. From our challenges we emerge brighter, stronger.”

Students wore suits and white dresses in lieu of graduation robes.

Before the diplomas were presented, Adrienne Finley O’Dell, head of school, asked the seniors who had been at Moravian Academy to rise, beginning with Leonardo Dale Enea, who began at Moravian Academy in preschool. O’Dell continued until she reached students who started at Moravian Academy in the first grade. Twenty-five of the 68 seniors were standing. O’Dell said students will need to be resilient and adventurous as they moved on to their futures.

As the diplomas were presented, O’Dell read for each graduate a list of anecdotes and accomplishments. Parents and grandparents who were staff or trustees of Moravian Academy were invited up to present their students’ diplomas.

The Rev. Jennifer Nichos gave the benediction. Before doing so, she said the graduates’ names would be engraved on bricks in the patio. She invited the graduates to return in “5, 10, 25 years” to find their brick.

Following the graduation ceremony, a reception was held in the adjacent room.