Eastford Residents among The Woodstock Academy Class of 2025
Thirteen Eastford residents were among the 264 students that graduated from The Woodstock Academy on June 14.
WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy’s 135th Commencement Exercises took place on Saturday, June 14 on the Woodstock Town Common. The Woodstock Academy celebrated the graduation of 264 students, including 13 students from Eastford.
Senior class president Kira Greene, of Woodstock, welcomed classmates and guests.
Xandar Miller and Kira Greene were honored as the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the Class of 2025, respectively.
The Yale Honor Cup and the Donald and Hope Williams Scholarships, The Woodstock Academy’s most prestigious awards, were presented. Katherine Ritzau and Evelyn Young received the Donald and Hope Williams Scholarship Yale Honor Cup. Xandar Miller and Kira Greene received the Donald and Hope Williams Scholarship.
Margaret McHugh addressed her fellow graduates with an adaptation of her first-place essay, “Lighter and Brighter: The Power of Education,” from the Kathryn Robertson Essay Contest. The award is one of the highest academic honors a writer can achieve at The Academy and was established in memory of Kathryn Robertson, English Department Chair at The Woodstock Academy from 1956 to 1963.
Emily Smock ('25), The Woodstock Academy’s fourth Poet Laureate, and Avery Nielsen ('26), the 2025-26 Poet Laureate, presented their original poem, “Something Big,” together.
In addition to meeting the requirements necessary to receive a Woodstock Academy diploma, graduates were recognized for grade point averages deserving of summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude, as well as membership in 12 distinct honor societies.
Eastford Graduates from The Woodstock Academy Class of 2025 include: David Abbamonte; Linnea Barlow (Art National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society); Addison Beausoleil (Summa cum laude, Art National Honor Society); Kaitlyn Becker (Summa cum laude, Math National Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society); Nathan Billings (Cum laude); Allie Boyd; Abigail Budd (Art National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society); Alyssa Gilbert; Alexis Laskoski; Angelica Oliveira; Tristan Reynolds; Ethan Salony; Pola Wysocki.
Eastford students honored at WA Class Night Scholarships and Awards
Members of the Class of 2025, families, faculty, and the greater Woodstock Academy community gathered in the Loos Center for the Arts on Friday, June 13, for the annual Class Night and Baccalaureate program.
Throughout the evening, soon-to-be graduates were honored with 290 awards and scholarships. Generous donors and community partners contributed to the more than $119,395 awarded to 89 Woodstock Academy students during the event.
By a vote of the senior class, Science Teacher Christina Jolliff was chosen as the inspirational speaker for the Baccalaureate portion of the evening.
Senior Class President Kira Greene, of Woodstock, welcomed the families, guests, and classmates. Senior class treasurer, Kaelyn Tremblay, of Woodstock, presented the senior class gift.
Sixty seniors received the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence awarded to students with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Eastford students who received 2025 Awards and Scholarships include David Abbamonte (High Achievement in Family Foods & Nutrition; Outstanding Achievement in Latin 1 Honors); Linnea Barlow (Town of Eastford Scholarship; Shirley Bradway Serafin Scholarship, CNA Program Pinning); Addison Beausoleil (High Achievement in Forensics Honors; Outstanding Achievement in Photography 2; Natalie & Robert W. Randall Memorial Award; The Woodstock Academy Art Competition Finalist); Kaitlyn Becker (Outstanding Achievement in Early Childhood Education; CNA Program Pinning); Abigail Budd (Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Literature; WAEA Scholarship); Alexis Laskoski (Town of Eastford Scholarship).