Hail, Class of 2026!

With folded umbrellas stowed discreetly under their chairs and a cool breeze rustling their raincoats, the families and friends of Collegiate School’s Class of 2026 filled the lawn in front of Flippen Hall for Commencement on Friday, May 22. Overnight showers had dropped temperatures to an unseasonable low, but spirits were high that morning in celebration of the graduating Seniors. 

Head of School Jeff Mancabelli welcomed attendees and congratulated the many students who distinguished themselves and their families by receiving honors, awards, and scholarships. Acknowledging the mercurial weather, he joked that the day-to-day changing forecast was no match for the Collegiate community’s desire for an outdoor ceremony. After all, it’s tradition. “Collegiate always finds a way,” he said. “We will make it happen.”

In preparation for his Commencement remarks, Mancabelli, now in his second year leading the School, had met with all the Seniors and asked them: What do you want the Collegiate community in attendance to know about you? 

The students’ responses were both heartfelt and humorous. They reflected on milestones and shared experiences, and the small but meaningful moments that strengthened their bonds — to the school and to each other. 

“They want you to know,” Mancabelli shared, looking out over the crowd, “that over the last four years, they have shown up for one another in meaningful ways, perhaps most visibly in the respect and support they offered each other during their Senior speeches.”

As he continued, the anecdotes elicited laughter. “They want you to know,” he said, “that in 5th Grade, they once spent four hours locked in a closet during a tornado, which they now recall as a formative bonding experience, though at the time it felt more like the world’s most uncomfortable sleepover. They want you to know that long before they became the poised graduates sitting before you today, they were also 8th Graders who mistook a TikTok trend of removing all the soap dispensers as comedy, while the administration did not.” 

He concluded, “And they want you to know that they loved their teachers, not only for what they taught them, but for the ways they challenged them, cared for them, and helped them become the young people sitting before us today.”

Those teachers, along with faculty and staff, remember when the graduates arrived in the Upper School in August of 2022. “We were excited for what you would accomplish, and you far exceeded our expectations,” Mancabelli told the graduates. Remarkably, the Class of 2026 broke numerous college records, earning over $20 million dollars in college scholarships and receiving 756 acceptances into 190 colleges and universities. Additionally, the Class tied the highest overall acceptance rate in the School’s history. Student athletes also distinguished themselves and the School: During the last four years, they were part of 27 league championships and 15 State Championships.

 

Mancabelli then turned attention to the graduates’ families and asked the parents to stand and be recognized by their children. “Our celebration today is also a thanksgiving for those who supported you along your journey,” he said. “One of the greatest gifts you have received is your parents, who have sacrificed much to help bring you to this day.”   

 

Mancabelli continued his remarks with a quote from English Department Chair Will Dunlap. “The Class of 2026 achievements span disciplines — academics, athletics, speech and debate, robotics, theater, music, quiz bowl — but what I admire even more is their restless willingness to invent and reinvent themselves, inspiring those of us with a bit of gray in our hair to do the same.” “I could not agree more,” Mancabelli said.  

 

He ended with thoughts from Collegiate’s founder, Helen Baker, and a heartfelt thank you to the outgoing class. “Since the beginning, Collegiate has always believed in forming young people with minds that seek and hearts that serve,” he said. “To quote Helen Baker, ‘Above everything else, we would have you live for humanity's sake. We would have you become good citizens in the widest sense.’ 

“Thank you for sharing your personality and gifts,” Mancabelli said, “and for leaving Collegiate even better than when you arrived.”

 

The two valedictorians of the Class of 2026 were next to speak.

Justinas Petkauskas, introduced as a student with “a need to learn,” began by describing a recent failure that gave him valuable perspective on how to face challenges after graduation. Shortly before graduation, he tried out for — but wasn’t selected for — the student-faculty basketball team. Petkauskas, a gifted athlete, didn’t even make the first cut.

“We are inevitably going to experience plenty of fumbles — be it failure or rejection,” he said. “And that’s OK — life will be full of those moments. Mine certainly has been. But in those moments, I’ve found that leaning on those around me is the best way to pick myself back up. That’s how we grow from challenges. It’s the way we learn, gain skills, and become better versions of ourselves.”

Petkauskas urged his fellow graduates to fully embrace the “accrued advantages” Collegiate has given them because of the School’s academic, athletic, and character rigor. “Do not be afraid to capitalize on them,” he said.

 

Clara Gould, introduced as “an agile and deeply grounded thinker,” described Collegiate as a second home where she and her classmates have grown as people. Collegiate, she told the attendees, taught them more than academics.  

“We’ve learned how to persevere when the stakes are high, and our spirits are low,” she said. “We’ve learned how to hold ourselves to high standards of respect, excellence, and honor. We’ve learned our own individual strengths and how to celebrate the achievements of those around us.” 

The greatest lesson the Class of 2026 has learned from Collegiate, Gould said, is how to cultivate and care for a strong community; a community that she and her fellow graduates can count on for years to come. “We are certainly still growing, and changing, and figuring things out, but we will always have each other and this incredible family right here on North Mooreland Road.”

Concluding the Commencement ceremony, Head of the Upper School Patrick Loach recognized eight awardees and then presented the diplomas. Confident and excited, each Senior smiled as they walked across the stage and into their future.