A Day to Remember for the Class of '16

6/10/2016

The sun shone brightly this morning on Collegiate’s 101^st commencement ceremony, and the pomp and circumstance, fellowship, gentle breeze, and temperate weather made the sendoff for the 126 members of the class of 2016 a day to remember and cherish.

“They are a remarkably talented, giving, caring, and generous group of individuals,” said Upper School head J.P. Watson of the graduates who will enroll in 49 different colleges in 24 states in the fall. “Each of them has brought incredible talents to bear on this campus and beyond through their academic, artistic, athletic, community, and global engagement pursuits.

“They have left a significant mark on our collective stories, and we will remember them for their innate ability to take care of one another. They have suffered loss, both personal and collective, and continued to come together and rally around each other for support and care.”

John O’Neill, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Steve Hickman, Head of School, welcomed families and friends who had assembled on the lawn in front of Flippen Hall.

“One hundred one years ago,” Mr. Hickman said, “a committed group of parents and community leaders came together with a common goal: to offer an educational environment that was second to none, one that would help inspire young people to make a positive difference in their world. Our school has stood the test of time well meeting the ambitious aims of those noble beginnings. This ceremony today vividly reminds us of the great gift that we have been given and the responsibility that we all share to continue the commitment made so many years ago.”

Andrés Navarro ‘66 of Santiago, Chile, the founder of Sonda S.A., received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Beth Flippo Hutchins ‘88, received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Honorees from the class of 2016 were Harris White (E. Angus Powell Award), Helen Roddey (Rosemary Medal), Will Allocca (Dr. Martha E. Kolbe Award), Dorcas Afolayan (Louise Mattern Coleman Award), David Angstadt (Charles F. Wiltshire Citizenship Award), and Virginia Harris (Johnel Tate Poffenberger Award).

Each of the valedictorians, Catherine DeVoe, Helen Roddey, and Charlie Meyer received the Greenbaum Award and delivered a valedictory address. The following are excerpts.

Catherine DeVoe...

So now that we’ve taken all these classes, played all these sports, and lived 18 whole years, we’re ready to face the “real world,” be independent thinkers, and are prepared to fact anything life throws our way. Probably not. Too often, we misinterpret what this day is all about. We (consider) graduation to be the end of learning, the end of our childhood, the end of our time together. After graduation, we think, we’ll become real adults; we’ll go out into the world and achieve something great. The truth is, the concept of us entering the real world when we go to college is a myth; we’ve been living in the real world for our whole lives. Stay true to yourself and what you care about. Trust yourself, and don’t let the fear of failure get in your way. Know that wherever you may be, you have 125 fellow Cougars scattered around the country who will support you in all your endeavors, but who will also comfort you if you fall short.

Thank all those who helped you get to where you are today: each member of the Collegiate faculty and staff who have directly and indirectly touched every one of us by teaching, coaching, and contributing to the Collegiate family and story. Thank you to all of our parents who, among many other things, made our State’s Fair hats in 2nd grade, made us coffee almost every night of junior year, and loved us unconditionally. Thank you to all of the alumni for giving us a standard for which we strived to achieve every day. Finally, thank you to the Class of 2016 for all of the memories; I can’t wait to see all of the things you achieve, no matter how small.

Helen Roddey...

These past few days have been about celebrating all that this class has accomplished over out time at Collegiate, but it is equally important to celebrate what all of you (in the audience) have dont to make that possible.

(Our parents) were the ones who brought us to this school. You may not have known it at the time, but when you enrolled us at Collegiate, you were not just giving us an education, (but) you were giving us friends and mentors that would last beyond our time as a student. You chose for us the kind of place that would push and support us so that when this day came, we knew we had gotten everything we could out of our 13 years.

(Our teachers) taught us how to be successful at things like physics and economics, but you also taught us about how to be successful friends and teammates…It may be the faculty’s job to teach and coach its students, but the Collegiate faculty took on the job of forming our character in addition to our knowledge.

The Class of 2016 has come to feel more like a family than anything. We know each other. Sometimes we fight, but ultimately we are proud of each and every one of our fellow graduated. There are some amazing athletes, performers, and scholars in this family, but there is so much more to their character than can be recognized by awards….The Class of 2016 has had an immeasurable impact on each other’s lives, supporting each other both in times of strength and times of weakness, pushing each other in every aspect of life, and above all, being each other’s best friends. While I am grateful for what each and every one of you has taught me, I am also grateful for the experiences you all have shared with me.

Charlie Meyer...

In seven years, every cell-type in your body will have been replaced by fresh copies except for one. Yes, our minds will be hanging in there for the long haul with no cellular regeneration...Thank you, Collegiate, for instilling in us a love of learning and for giving us knowledge: a gift that can never be taken from you.

I believe that I will certainly use a good amount of what I learned here to help me in whichever career path I choose. Still, the education I received here will not be my topic of reflection when reminiscing on my time here. Rather, I will remember the lessons I learned from experience.

(Graduation is) the culmination of all of our efforts thus far. Fighting, and often struggling, through the trials and tribulations of Lower, Middle, and Upper School has led us to this moment. That’s a notable accomplishment. All of these accomplishments, however, will soon be dwarfed by those of others as we enter into the larger arena of college. Others will have done more, studied more, and worked harder. We, once big fish in the little pond of Collegiate, will soon be guppies once more. I’m sure at times we will be humbled, disappointed, and feel very small next year, but don’t worry: as someone who weighed 100 pounds going into the 9th grade I can attest to the fact that you don’t stay small forever. In order to grow, however, it is crucial that we not rest on our laurels. Our minds have done great things, but the end of our time here cannot also signify the end of our learning. We must always push towards the betterment of our minds, for, as you know, these cells of knowledge will never truly grow back.

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