As some of you know, at the
beginning of the school year my older brother had a medical emergency. He’s
been fighting his life this whole year, but we're not sure how much longer he'll be with us so they are
just trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Through
this I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to be there for you in the way
that I would want to be or that you would need me to be while dealing with this
family situation and my own pain. From the beginning, I knew the year was going
to be a long one.
My one word for 2019 was
believe. When I chose it, I was thinking about how I had needed to believe in
myself and believe in whatever plan there was for my brother, but as we got
further into the school year I knew it was also about believing in you, your
ability to travel your W, and that everything happens for a reason. One of your
classmates made a passing comment about why am I always given the, let’s say, complex
classes. The truth is I believe I was meant to have you as my last Loomis
class. There are so many stories in this room and many of you have dealt with
your own personal challenges that were about so much more than grades and
scores. I’m sure some of you think that you frustrate me and I’m not going to
say that there weren’t any frustrating moments in our time together, because
there were. There always are. However, what you should know is that more than anything, you
inspired me. You’re fighters and survivors. I don’t claim to know all the ups,
downs, wins, losses, and struggles you faced this year, but for the ones I do
know I saw your strength as you navigated through it and put one foot in front
of the other as you took it day by day. I saw you make lemonade out of lemons,
laugh, shine, and keeping standing up. You were meant to be my last class so
that I could see you tackle each day despite whatever was going on and then I
could do the same.
Last year I subjected you to
my reading of the poem The Dash. There was line in the poem that said, “For it
matters not, how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash. What matters is
how we live and love and how we spend our dash.” I hope this experience is one
you can be proud of and not one in which you spent seeing as a means to an end.
I hope what you did here mattered in big and little ways. So, embrace the end
and this final week on the island. Enjoy closing up this chapter of your
journey. I hope you will make the most of wherever you are off to next. Do not
wish that time away and do not see it as just another box to check. Make sure
you pause along the way to take it all in, enjoy and learn from it. I wish the
best for each of you and hope that you will always strive to be the best you
you can be. I hope that you will always take care of yourself - mind, body, and
spirit. While I don’t know if our paths will cross again know that I’m out
there rooting for you and that you can always reach out. I am so glad that we
had this time together. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your
Dean. I love you.
** final remarks to the Loomis Chaffee Class of 2019 at the last class meeting on May 17, 2019
Opening Dance Sept. 22, 2018 Graduation Day - May 26, 2019
