SALISBURY — The Helen Kelley Smith Gymnasium at North Hills Christian School was packed on Friday as friends and family members celebrated the Class of 2025’s graduates.

Twenty-three Eagles received their diplomas during a touching ceremony that featured remarks from Valedictorian Kayla Hartness and Salutatorian Riley Lowder, a personalized poem by Doris Plummer and individual video montages of the graduates. 

“We gather to celebrate what we have accomplishment but also to step into something new, something bigger than ourselves — our future,” Hartness said. 

Hartness pointed out how graduation exists at a big turning point that has a bit of a contradiction.

“It is strange how a moment can feel like both an ending and a beginning,” she said. “After all, high school is the place we spent years learning how to trust and work as a team but more importantly it is where we have grown into the people that we are becoming, each of us are unique, yet bound by a shared experience.”

For her part, Lowder remarked how those years at North Hills flew by.

“How could it be that almost 15 years ago, the four-year-old version of myself was stepping onto this campus for the first time, completely unaware of how quickly my time here would pass,” Lowder said. “Back then, the idea of graduation seemed so distant, something far beyond my understanding. I have been blessed to call North Hills Christian School my home for all these years. I feel lucky to be so connected to this special place that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

The students’ futures trajectories ranged with college athletics, military service and various careers on their horizons. Executive Director Maria Lowder indicated that more than $1.3 million in scholarships had been awarded to the class. 

The future certainly looks bright for North Hills’ latest crop of graduates.