129th Commencement Exercises for Class of 2015

On a sunny Friday, June 5, the 129th commencement exercises were held for the Class of 2015.

The group of 91 graduating students hails from Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, China, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea. Included in the class are 64 four-year seniors and four post-graduate students. In true CSW fashion, the entire event remains student-driven – student speakers, faculty and staff name readers and conferrers of diplomas, music selection and performances – all selected by the class.

Under the ceremonial white tent on the Quad, Chair of the board of trustees and parent of alumnus, Christian Nolen P'10, was introduced by Head of School Jane Moulding, as "devoted to CSW." He set the stage for the warm tribute to the graduating class describing the "beauty of the beginning and the end" in life's moments.

Jane’s opening remarks and spoke of “faith in one another and in our students, as a fundamental tenet and value of CSW.” She spoke of how students have been encouraged to take risks in and out of CSW classrooms, learn from their actions or mistakes, and grow in a space of learning. “Faith and the belief in their growth,” she said, has so clearly demonstrated the mission of the school – to “inspire students to discover who they are.” In closing, Jane honored the class for their myriad accomplishments and shared these final heartfelt words to the class: “Find your truth, your North Star and, if you deviate from your path, and you will, stop, recalculate and make sure that those around you who may have been hurt or disappointed, know that true, essential you.”

The first of the two faculty speakers to address the class, Kemarah Sika, director of library and media services, regaled the audience with inspiring anecdotes and witticisms about her path to becoming an educator. Referring to herself as a “practitioner of counterculture studentship,” and the “hip hop of education,” she shared her passion for experiencing and learning and implored the class to ponder how their experiences have pushed them to find themselves.

“My biggest hope is that you reflect on how you have lived and how you will begin to live now, in every moment, not preparing for a future but for the sake of living and exploring your destiny,” she said to the graduating students.

“You have tasted the special sauce of CSW!” exclaimed 28-year CSW Visual Arts Teacher, Tom Evans, the second faculty speaker. He divulged the three ingredients in the CSW "special sauce" as “beauty, love and collaboration.” He shared definitions of beauty expressed in Japanese terms used in his popular Raku class, such as the profound beauty of awareness, the beauty that nothing lasts, and the beauty of flaws.

“Those flaws, those failed struggles, those dumb decisions," Tom told the seniors, “make us unique, beautiful and lovable people.”

But it was Tom’s “poodle plan” that will be remembered as a comic nugget of wisdom for the class. He shared the three-part plan for success in life based on attributes of his 12-pound poodle: “be adaptable, communicate and appreciate every day.”

Alysa Thomas ’15 and James Garcia ’15 spent the last four years together as boarding students. Each expressed how being selected as one of the student graduation speakers was an honor and a treasured moment These remarkable seniors reminisced about their time at CSW but also took time to ponder the future of their class and their generation.

Described by her advisor as “full of wisdom, joy and life,” Alysa is a poet, a gifted choreographer, dancer and composer. She will attend Temple University in the fall.

Opening up with a list of her fears, including presenting her very speech, Alysa acknowledged that she had become stronger simply by being selected to address her class. Her time at CSW had consistently reaffirmed her belief in herself, and her experience came down to the words that she so fondly recalled dance teacher Nailah Randall-Bellinger declaring at the beginning of every dance class: “You are the best there is, you are the best there is, you are the best there is.”

“I may not have expressed myself as frequently through my voice as others,” referring to her passion for dance. “But thank you for hearing me, you are the best there is.”

Time was the focus of James' remarks to his classmates. He grew up in New Jersey, has been a member of the board of trustees, a dorm leader, a member of Poetic Justice and an officer in the United Students of Color affinity group. He was accepted to Swarthmore College via early decision. He expressed a positive way of seeing time “…it won’t let us dwell in one space for long. Time progresses, sort of like CSW, and it can heal any wound and we can really feel something about how we want to remember it.”

Addressing his class, James told them that they cannot remain trapped in time - rather there is a need to move on, and that CSW will always be here, alive as they remembered it. Quoting Toni Morrison, one of his favorite authors, he added ‘Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But places, places are still there.’

After cheers of joy and groups of students tightly locked in hugs, the Class of 2015 recessed to “Move on Up,” by Curtis Mayfield, performed by faculty, staff and students. Moments later, the new members of the CSW Alumni community joined their families and friends for a festive reception.