Collegiate School Celebrates Class of 2022 Commencement

At Collegiate’s 107th Commencement, the Class of 2022, sitting on the lawn in front of Flippen Hall, felt the warmth and support of the Cougar community as they embarked on their next learning journey.
Today’s Commencement — with the 134 Seniors and their families spread out on the lawn in front of Flippen Hall, a setting that served as a symbol of the return to a beloved tradition — was a celebration of growth and continued learning. 

W. Hildebrandt “Brandt” Surgner P ’11 ’14 ’17 ’19, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, welcomed families and friends who had gathered for the special ceremony. Surgner saluted the Seniors and reminded them of the gifts Collegiate has given them that will prepare them for their next steps. 

“To our graduates, I trust that you too will recognize a year from now that Collegiate’s commitment to academic rigor, community, service, respect and honor equipped you very well for your transition to life after Collegiate,” he said. 

When Head of School Penny Evins took the stage to deliver her remarks, she began by speaking of the School’s love of learning and how passion and affection flow through everything we do as a community. The theme of Mrs. Evins’s speech was love, which was inspired by her son Sam, a member of the Class of 2022 who told her of how much his class cares for one another. 

Mrs. Evins reminded the Class of 2022 of Winnie the Pooh’s mantra of expressing and feeling love to the fullest extent. She then urged the graduates to carry a similar abundance of love to the communities they go to next. 

“Be brave, carry the love you have for each other and this School as fuel to your next communities,” she told the class. “Cougars, be ambassadors of loving the stranger in the most humane way possible. Let Collegiate be your comfortable Pooh bear voicing, ‘You’ve got this — don’t just spell love, feel love.’”  

Although the graduates are preparing for their next adventures, Mrs. Evins made sure the students knew they would always have the support of Collegiate. “We are here to assist, encourage and be a resource for you,” she told them. “As alumni, you become a lifelong member of our community. You are ready for what is next, including the certainty of uncertainty. Loving means being ready to lend a hand and being able to ask for help.” 
 
Mrs. Evins praised the students for their leadership. Bringing back the student section, modeling how to be a supportive audience and being enthusiastic mentors for their peers — this was the work of the Class of 2022, which is something that will leave an indelible legacy. “With intentional time and effort, you have turned strangers into friends and strangeness into routines — you have grown and given love,” she said. “Please continue to lead and love as you move forward, Cougars, for you have much to give and learn beyond our School.”

The three valedictorians of the Class of 2022 — Cassie Buxbaum, Catherine Horner and Will Neuner — were next to speak. 

Cassie discussed the necessity of not allowing future aspirations to fog one’s ability to cherish the present moment. 

“When you are always focused on what’s next, you can never enjoy the present,” she explained. Throughout her life as a high school student intent on excelling academically, Cassie, in the end, discovered that what is most important in life was her capacity to energize the space between people with positivity. “There are many different forms of greatness,” she said. “Not only can you be a great athlete or employee, you can be a great parent, mentor, caretaker, friend. In my book, being a great person is more than enough.” 

Valedictorian Catherine Horner followed Cassie, beginning with the framework that “time is precious.” “What’s important,” Catherine told the audience, “is mastering time in two fundamental ways: the small picture and the big picture.” The small picture, she explained, is embedded in the seconds. “Seconds are here for the details. They are the platforms for opening up your five senses and absorbing the still frame of the world at that very instant.” Understanding this, Catherine urged her classmates to “live in the moment.” 

Catherine told the audience that the purpose of the big picture — comprehending the enormity of time —  was to find some intention “beyond the ‘now.’” Catherine praised Head of the Upper School Patrick Loach’s ability to comprehend both the small and big picture of time. “You fully seize the opportunity to develop connections with us,” she told him and the rest of the crowd. “Big picture, you choose to sacrifice so much time and so much energy in order to keep our School knitted together.” 

Finally, Will Neuner addressed the crowd, challenging his classmates to embrace challenges. He prompted the audience to imagine Upper School Math Teacher Glenn LaFerrie handing out thick packets of calculus problems. Will and the rest of his peers in Mr. LaFerrie’s calculus BC class would often bemoan these thick packets, asking if they really had to complete the challenging problems. Mr. LaFerrie would always respond with enthusiasm: “You get to do these problems.” 

Mr. LaFerrie’s optimistic approach to adversity and challenge, Will said, began to change his own line of thinking. It taught him to approach any challenge with a positive, “can-do” mindset.  

“Whatever happens, realize that you have an opportunity on your hands,” he told the Class of 2022. “You get to test yourself every day, to push your limits, so make the choice to play your situation. If you can learn to make your have-tos into get-tos there is nothing you won’t be able to accomplish. With that being said, I think we’re ready.” 

Before awarding diplomas to the graduates, Mr. Loach spoke with cheerful enthusiasm about the dedication they’ve given to the School. 

The Class of 2022 Graduation Honors Recipients were: 

Greenbaum Award - Valedictorians: William (Will) John Neuner, Kathryn (Cassie) Elizabeth Buxbaum and Catherine Bayer Horner
E. Angus Powell Award: William (Will) John Neuner
Rosemary Award: Margaret (Molly) Ewing Woods
Dr. Martha E. Kolbe Award: Christian Thomas Mayr
Louise Mattern Coleman Award: Lucy Cameron Barnes
Charles F. Wiltshire Citizenship Award: Daniel Jackson (Jack) Hill
Johnel Tate Poffenberger Award: Alice Christian Hallock

On the eve of Commencement, Karen Doxey, who will retire this summer from her role as Director of Athletics after 35 years of service, spoke to Seniors at Baccalaureate. Mrs. Doxey encouraged the graduates to embrace the challenges they will surely face in the future. Mrs. Doxey mentioned former Collegiate basketball coach Alex Peavey, who, she said, always approached adversity with enthusiasm and positivity. “Nothing can guarantee you success and happiness all the time,” she told them, “but when you apply yourself fully with a great attitude, you will find there is a bigger reward, which is growth. You are ready for the world. Please know that you have acquired the skills and tools you need and that you are prepared.”

View video recording of the Commencement ceremony - click here




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