Class of 2008 Graduates from Phillips Academy

June 09, 2008 — School President Tantum Collins told his fellow graduates at the 230th commencement ceremony for Phillips Academy on Sunday, June 8 that he knows they will go on “to do incredible things” and that he fully expects to read about their accomplishments in the news some day. However, he told them, “please know not to measure your worth by such things.”

“I know more surely than I have ever known anything,” he said, “that there is no group as good in the sense of integrity of character and strength of allegiance as the group that I see before me now … Regardless of whether or not you become valedictorians and senators, you will always mean the world to me and to the people sitting around you.”

He also urged his classmates to treasure the moments that made their time at Andover so special. “Hundreds of students across the world get perfect test scores, make varsity teams, and even get into the colleges that we will soon attend. But nobody else has the collective experiences that have made our time at Andover so memorable. It is these moments that have forged friendships that I know now will last for a lifetime. It is these moments that give us a sense of the people that we live with, play with and study with, that make us truly embody non sibi [not for self].”

Collins delivered his message to his 302 classmates (147 boys and 156 girls) and some 3,000 invited guests during a ceremony that took place under clear blue skies on the lawn in front of the historic Samuel Phillips Hall. In a time-honored Andover tradition, the ceremony kicked off with a graduation procession of faculty and students that was led by the stirring sounds of the Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Boys wore suit coats and ties; girls wore white dresses, and each carried a red rose.

Following speeches by Collins and Head of School Barbara Landis Chase, the graduating members of the class of 2008 moved to the school’s Great Lawn in front of the Addison Gallery where they stood in a giant circle for the passing of the diplomas.

The commencement circle, a ceremonial tradition the Academy first adopted in 1952, served as a point of reference for the commencement speech delivered by Chase, who urged the graduates to ponder the “profound and sacred meaning” of the circle. It is, she said, a symbol of unity and strength.

“When you leave this hill, to scatter in many directions, you will need that unity and strength as you will face a world far more complex and rapidly changing than the world the graduates of 1952 faced. Like them, however, you will find opportunity and confront obstacles; come upon joys and sorrows, expected and unexpected. And, just as they have, you will always be able to rely on the strength of your Andover commencement circle.”

Chase also urged the graduates to hold fast to Andover’s non sibi spirit of service and leadership.  It is, she said, one of the ties that binds together the many generations of Andover alumni. “Always take your bearing on that point,” she said. “The chance to do just that … will come to you over and over again, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in crises.”

Finally Chase noted that this generation will be called upon to wrestle with serious global challenges, but she praised the students as having begun already to prepare themselves to do so. “You studied the intricacies of global economics, participated in micro-lending projects, and raised funds for China earthquake relief. Some of you have deferred college for a year to work and study in far-flung places like Jordan, China, and South Africa … You have shown a remarkable commitment to changing the world for the better—from your close network of family and friends, to the Boys & Girls Club in Lawrence, Mass., to the wider world.”

As part of the commencement ceremony, Chase also presented five major prizes to the following recipients:

•  Jessica Cole of Windham, New Hampshire received the Non Sibi Award, given to the student who has honored Phillips Academy’s non sibi (not-for-self) tradition through efforts on behalf of others. She will attend Yale University.
• Charles Hollis of Longwood, Florida received the Yale Bowl, given to the member of the senior class who has attained the highest proficiency in scholarship and athletics. He will attend Dartmouth College
•  Ryan Park of Skokie, Illinois received the Faculty Prize for outstanding scholarship during the senior year. He will attend Yale University.
• Nkemdilim Oghedo of St. Albans, New York received the Madame Sarah Abbot Award, given to a young woman for strong character, leadership and outstanding scholarship. She will attend Yale University.
• Tantum Collins of River Forest, Illinois received the Aurelian Honor Society Award for sterling character, high scholarship and forceful leadership. He will attend Yale University.

This year’s graduating class includes forty-one students from the town of Andover, as well as students from such other local towns as Lawrence, Methuen, North Reading, North Andover, Pepperell, Haverhill, and Windham, NH.  Other U.S. cities represented by the students include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Charleston. International students hail from China, Germany, Canada, Japan, Korea, India, France, Spain, and Thailand, among other countries.

The Phillips Academy Class of 2008 will matriculate at 100 four-year colleges and universities. Top choices, accounting for nearly 35 percent of the class, include Yale, 16; Stanford, 15; Princeton, 13, University of Pennsylvania, 13; Georgetown, 11, Harvard, 9; Duke, 8; Columbia, 8; Dartmouth, 7; and Johns Hopkins, 7