KENNEBUNK — For graduating Kennebunk High School senior Malori Cole, the hardest thing to leave behind will be the bonds she’s created with her teachers and teammates.

“I think I’ll miss the teachers the most, honestly, because they’ve impacted me more than anything,” said Cole. “Especially the ones I’ve made a bond with, because they’ve helped me so much along the long road that I’ve had. They built me up, and now that I have to go on without them, it’s scary.”

Cole will be one of 167 KHS seniors to graduate on Sunday. One particularly hard goodbye for Cole will be Jennifer Mooney, her Learning Center teacher. The Learning Center program at KHS provides a more personal, smaller study hall opportunity.

“I really bonded with her, because I had her since seventh grade,” said Cole. “I came from Thornton Academy in seventh grade. … I had to meet all new friends, and it was terrifying, it really was, because I was only 12 years old, so that’s going into the teenage years not knowing who my friends were. I think teachers were really my friends more than anything.”

Cole transferred to the Kennebunk school system from Thornton Academy after a 2010 agreement between Thornton and Arundel allowed 19 students to transfer. She didn’t like how far away Thornton was from home, and felt more comfortable in the Kennebunk system.

“I like Kennebunk a lot more, and I made a lot more friends being there,” said Cole. “Even though I didn’t grow up with them like I grew up with the kids from Thornton. … I still feel like I fit in very well with them.”

One passion Cole kept throughout her high school years was softball. She played on the varsity team all four years, and although her senior season didn’t have a strong showing on the scoreboard, Cole says they experienced a different kind of victory.

“One of my teammates last year was diagnosed with cancer, but she beat it, and she was pitching during the softball games,” said Cole. “That was more of the highlight of the year rather than any of the games. Just being able to play with her and being able to have her there with us was … better than winning.”

Cole is planning on busing tables this summer before starting classes in the fall at Southern Maine Community College. She wants to major in early childhood education at SMCC before transferring to a larger school, where she will focus on her career goal of social work.

Cole will also play softball for SMCC in the fall, and will be on a travel team this summer to prepare, though she’s not sure which one yet.

“My softball coach for college is getting me involved with it,” said Cole. “She came to some of my games and watched me play, so she’s going to get me involved more before the season starts in September. I’m really excited for that, more than anything.”

Cole hopes that when she transfers colleges, she’ll be able to play for a larger school’s softball team. But she doesn’t want to move too far away from her family, which she describes as “tight-knit.”

Cole is the youngest of three siblings, with an older brother and sister. She says being the youngest meant she got to witness high school before attending, which made her sister, Morgan, a role model.

“She was a senior when I was a freshman, so I really looked up to her and thought, ‘Well, that’s what I’ll be like,’ because I’m a lot like my sister,” said Cole. “I really pictured her like me.”

While Cole attends SMCC, she’ll live at home, because she doesn’t “want to move away now that everything is just starting to get interesting.”

“My sister just had a baby – well, actually, he’s 2 years old, so not a baby anymore,” said Cole, laughing. “I kind of want to be around to see him grow up and experience all those things.”

Kennebunk High School Class of 2016

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Where: KHS Stadium
Field
No. of Graduates: 167
Valedictorian: Amy
Eckland
Salutatorian: William
O’Neil
Speakers: guidance counselor Michael
Laverriere

The Class of 2016 top
10 percent scholar listing
begins on Page A4.