CSW Celebrates the Class of 2017 in 131st Commencement

Commencement exercises on Friday, June 9 celebrated the class of 2017, a diverse class composed of 86 students from the US, China, Vietnam, Mexico, England, Russia and Germany. In keeping with tradition, the class of 2017 created a meaningful ceremony that engaged the entire community. Faculty and student speakers, faculty and staff name readers, and conferrers of diplomas were selected by the class, as were the musical accompaniment and performances.
Commencement exercises on Friday, June 9 celebrated the class of 2017, a diverse class composed of 86 students from the US, China, Vietnam, Mexico, England, Russia and Germany. In keeping with tradition, the class of 2017 created a meaningful ceremony that engaged the entire community. Faculty and student speakers, faculty and staff name readers, and conferrers of diplomas were selected by the class, as were the musical accompaniment and performances.

CSW Head of School Jane Moulding gave a warm welcome to the assembled crowd, then introduced the chair of the CSW board of trustees, Susan Vogt, P’14, thanking her for her enduring devotion to CSW, its mission, and its institutional success.
 
Vogt began by thanking the board’s two student representatives Maya Barnes ‘17 and Malik Kuziwa ‘17. She then mentioned two significant accomplishments which were led by the trustees and supported by the entire community— the new Health and Fitness Center, and the new Strategic Plan. She closed by pointing out that while commencement is a celebration of the accomplishments of students, it is also a  “celebration and acknowledgement of your parents and the other significant people in your lives who helped you get to where you are now in your journey,” and reminded students that “you did not get here alone.”  
 
The class of 2017 chose two faculty members to speak at their commencement: Jane Reynolds (English teacher and director of residential life) and Jermaine Thibodeaux (history teacher and dorm associate).
 
After some very practical advice “Buy yourself an inexpensive pair of flip flops to wear in the shower at college,” Reynolds moved onto advice she described as “hard but vital to humanity’s existence” asking the graduates to “see the humanity in each other and in those you are going to meet in the next four years of your lives. She stressed the need to  “build bridges, not barriers, between people,” stating that “this, I am convinced, is the only way that you will be able to change the world, and I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind, that you, the class of 2017, will absolutely do that.”
 
Thibodeaux began by thanking the class of 2017 for “entrusting me for 8 long minutes during one of the most important days of your life.”  His message, as he described it was, quite simple: “chart your pathway and in the revised words of Kendrick Lamar, Be Nice.” He urged students to “know that you are the author of this great narrative called your life,” reminding them that “with the passage of time, you will compose every paragraph, every page, every chapter by your deeds and actions. Don’t spend precious life moments attempting to live someone else’s dream for you.” He wrapped up his remarks with a tribute to the graduates: “I remain genuinely in awe of this class… you hold a piece of my heart (no matter how tiny). Each of you has made this place more magical over the past four years.”
 
The senior speakers, chosen by their classmates, were Maya Barnes and Zongpeng (Steven) Yu.
 
Over the course of her four years at CSW, Maya Barnes has been a Dorm Leader, representative on the Board of Trustees, a member of the tennis and field hockey teams, an admissions tour guide. She helped to found Circle of Sisters and was chosen to be a member of InIt, a local area leadership program with an emphasis on social justice. She will attend Spelman College next year. Barnes congratulated her peers as record-breakers, the first class ever to reach 100% participation in the senior class gift. She described the class of 2017 as “a class of doers. We don’t wait for someone else to make it happen, we go out and see it through ourselves.” She urged her classmates to “take a piece of this class with you wherever you are next year, and in the words of Jennifer Weeden ‘Really live like it’s the last day of the mod.’”
 
Zongpeng (Steven) Yu has been at CSW since grade 10. He is fluent in Chinese, his first language, English and has studied Spanish. He has been a peer mentor, a member of dorm board and a key member of the varsity basketball team.  He will attend Carnegie Mellon University next year. Yu began by greeting his parents in Chinese in order to let them know that “I’m not up here because  I’m in trouble”. He stated that “we are ready to face the world, because CSW has prepared us with key tools: a willingness to engage with many ways of seeing the world, and the ability to respect others no matter where they come from.” He charged his classmates to “use the power we have to shape our own experience.”
 
Head of School Moulding gave a farewell to the class of 2017, quoting Maya Angelou:
“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

LINKS
 
History Teacher and Dorm Associate

English Teacher and Director of Residential Life
Highlights:

The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.