Collegiate Graduates Urged to Continue Growing

Commencement is one of those events, first registered on a calendar, that feels as though it will never arrive. Then, suddenly and all at once, dressed up with the green-and-gold regalia, it’s here. 

At least that’s how it often feels. But Commencement, really, is a slow, silent preparation, like the blossoming of a flower. Getting a student ready for Commencement begins the moment they arrive on campus, when a careful, diligent teacher welcomes the young Cougars into class. There is the preparation of the ceremony — when the diligent grounds crew begin laying fresh grass seed on the lawn in front of Flippen Hall — and the preparation of students for that ceremony. Both are of great importance, and both are in service to the students, a practice and mission the School has endeavored to take on for more than a century. 

Collegiate’s Commencement, that long-awaited, it’s-not-an-end-but-a-beginning rite of passage for 143 Seniors, went off without a hitch on the crisp, sunny, idyllic morning of Friday, May 23.

When Jeff Mancabelli stepped up to the podium to deliver his opening remarks, he paused and looked out at the gathering before him, taking in his first Commencement as Head of School. As the first class to graduate under his headship at Collegiate, these Seniors have meant a lot to him, and, to help him prepare his remarks, he asked the Class of 2025 what they felt the audience should know about them. 

The Class of 2025 wanted the attendees of their Commencement to know that they have taken great joy in their education, that, under their leadership, programs such as robotics and speech and debate grew, and that, as a class that entered the Upper School having to wear masks, they grew, too — as both students and citizens. They also made sure to tell Mancabelli how much they loved and their teachers — every single one of them, including the late Debbie Miller and Dan Bartels. 

“I believe the class was modest in their responses,” Mancabelli told the crowd. “Seeing them through the lens of their senior speeches, I found myself asking the same question, how do they do it all and how do they do it so well?”

The class, Mancabelli went on, displayed a voracious versatility in their interests, endeavors, and accomplishments. Their success both in the classroom and in extracurriculars is indicative of their strong character, their love of learning, and their excellence. As they continue their educational journeys, their efforts have been rewarded. “The Class of 2025 earned over $13 million in College Scholarships and received 718 acceptances into 190 colleges and universities,” Mancabelli said. “During the last four years, they were part of 29 league championships and 18 State Championships. 18 State Championships in four years is a new school record.”

In his speech, Mancabelli made sure to acknowledge the parents of the Class of 2025, asking the graduates to give thanks to those who supported them along the way. It was a long, polite, and humble applause of gratitude. 

“As you prepare to leave Mooreland Road, let the world see in you what we already know: Inquisitive thinkers who ask critical questions, compassionate leaders who lift up others, and responsible citizens who stand for something greater than themselves,” Mancabelli concluded. “We congratulate you today and wish you all the best in your success in college.”

The two valedictorians of the Class of 2025 — James Galgano ’25 and Sadie Webb ’25  — were next to speak.  

Webb, who finished her career as a student at Collegiate with the highest GPA ever recorded in School history, began by thanking everyone who helped her reach the day of her Commencement — her parents, her teachers, and her classmates. 

A Collegiate lifer, Webb has felt as though Collegiate has been shaping her into the student she has become since the moment she stepped on campus. “While Collegiate provides for us to find our talents, they don’t let anyone rest there,” she said. “Teachers encouraged me, pushed me, challenged me — but never limited me to just ‘stick to my strengths.’ For that, I am most grateful. This school has given me my best friends, lifelong relationships that would never have been possible at a place that solely prioritized academics. Collegiate has never allowed my personality to be just ‘school.’”

As she made her way through Senior year, she felt herself becoming complete as a student. And then she discovered her passion for running. This is strange, she thought: Maybe I’m never done growing. 

It’s that lesson that Webb imparted to her classmates. Even as you reach these monumental moments in your life, you are never done making discoveries. “I don’t think we are ever done growing, changing, becoming,” she told the crowd. “Graduation sometimes feels like an endpoint, a stop. It feels like we are grown up, fully formed in our identities. But we aren’t. There’s always new parts of us to explore, new surprises to unearth. So let’s remember to take the chances, find the openings, the moments.”

Galgano, for his speech, returned to a topic he wrote about when he was first applying to Collegiate in 8th Grade. When he was younger, Galgano, on a family vacation with his parents in Italy, accidentally split from his family while touring Vatican City. “Among the towering pillars and elaborate tapestries, I found myself wandering into an entirely different tour group, whose leader quickly ushered me into the hands of the guards,” he explained.

To a certain extent, feeling lost is a natural fact of life and, especially as the Class of 2025 looks to graduate, there is value to getting lost — even if it happens to be within Vatican City. “If we are constantly looking forward without any sense of where we are, we will never find our way out of the woods,” Galgano said. “By looking and living within the present moment, in every place you find yourself, you can never truly be lost — even if you find yourself all alone in the Vatican.”

Galgano encouraged his classmates to lean into the journey and the thrill of being lost. Our endless journey toward home is in fact our home. “To the Class of 2025, if any of you find yourselves lost in the next few years, whether in what you want to study, what you want to do with your life, or if you actually get turned around in large buildings — it happens to the best of us — take it from an expert: stay in the current,” he said. 

Galgano concluded with a reminder: Wherever you get lost, Collegiate will be there with open arms, there to help you find your way. “No matter where our lives take us, and how lost we get along the way, a piece of us will always be here, ready to help each other.” 

Before awarding diplomas to the graduates, Head of the Upper School Patrick Loach, coins of sunlight dropping through the huge oaks shading Flippen Hall, addressed the graduates. Loach spoke with passion about the respect, honor, and range of talents the Class of 2025 has exhibited during their time on North Mooreland Road. Their incredible talents are what make Collegiate special. “The reason I love Collegiate is because of the students,” he said. “And I think that I'm not alone. If you were to ask the faculty — if you could be a fly on the wall here for a day, a week, a month or a year —  you would see some pretty amazing kids, and you would have a lot of optimism about the future.” Then the time finally came for them to graduate. This watermark day, the one each of the students knew would eventually arrive, finally came, and they were ready for it. They’re ready for what’s next, too.