Thank you Mr.Wirtz, Mr.King, Mr.Cohen, Mr.Bileca, Mr.Variano, assorted guests, friends and families, soon to be graduates, and all others who could be here to support us or are watching from home. And most importantly Congratulations Class of 2021. I feel I must begin with an acknowledgment of our achievement of becoming graduates. Throughout this year, we have demonstrated flexibility, strength, and most importantly perseverance. And as I look out at our class I see so many incredibly accomplished people. I see artists who are capable of creating things that are unimaginable to me, athletes with admirable work ethic and endurance, people who have worked to better our community, whether that be as community council members, service leaders, or simply as students. And most importantly, I see those among us who have truly embodied a character colored by kindness, generosity, and integrity which the rest of us should strive to equal. But before we get too caught up in celebration, I want to recognize the challenges that we have faced along the way to this moment.

This year has been incredibly difficult, it has included loss and sacrifice, both within our community and for the world at large. It has been filled with moments that have made us angry or sad or even hopeless. And it is important to recognize and validate those feelings. It was upsetting to see my friend be quarantined five times throughout this year not due to irresponsible behavior but rather unfortunate circumstances. But I was comforted by the knowledge that because of our ability to have pool testing, this community was kept safe and that we had the privilege of receiving an in-person education that most didn’t and I remain grateful for that. It was upsetting for me as a musician to learn that it was not safe for students to perform in person for the first two coffeehouses of the year, events that many had looked forward to and had spent time dreaming about. But it made all of us more appreciative of the spring coffeehouse where we were able to hear live, in-person performances. And it spotlighted just how much work was being done behind the scenes in order to give us an enjoyable experience. And in one of my hardest moments of this year, it was upsetting to read through posts on the harassmentathackley Instagram account that brought attention to the pervasive issue of sexual misconduct, that some within our community were already far too aware of. While I allowed myself to be angry and sad over what I was reading, that anger pushed me to fight for change within the community. So for my senior project, I conducted research and ultimately wrote a report including recommendations for ways our school could better deal with the issue of sexual misconduct. And I was grateful for the cooperation and support I received from students, teachers, and administration throughout the process. 

This year has been challenging. But we can all be proud of the fact that we have stepped up to face those challenges and I hope we have learned that when presented with the choice, whether to dwell on the inevitably difficult circumstances we will face or to be grateful for the positive things that remain, we will always choose the latter. 

Included in the loss of this year is the story of a person that I believe encompassed so many aspirational traits and who deserves to be honored. During my sophomore and junior years of high school, I was a member of a youth orchestra that was lucky enough to have an incredibly dedicated conductor named Vincent Lionti.  He was not only a phenomenally talented musician but also a compassionate and inspiring conductor. And for two years I quietly appreciated his brilliance from my seat in the oboe section. I had always wanted to learn more about him but was either too nervous to approach him or too caught up in my own life to take the time. And then one night at the end of rehearsal, as I was handing in the sheet music for my section, he stopped me to inquire about the origin of my name, asking if I had been named after the opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa. And I was touched by his genuine curiosity and interest in my life. In all, the interaction was only a few minutes. But as soon as I got to my car I enthusiastically called my mom to tell her about the first person to ever recognize who I was named after. This turned out to be our last rehearsal because we were soon shut down along with the rest of the world due to the pandemic. And then, a few weeks into quarantine an email informed me that Mr.Lionti had passed away due to complications of COVID-19. 

I was overwhelmed with the wish that I had seized the opportunity to learn about his life as he had learned about mine that night. But more importantly, I was struck with immeasurable gratitude for the kindness he had shown me and my peers and for the way that he had made me feel. I realized how he had perfectly embodied uninhibited curiosity and kindness and that I hope I can one day impact people in the same way that he had impacted me. This experience and the others I’ve mentioned highlight the importance of one of the two traits I’d like to discuss today: gratitude. 

I am honored to have the chance to extend a personal and collective thanks to the entirety of the Hackley community and to our friends and families for all of the ways in which our class has been supported through our journey here. Although things were certainly different, our ability to have a senior year in the way that we did was thanks to the diligent work and generosity of the administration, faculty, HPA, Board of trustees, custodial, Buildings and grounds and Flik staff, and the other countless people who put in time to make sure our senior year was as memorable as it could possibly be. 

I want to take a moment to extend a personal thanks to two very special faculty members, my parents, for supporting me as well as many of my classmates through our time here, and being the very reason that I was fortunate enough to receive a Hackley education in the first place. 18 years and two days ago, on the day I was born, I was immediately brought to Hackley’s campus and became a part of the community which I was lucky enough to remain in for the entirety of my life. Since that moment I have been on the receiving end of the overwhelming charitability of so many here. I have struggled to capture the enormous amount of gratitude that I, as well as the rest of my class, owe this community for the education we have received. Whether 18 years or 2, I know that each of our journeys here have included our own unique stories of the people at this school who have uplifted us in moments of turmoil, offered help in times of need, or have simply been the type of people that we are better off for having known. 

We have been afforded resources and opportunities here unimaginable to most people. These are gifts that we have been given, by our families and by this school, which we should never take for granted. I believe that the opportunities that we have been given come with a responsibility to effect positive change in the world. And that the best way to show our gratitude will be to do for others what has been done for us. And I have no doubt that each member of our class, as we are set on distinct and promising paths for our future, will find ways to do this. But I want to end by discussing a second trait that I hope can aid us in our endeavors: curiosity

We are about to head out into new environments with people whose experiences will be different from our own. And I would encourage us all to take the time to ask questions and demonstrate unabashed curiosity. Get to know people without ulterior motives, without thinking about networking or getting invited somewhere or even social comfort but only to learn and show genuine regard. Take advantage of the way that our lives will intersect with others. Listen to the voices of people whose perspectives and experiences are different from your own. And allow that to truly change the way that you think about the world. I believe that curiosity and gratitude will be the key to remaining lifelong learners, as we have already been encouraged to become throughout our education here.  

And I am able to give this advice, not because I have always exemplified these traits, but rather because I have been fortunate enough to come across people like so many within this community and like Mr.Lionti who have. 

So what I’ll leave you with is this, my ultimate hope for this class, and one that I know we are capable of achieving, is to all become people who will positively impact the lives of those around us, and who will truly capture one of Hackley’s mottos, which I’ve only recently begun to understand, go forth and spread beauty and light.