Congratulations to the Class of 2016
It was a picture perfect morning to celebrate the graduation of Rivers’ Class of 2016. Family, friends, faculty, and staff gathered under the tent on the Quad on Friday, June 10, to honor the 93 members of the graduating class.
Head of School Ned Parsons welcomed the seniors and their guests. After congratulating the graduates on the impact they’ve already had on the Rivers community and beyond, he reminded them that commencement is indeed a beginning.
“In your time here, you have become scholars in the true sense of the word,” said Mr. Parsons. “You have studied broadly and deeply, grasping the big picture even as you wrestled with the finer details. You’ve followed your interests and discovered new passions. You’ve shared your knowledge with your classmates, been unafraid to question when you needed clarity, been prepared to clarify when others were in need.
“You’ve practiced hard and played well and reaped the rewards of your dedication. You’ve poured yourselves into artistic endeavors and discovered your voice and your vision, then sharpened, refined, expanded your skills. You’ve trained your compassion on those in need in places close to home and very far away, and you’ve made a difference—in the lives of those you’ve helped, and, by dint of your example, in the lives of your peers and the adults here at Rivers. For your emergence beyond our hopes for you, we applaud you.”
President of the Board of Trustees Bob Davis, himself the father of three Rivers graduates, then talked about the pride, hope, and sadness that many in the audience—graduates and families alike—were feeling: pride in the graduates’ accomplishments, hope for the future and its limitless opportunities, and sadness at leaving a place that has become a second home. He reminded the seniors that the relationships they forged during their time at Rivers would endure, if they took the time and effort to nurture them.
Faculty speaker Dan McCartney, chair of the Mathematics Department, spoke to the graduates about the “why” of learning with his trademark mix of humor and sincerity. His speech was full of personal anecdotes and quotes to drive home each point.
“If I asked you why you worked so hard in high school, many of you would say to get into a good college. Why do you want to go to a good college? So I can get a good job? Why do you want a good job? So I can make a lot of money to pay off my college loans? Hopefully, there’s more.
“Let me attempt to answer the big “why” question,” he continued. “Why did you go to school? Why did we push you so hard? Why do we teach? It’s simple. We want you all to lead a meaningful life—a life built on continuing education, a life filled by knowledge, curiosity, and growth… Education is central to a life well-lived.”
McCartney concluded with four (much abridged) suggestions:
“First, pick professors, not classes…Ask around and find the most interesting teachers you can find and take their courses.
“Second, don’t limit yourself to just one field of study…Take classes outside of your major and explore new ideas. Maybe choose a minor in something totally unrelated to your major.
“Third, surround yourself with the best people you can find, and don’t shy away from those who may seem smarter, more talented, or more gifted than you. Instead, make them your friends, your best friends.
“And finally, what I really want for all of you is this: Never stop learning. Never stop thinking. Never stop asking why.”
Jake Letterie ’16, chosen by his classmates as the student speaker, spoke about the Ladder of Life they've been climbing for the past several years at Rivers and on which they are about to advance.
"In all honesty, we have suffered true hardship during our time here, dealing with days that never seem to go our way, with the pressures of the college admissions process, with personal tragedies, and with terrorism here in Boston and abroad," Jake noted in one of his more serious moments. "It is during these hard times, I discovered how strong and compassionate our community truly is.
"What Rivers has done for me and what I hope it has done for you, 2016, is life-altering and merits an unpayable debt. Now, we have arrived at the culmination of our Rivers educations, the end of the line. So at this point I will say thank you, thank you Dr. Rivers for making the skies the limit, quite literally, and for establishing the institution that has had had the single greatest impact on my life and I hope many of your lives as well."
"In all honesty, we have suffered true hardship during our time here, dealing with days that never seem to go our way, with the pressures of the college admissions process, with personal tragedies, and with terrorism here in Boston and abroad," Jake noted in one of his more serious moments. "It is during these hard times, I discovered how strong and compassionate our community truly is.
"We have also experienced great joys as the Class of 2016. Never has our pride diminished while celebrating the success and achievements of our classmates. Over the past four years our class has built a strong bond, an unmatched sense of cohesiveness. We were there when our basketball teams played in the TD Garden. We cheered as our field hockey and soccer teams became NEPSAC champs. We yawned as the ski team never seemed to lose. We watched our boys’ hockey team capture the Eberhart Division and an ISL trophy. We attended The Laramie Project and Cinderella along with numerous other plays and musicals. We viewed the photographs, drawings, and sculptures of the many talented artists in our class.
"2016, your thoughtful and diligent work ethic carried over into the classroom, it is truly second to none. Don't ever think that your hours of late nights and early mornings have gone unnoticed. Members of 2016 care so deeply about bettering themselves in the classroom and never hesitate to invest their time and energy into becoming wiser, more mature beings.
"Nobody can transcend the sacred LOL, ladder of life; everybody is bound to it," Jake concluded. "There are no shortcuts, no secret passages, just toils and obstacles that will define us. Because it's not about what lies at the top of the ladder, but it's about how we behave and what we do to achieve great heights. Rivers is a very special part of that ladder, for each of us, after all we have all spent significant portions of our lives here. "2016, your thoughtful and diligent work ethic carried over into the classroom, it is truly second to none. Don't ever think that your hours of late nights and early mornings have gone unnoticed. Members of 2016 care so deeply about bettering themselves in the classroom and never hesitate to invest their time and energy into becoming wiser, more mature beings.
"What Rivers has done for me and what I hope it has done for you, 2016, is life-altering and merits an unpayable debt. Now, we have arrived at the culmination of our Rivers educations, the end of the line. So at this point I will say thank you, thank you Dr. Rivers for making the skies the limit, quite literally, and for establishing the institution that has had had the single greatest impact on my life and I hope many of your lives as well."
After Mr. Parsons paid tribute to each graduate and presented the diplomas, the graduates filed out through lines of applauding faculty and family members, and assembled for the traditional cap toss at the flagpole.
Congratulations to the Class of 2016 and best wishes for a happy and successful future beyond Rivers.
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