English High’s 2026 Commencement Ceremony in Pictures

On Monday, June 15th, 2026, English High graduates, faculty, friends, family and alumni gathered at the Strand Theater to celebrate English High’s Graduating Class. 

English High Alumnus Tom Connors ’68 Inspires the Class of 2026

by Tom Connors ’68

I’m honored to be here to be able to share with you and your families this day of great celebration.  It is even more meaningful for me that our ceremony takes place in this beautiful building, the Strand Theater, that I came to when I was an English High School student growing up down Columbia rd. near Bowdoin st.

Today is a celebration for what each and every one of you graduates have accomplished; joining all of us who are proud to say we are graduates of English High School.

We all have different stories, different paths you’ve traveled to get to this day, and many different challenges that you have faced.

What all of you have in common is that you have succeeded—you did whatever it took to achieve your goal and i am so very glad and very proud to call each of you a fellow alum of English High School.

As you graduate from our school, you don’t really leave English High School behind—you become a part of a wider community.  Over 10,000 English High School alumni who walked the same path as you over an amazing 200+ years, as America’s oldest public high school.

Love of our school and the experiences it has given us is what led a group of graduates to create the English High School Association.  It started in 1853—one of the very oldest alumni Association in our country. Since that time, there are countless grads as members of the Association. Have worked to give back to our beloved school.

Through dues and contributions, our Association funds multiple scholarships. I was honored to receive one as have a number of you in this year’s class.  Funding of the Tutoring Center which has aided so many of our students over the years under Sage Marsters’ direction has been a centerpiece of our Association’s efforts to help the school. Through the years, we have contributed in numerous ways to school events—such as awards ceremonies; teacher appreciation lunches; artwork and furniture for the library; and memorably being able to provide rings to our 2024 division 5 champions.

Also as individuals we have tried to have a positive impact personally wherever we can.  I’ve been so fortunate to have been part of Mr. Green’s Pathways program as an adviser, getting to speak to students and organize court visits.

[Many of you have met members who my friend, Greg Hayes, our Chairman who has worked tirelessly in representing the Association. In activities, from award ceremonies to the Thanksgiving Day game, where we have resumed consistently beating Latin.] [Other grads have been have stepped up to aid the school, such as John Talbot, a very successful business owner, who worked to secure and provide scrubs and equipment for the Pathways Health and Wellness Program.]

This is a day for you and for your families, and to hear from your fellow-students and get on to the great moment when you receive your diploma, a simple paper which reflects how much you have achieved.   I’d like to end with a piece of advice and then with a simple request.

I know as you start your journeys post-high school you have a million things you are concerned about in your future.  We live in a world filled with uncertainties; challenges you’ve faced, and more challenges are certain to remain.  There will be successes and there will also be disappointments, big ones and small.

As I look back on my years since I sat where you are today, I’ve had some very good fortune—finding a career in law which I loved and an opportunity to serve for 25 years as a judge, a job which allowed me to use whatever abilities I possessed to serve the community and our state. Looking from outside, it may appear that career success was just fated to happen.

My path from high school graduate to Superior Court Judge was not always a straight one. There were unexpected setbacks and disappointments. Even with a law degree, the positions I sought did not come through, and my goals often felt out of reach.  At times, I was frustrated and discouraged. Eventually, when my original plan wasn’t working out, I took a different path, one I hadn’t considered: I opened my own law practice on Dorchester Avenue.

It was a slow start, financially and otherwise, and at times I was really uncertain whether I really was on the right path. But I soon found things I loved about being a trial lawyer: working in courts throughout Boston and gaining life experiences I had never anticipated.

Things did work out, but the path was not direct and not one I had predicted. Over time, I’ve come to believe that very often that’s how life works.

So, my advice to all of you, who have so much ahead of you, is to have confidence in yourselves and your abilities. Challenges at times may seem overwhelming, but don’t get discouraged.

• Work hard,
• Be flexible,
• Keep looking for a way forward, even if it’s not the path you first planned.
• Don’t let the obstacles you’re bound to face wear down your faith in yourself.

Finally, my simple request is this: now and in the future, remember the students who will follow the path you have taken and one day join you as English High School grads. Stay involved and active. We hope you will become part of the English High School Association, but whatever form it takes, find a way to reach out; for giving back to others is truly at the heart of our shared humanity.

As members of the 202^nd graduating class of English High School, you have established a firm base for your lives and careers, and I give all of you and your families who have worked so hard and are rightfully so proud on this day my warmest congratulations.

 

For all graduation pictures, please click on this link. 

Here are some pictures from the English High School 2026 Graduation.

   

 

 

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