HEBRON — Green and white balloons lined the path to freedom from secondary school on Saturday for 64 seniors in the Class of 2012.

The balloons tethered to sparkling green floor sacks with ribbon represented a Hebron Academy tradition on an otherwise non-traditional occasion — their class president, Maxwell Asa Middleton, had shorn his wild and curly locks prior to the ceremony.

He then tailored his commencement address to the haircut, which he initially hid from everyone by wearing a towel wrapped around his head in turban fashion.

Prior to speaking, he removed the towel much to the shock of many in the audience, who then busted up laughing when he matter-of-factly said, “Well, I got a haircut this morning.”

“My parents are thrilled, but I didn’t cut my hair for them,” he said.

He then deftly linked the shearing to coming changes.

“After much thought, I decided that I was going to talk about hair, why it’s an important way to express oneself, and why we all have to respect hair, and the individuals who wear it, and that’s why I cut my hair today,” Middleton said.

He said in the past he’d talked about hair quite frequently and how important it is to people’s identities.

“So, some of you are probably wondering why I would ever cut my hair,” he said.

“In high school, we’ve grown into identities and stereotypes, whether we know it or not. I am the crazy-haired, actor-singer man.”

Recognizing a few other classmates for their talents, he said they might become architects, chief executive officers, writers, fashion designers, lawyers or anything.

“We might do things that will change the world, and we might do things that will change ourselves,” Middleton said. “We will change.”

He then likened high school to theater and how as an actor performing a role, he could go from exuberantly happy to incredibly sad in 30 seconds.

“But in spite of the sadness, there is always the next show,” he said. “We will go and we will audition for the next part, and we will take the things we learned from the last show and we will apply them to the next one.

“We are entering the biggest, most important production of our lives,” Middleton said, urging his classmates not to fear change.

“Today, I have no hair, but I urge you all to be open to change, not to be afraid to cut your hair, and remember that there is always the next show.”

Head of School John King then waited for the applause to die down before thanking Middleton for teaching all to respect the people under their hair, whether they have any or not.

“You and all of you, Class of 2012, have made your marks on Hebron Academy,” King said.

“Most importantly, you have found your voice and made us hear you.”

King then shared words of wisdom from the seniors themselves that were gathered from their last-word speeches, the debut of a new tradition.

Awards and recognition followed before J. Reeve Bright, chairman of the Hebron Academy Board of Trustees, called each senior to the stage to get their diplomas.

Afterward, while standing amidst families and friends congratulating and photographing their graduates, King spoke highly of the Class of 2012. He identified them as “precedent setting.”

“They’re off to a remarkable set of colleges, but mostly, they have bonded as a class like no other here, in terms of their togetherness and their willingness to step out and stand up for themselves and what they know is right,” he said.

“It’s been a real thrill and this graduation is a celebration of that.”

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