The St. Margaret’s community gathered on Chalmers Field on June 3 to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2017. The festive ceremony featured speeches by Head of School Will Moseley, class valedictorian Charlie Smith, ASB president Jack Wolcott, and a presentation of the class gift by Tyler Genevay and Carolyn Kellner. The 111 graduating seniors were awarded their diplomas,

 

Here are transcripts of the speeches that were delivered that evening:

 

 

“Welcome to trustees, faculty, staff, family and friends and the class of 2017.

 

“I want to call special attention to over 60 families who are attending their last official St. Margaret's event with the graduation of their last child. Please stand to be recognized.

 

“Psalm 118:24: This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in.

 

“I see you and I am glad to be with you!

 

“Thank you for joining us here today for this very special occasion. It is one of the great joys and blessings in my life to share in this moment with these extraordinary young people, and I ask that you partner with me as we bear witness and celebrate with this graduating class. You parents, teachers, grandparents and friends have arrived at this point in time together. By your presence here today, you have expressed your intent to offer your continued unconditional love and support as they leave St. Margaret's to live their lives of learning, leadership and service.

 

“As a class, you are a source of great joy to your school. You are intellectually curious and serious about your academic work, and we trust that the foundation you have built here will serve you well in all your future endeavors.

 

“You have also built the bonds of deep friendship with each other, supporting one another through challenges, and cheering in ovation for your successes and accomplishments. Your connection to St. Margaret's and to your classmates has become an integral part of who you are today and has helped shape our school as the special place that it is.

 

“You will never again be surrounded by the density of love and talent that surrounds you today! It is the thread that weaves the fabric of our community together and it creates a bond that cannot be broken. This bond is further strengthened through your ability to hope.

 

“At first, hope seems to carry a simple concept. I hope you have a nice day. I hope it doesn't rain today. I hope to pass my AP exam! I hope Mr. Moseley doesn't talk too long! It can also be a passive longing for good things, that things will get better if we just keep a cheerful outlook and trust that all will work out.

 

“But, the kind of hope that I see at work in our school community every day, and, importantly, that I wish to continue to grow in your hearts and minds as you go into the world is an active expression of hope.

"This kind of hope is a determination to act based on the ability to imagine something different. Active hope is rooted in a firm conviction that you and I as individuals can help bring about what we hope for, from the certainty that by envisioning a different way, we can make it happen.

 

“Hope is what makes scientists research cures for disease. Hope is what drove the early explorers to look for new lands, and leads inventors to create new machines and technologies.

 

"’Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning,’ said Albert Einstein.

 

“I have often shared with you my belief in the power of relationships as the cornerstone of all we do and accomplish. No one stands alone, especially when accomplishing great things. As J.K. Rowling said, ‘We touch other people's lives simply by existing.’ You and your friends, the ones today with whom you have shared so much and your future communities and colleagues, you have an important role in supporting each other's dreams and hopes as they develop. Henry David Thoreau said, ‘Friends, they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams.’

 

“It is critical that you support, invest in and even share the hopes of those around you, and perhaps even look back to those who came before you and pick up their hopes and carry those forward as well. How much more powerful are the dreams and hopes of a community of people when we join together. This is how our communities and society as a whole advance. When we have shared values and hopes, we do it together, never alone.

 

“St. Margaret's has given you the foundation of shared values, personal discovery and growth through endless opportunities for exploration that will allow you to continue identifying your goals, and by way, your hopes. I believe that you have a sense of the power of active hope in the work you have already done at St. Margaret's. President John F. Kennedy said, ‘Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is private hope and dream, which fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.’

 

“Time again, you have put your hope to action, and I am not only speaking of your amazing accomplishments in the classroom or in athletics and the arts. In your time at St. Margaret's, we have witnessed you serve your community. You deepened your cultural competency skills. You became championship debaters. You mentored younger students. You field tested your learning outside the classroom. You championed student voice. You fought hunger and homelessness. You cracked computer codes.

 

“You traveled abroad and you explored virtual environments. You served government leaders and you became innovators and entrepreneurs. You represented your school, your peers and yourselves. You built robots, you built hands, you built bikes, and you turned up the heat in the kitchen, too!

 

“Beyond St. Margaret's, we see a great deal of our fellow humans all over the world expressing hopelessness. There are circumstances and conditions around the world that are bleak, where people are facing significant challenges, we see divisiveness and a worry about the loss of basic civility and kindness.

 

“I am asking you to envision how situations could be different, to lean on your values, your goals, your knowledge, your friends and communities and your passions, and then get to work...with hope. You have experienced so much care and love from your parents, your families and your time and teachings at St. Margaret's. You are in the best position to lean on your foundation and find simple and complex ways to help make things better.

 

“Dale Carnegie said, ‘Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.’

“As Emily Dickinson put it, ‘It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.’

 

“Hope is powerful. Hope creates change. Hope makes things better and advances our communities and the world.

 

“Tartans, what is your capacity to envision differently, to take action, to make the world a better place fueled by your hope?

 

“Our hopes for you have been actively at work throughout your time at St. Margaret's to deliver our mission, to model our values and to guide you toward lives of learning, leadership and service.

 

“May you embody a deeply-rooted belief in hope and the commitment to actively pursue hope—a willingness to find meaning in something greater than yourselves as you follow the pathway of your lives.

"Wherever that path may take you, please always lean on your Tartan values and community. You always have a home here and are always a member of St. Margaret's wherever you go.

 

“Lastly, I want to share a passage that expresses another of my hopes for you. It is called ‘Now.’

 

This is the beginning of a new day.

I have been given this day to do as I will.

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important because I am exchanging 24 hours of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day is gone forever, leaving in its place that which I traded.

I want it to be gain, not loss;

Good, not evil; success, not failure,

In order that I not regret the price I paid for it.

Because the future is a whole string of nows.

May your future be a whole string of nows fueled by hope.

 

 

“It is a St. Margaret's tradition that the ASB President has the opportunity to speak at today's Commencement ceremony.

 

“This year, our ASB President, Jack Wolcott, has spent a decade and a half as a St. Margaret's Tartan. Not only have the walls and courtyards of St. Margaret's Episcopal School grown up around him, Jack has grown up within these walls and among so many of you. From a preschooler at age 3, to the leader of his senior class at age 18, Jack has made significant contributions to our school and community.

 

“His college counselor, Amy Warren says ‘When I think of Jack, all I can think about is growth. Academic growth. Personal growth. His growth as a leader.’ She goes on to say that Jack stands out as one of the most well-respected members of the Class of 2017.

 

“In his 15 years as a student, Jack has sought out opportunities to grow and thrive. He is outgoing and confident, yet humble, friendly and approachable. In addition to leading the ASB this year, Jack was an ASB grade level representative his sophomore and junior years.

 

“Jack is a focused student and throughout his years in the Upper School, the rigor of his classes has increased as well as his grade point average, which has literally gone up each semester. He is intelligent and shares valuable insights in the classroom. His teachers say that his influence is evident among his peers.

 

“Jack is an artist and just completed AP Studio Art for photography this year. He is also a two-sport varsity athlete who has represented the Tartans in Track and Field for three years and on the Surf Team for four years.

 

“An entrepreneur at heart, young Jack founded Mailbox Brothers, where he painted and restored mailboxes in his neighborhood. He is the oldest of the Wolcott boys and with his brothers in tow -Nicholas (finishing 9th grade) and Luke (finishing 5th grade), he started a bottle collection business, which they are still doing today.

 

“This past summer, Jack was able to combine his photography skills with his business acumen by starting a real estate film business with a few of his friends.

 

“They work with real estate agents to develop walkthrough films for homes that are on the market.

In a moment of self-reflection, Jack wrote in his college essay: ‘I learned that the journey of trying to achieve a goal can be as valuable as reaching it.’

 

“That quote speaks to Jack's growth. There is no doubt that he is well positioned to continue a life of learning, leading and serving as he heads to the University of California, Santa Barbara this fall.

 

“It is my pleasure and great honor to introduce ASB President Jack Wolcott.”

 

“Good afternoon and welcome parents, family, faculty and friends, but most importantly welcome to the graduating class of 2017.

“I want to begin by asking you all a question. How many of you have ever done a puzzle recently? Well, an interesting fact about the class of 2017 is that we love puzzles. All year, out in the senior quad, we would have a puzzle to work on any free chance we got. We completed easy, 100 piece puzzles to complicated, 1,000 piece puzzles. We finished puzzles with candy and coral reefs and city landscapes. Even though our passion for puzzles came about this year, the class of 2017 has been completing a puzzle since freshman year. That puzzle is our high school experience.

“With every puzzle, there are pieces that are easier to find than others. You know right away where they belong, and can fit them into place in an instance. These are usually the corner and border pieces that are so easy to find. The corner and border pieces of our high school experience are the obvious parts of it. The places we spend our time, for example, such as the quad, the edge lab, the football field or tartan center. The classes we took, and all the teachers and faculty here to help us. All the convocations, class meetings and advisories we had. These are the cornerstones of our high school experience, and when it comes to puzzles, these are the corner and edge pieces.

“But once you have those pieces put into place, your faced with finding the harder ones; the middle pieces. These difficult pieces to find are the things that make high school special; the relationships and memories we make throughout our time here. Sometimes our friendships come easy and naturally, just like when you pick up a piece of a puzzle and immediately put it in its rightful place. And sometimes friendships don’t always work out or change, just like that piece of the puzzle that does not quite fit even though you try to make it over and over and over. However, in a close-knit community such as the one here at St. Margaret’s, everyone is able to make those connections and get those pieces to fit.

“The memories we share, from freshman retreat until now, are the pieces of the puzzle that help bring the image to life. All of our experiences, from the football games, pep rallies, dances, to playing games in the quad and spending time with each other around campus, are all key pieces to our puzzle. Even the bad times have their place, as we learn from them and ultimately become better from them. The risks we have taken and times we stepped out of our comfort zones fit into this too. These are the pieces of the puzzle you never thought would fit in a certain spot, but you try anyways and end up succeeding.

“Everything we have been through in these past four years fits in the puzzle of our high school experience. Now the class of 2017 is front of you today, finally nearing the end of their journey. I want everyone to take a moment and think about what the last piece of the puzzle is to you as we finish up our high school careers. Now imagine putting that last piece into place, whatever it is, and take a second to reflect on high school as a whole. Think about all the pieces you have put into place. Think about all the unforgettable memories you have made, all the lifelong friendships you have created, everything that has gone into making your high school experience significant. Normally, when people finish a puzzle, they mix all the pieces and put them back in the box to be forgotten. But with this puzzle, make a point to keep these pieces together. Don’t mix up the pieces and forget this picture we have helped each other create. Our time together has allowed us to create so many positive and meaningful relationships, and share countless memories that not only shape are high school experience, but helped shape who we are as people."

Carolyn: From the very beginning of the year, the Class of 2017 has had a special connection to games. From late-night rounds of mafia to puzzling in the lodge, September’s Senior Retreat was defined by this class’s ability to turn a simple game into lifelong memories. This momentum carried through the entire year; on any given day, you could walk into the quad and see seniors waging Spikeball tournaments or heated card games.

Tyler: Known for our light-hearted nature, it's no surprise that the Class of 2017 took so easily to these games. More than just a distraction from classes, college apps, and the day-to-day stress of school, the games allowed the members of this Class, no matter what friend group, to come together and enjoy each other's company. They set the tone for what has been one of the best years of high school - a year full of laughter, camaraderie, and an abundance of friendly competition.

Carolyn: Because of the integral role that games have played in making this year as successful as it's been, we jumped at the opportunity to pass along something we hope will impact next year’s class as much as it has ours, start new traditions at St. Margaret’s, and carry on the legacy of the Class of 2017. This year's class gift is a collection of oversized board games including chess, cornhole, a new Spikeball net, and Connect Four.

Tyler: Along with this collection, we have decided to set aside a donation for TALE, the Tartan Alumni Legacy Endowment. This donation serves to benefit the entire St. Margaret's community, a community that has given us so much over the past four years.

Carolyn: As the representatives of this class, it was an immense honor to have a role in choosing these gifts. We are so excited about the potential impact they can have as we begin the next chapter of our lives. While it is difficult to say goodbye, we are so fortunate to get to leave behind a piece of our class through these donations.

Tyler: Finally, we would like to thank the members of the Class of 2017 for inspiring these gifts through your warmth, energy, and kindness. Carolyn and I believe they reflect the joy and passion with which you have led the Upper School over the past year, and which has made being your representatives such a pleasure. So, as we sign-off as “The CAT” for the last time, Carolyn and I ask that you carry forward all that has made this Class special: your willingness to lead, your willingness to serve, and, of course, your willingness to play.

“It is my great honor to stand before you all today to represent the incredible St. Margaret’s class of 2017. To begin, I’d like to share a brief story:

“One day in my junior year, I came into my Japanese class while a good friend of mine was talking to a classmate about colleges. Now this friend of mine is a very nice guy. He’d always say the most wildly complimentary things to me, regardless of how ridiculously unrealistic they may have been. He decided to include me into the conversation this day by saying something—in his flattering way—along the lines of, ‘…and Charlie over here is gonna end up at MIT’ or something of that nature. So, embarrassed by his high expectations, and having done some college research by that point, I decided to share with him my recent findings to hopefully lower his expectations for me. I said to him, ‘[Good friend of mine], I don’t think you understand. 75 percent of the undergrads at MIT were Valedictorians of their high school… 75 percent! I don’t have a shot at getting in.’ So, in his characteristically ever so optimistic way, he looked me in the eyes, put his hand on my shoulder, and he said to me, ‘Charlie, you can be a part of that 25 percent.’

“So, the point of that story is not to pick on my truly well-meaning friend, but rather to hopefully convey to you all that I never in a million years would have thought I’d be standing before you all today giving this speech—and clearly neither did my friend. And so, having to write this speech is what I would call a ‘bump in the road.’ Now I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression; I am extremely honored and humbled to be giving this speech, but if I were to list some of my least favorite things in the world to do, writing a speech would probably be number two on that list, beaten out only by public speaking. So for me, writing this speech was a ‘bump in the road’ in that it presented itself to me as a challenge that had to be overcome, that I had not at all planned for.

“However, I think I can say that encountering ‘bumps in the road’ like this one is not exactly new for any of us at this point in our lives. Life, and high school, is filled with unexpected challenges that completely blindside us everyday. Whether you lost your shoe in a cross country race and then again two years later, bombed one of Mr. Harris’ pop quizzes that never actually ended up counting, or accidentally injected yourself with snake venom on purpose, each one of us has had our fair share of ‘bumps in the road’ during our time spent here at St. Margaret’s that will have served to have prepared us for life beyond.

“Now, I’d like to talk about one of the first ‘bumps in the road’ I experienced in my time in high school at St. Margaret’s. As I’m sure many of you know by now, early on in my freshman year I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer. I don’t think I have to describe to you how utterly blindsided I was by this news. Simply put, I never in a million years thought I would find myself in that position. In a matter of seconds my life went from finishing up my English essay, and thinking about my next cross country race, to immediate surgery, hospital beds, and essentially a ‘good-bye’ and hopefully ‘see ya later’ to my life as I then knew it.

“And it was rough. I had some of the most physically painful experiences of my life from surgeries, side effects to drugs, or by the amount of times I was poked with a needle in a day, but probably the hardest part of all of it was the sheer isolation: from all my friends, family, and random acquaintances I never talked to that I never thought I would have missed. I would not be seeing them, or hardly anybody but nurses and doctors, for nearly a year, and despite my introversion, it got to me.

“My time spent in the hospital was mostly long and arduous, but despite the countless drugs, needles, and surgeries, one of my most distinct memories in the hospital involve none of those things. On a certain day when I was feeling particularly down, I was told I would be expecting a delivery. Perhaps I would be receiving another hat, I thought, of which I had already accumulated enough for a small village (thanks again everyone for the hats by the way, they were very much appreciated). But, what came awkwardly through my hospital room door that day, all four by eight feet of it, was no hat. It was a massive poster that read ‘No One Fights Alone’ with countless messages written by my classmates and members of the St. Margaret’s community littering every inch of it in bright Sharpie colors. There were simple things like ‘Feel better soon!’ or ‘Keep fighting!’ from people I had never even met, longer heartfelt notes from close friends of mine or my family, and many things that just made me smile, like Scott Lilly’s, ‘Stay Greasy’ (still not sure what that means).

“This was just one of the first of many gestures from members of the St. Margaret’s community throughout my entire time in the hospital that made me feel a little less isolated. Cancer was rough, but knowing that I had so many students, teachers, and faculty that cared so much for me made it a heck of a lot easier, and with the help of so many, I made it over that ‘bump in the road.’

“St. Margaret’s is a very special place. You might ask, ‘What kind of school would put so much effort into pouring so much love and support into a single student?’ Well, the same kind of school that would fill busloads of students to cheer on our football team for a far, far away game, or that would unify an entire class to rally around a beloved classmate when they were facing a consequence we felt was unfair, or that carried on the legacy of our beloved Kitchen, and strengthened it more than ever for the support of our athletic teams—even equipping it with its own Instagram. That’s what kind of school. And I am so fortunate to have been apart of it for the last 15 years of my life…

“And I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss James Swanson asking me how I felt in that race because he already looked up my time. I’m going to miss being offered a seat at a table already seating 11, when it was only designed to seat eight. I’m going to miss Ryan’s willingness to be the butt of our jokes in math class. I’m going to miss Thomas Kwa giving me some math problem ‘for fun.’ I’m going to miss meeting up with just Nic for a run on Saturdays when everyone else decided to bail for some reason. I’m going to miss the good times for sure, but at the same time, I’m going to miss the challenges, because while I can’t necessarily say I’m going to miss lying awake at night thinking, ‘Did I really get a 68 percent on that Bio test?’, what I am going to miss are the panicked group study sessions before the next test because all of my friends failed it just the same, and helping each other through challenges is what we do. The challenges we’ve all faced throughout high school—big or small—have tested us, and forced us to grow and in turn, have made us stronger because of them. I’m just fortunate to have spent my four years of high school tackling every ‘bump in the road’ alongside people that cared enough to help me along the way through all of them, from my first, to my last: writing this speech. Because I would not have been able to write this speech if I could not say with all my heart that I’m going to miss this.

“So thank you class of 2017, and thank you to all of my teachers and the rest of the St. Margaret’s faculty, my coaches, my teammates, and my friends. And this speech would be incomplete if I didn’t give a special thanks to Track Up Boys (you know who you are), Mr. Harris, Coach Bendzick, my brother and sister, and most of all, my parents.

“My dad, for supporting me in everything I do—whether I’m playing his favorite sport or quitting it to run around in circles on the track—and for always believing in me to be capable of things far beyond my capabilities. You’ve made me a better person, because thanks to you I know that ‘trying my best’ won’t always cut it, because in your words, ‘effort is overrated.’

“And I’d like to thank my mom for always going above and beyond for me. From making green scrambled eggs on St. Patrick’s Day morning for me as a senior in high school, to performing not-so stealth drive-bys through the Pasternack parking lot on a miniature horse and carriage, just in time for my entire English class to see. Yeah… [turns to class] that was my mom. So thanks you guys, I would not be the person I am today without you.

“Now, after I finally stop talking, and we get our diplomas and say our final good-byes, we will head out into the great unknown that is college and life beyond. We will most assuredly be facing many challenges—some we never in a million years thought we would have to face. But, we will rely on the lessons we’ve learned from this school to face our toughest challenges and we will find new friends along the way to make each challenge a little easier. And even though we won’t have our St. Margaret’s family beside us, tackling the ‘bumps in the road’ of life together, we will forever have the memories we’ve forged with the people we’ve come to love, at the school that will forever hold a place in our hearts. We are ready, class of 2017, and we will make it in college, and in life beyond, one ‘bump in the road’ at a time. Thank you.”

“On behalf of the faculty, staff and Board of Trustees, I would like to share one final thought, a sincere wish, that was originally expressed by William Sloan Coffin at a Yale commencement and more recently quoted at my alma mater.

"Oh Lord, as we leave this hall, let there be young men and women for whom the complexity of issues only serves as zeal to deal with them; young men and women who alleviate pain by sharing it; young men and women who are always willing to risk something big with something good, so that what we have in the world is a little more truth, a little more justice, a little more beauty...Oh God, take our minds and think through them; take our lips and speak through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great privilege to present to you the GRADUATED Class of 2017!"