Class of 2009 Graduates from Phillips Academy

Head of School Barbara Landis Chase encourages graduates to 'keep curiosity alive' and 'learn from great mentors'

June 08, 2009 — It’s the journey, not the destination. That was one of the key messages delivered to the 324 members of the graduating class of Phillips Academy by Head of School Barbara Landis Chase during the school’s 231st commencement ceremony held on Sunday, June 7.

“First of all, congratulations, on behalf of all of us, to all of you in the Class of 2009,” said Chase, speaking under blue skies to an excited crowd of 3,000 graduates and invited guests gathered on the lawn in front of historic Samuel Phillips Hall. “You arrived from many different places. Now you set out on the next leg of your journey for many different destinations.”

Drawing inspiration from Homer’s Odyssey and the adventures Odysseus encountered on his travels home to Ithaca following the Trojan War, Chase encouraged the graduates to be not so focused on their goals that they fail to savor the journey they take to reach them.

"Such a message rings true at commencement,” she said. “For this ceremony, this destination … is not really the point. Rather, it is the process you have gone through, the journey you have made, to reach this place.”

In time-honored Andover tradition, the ceremony kicked off in dramatic style to the sounds of bagpipes and drums as the Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums of Lawrence led a procession of faculty and students around the perimeter of the Academy’s Great Lawn. Boys wore suit coats and ties and girls wore white dresses and carried red roses, while proud parents and friends cheered and took photographs and video.

Once the procession had ended, Chase spoke not only about the importance of the journey already completed, but also counseled the graduates about the journey that lies ahead. For that, she offered nine bits of advice, many of which, she said, were inspired by the students’ own experiences at Andover. Among other things, she advised the students to “keep curiosity alive,” “learn from great mentors,” and “be kind.”

She also advised them to “keep a poet in your pocket,” a bit of advice she said that was once handed down from U.S. President John Adams to his son John Quincy. “You have learned here at Andover,” said Chase, “how great literature, art, and music will not only keep you company, but bring new understanding of the world and the human spirit.”

Student body president Malin Adams ’09 offered a similar message during his presentation as he encouraged his classmates to cherish the journey they had shared at Andover and to remember the lessons learned here as they move onto the next stage of life.

“Today is both an end and a beginning for us, and our journey at this institution has granted us all the gift of a solid foundation,” he said, adding that now “it is our responsibility to use this education, this beginning, for the betterment of others.”

In sharing some of his memories of his time at Andover, Adams recalled how intimidated he had felt as a 9th grader, uncertain as to whether he was up to the challenge that Andover presented.

“Looking back at myself as a new student, I was shy and not certain of my purpose at Andover. To see me here today, you may not believe it, but in my first weeks at Andover, I felt lost. Without a set group of friends or a specific purpose, I spent my free periods and lunch wandering along the path, checking my mail in GW, and more or less pretending to be busy.”

To overcome that, he made a concerted effort to find his place at Andover by joining lots of clubs and organizations. In time, he said, “I changed from a boy who wandered campus during my free periods and evenings, to a student with overlapping time commitments, a worrisome lack of sleep, and way too many missed meals, who was actually busy—no more pretending.”

That experience, he said, taught him the importance of embracing the unknown and challenging yourself by taking chances. “The path to finding your passion is not always direct, but no matter how long it takes … time spent finding your passion is the best time you will ever spend.”

“As we sit here today sharing our last few moments together,” he said, “we can see how far we have come. And though this is the end of our career as Andover students, it is not the end of our connection to our Andover roots. Today each of us walks away. We leave our friends, we leave our dorms, we leave this place that has been our home for four years. But, we do not leave empty handed. We leave with one another, and we will always be members of the Class 2009.”

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

• Radmila Dancikova of North Andover, Massachusetts 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 the California Institute of Technology.
• Parker Washburn of Andover, Massachusetts 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 Harvard University.
• Christian Anderson of Andover, Massachusetts received the Faculty Prize for outstanding scholarship during the senior year. He will attend Harvard University.
• Victoria Wilmarth of Andover, Massachusetts received the Madame Sarah Abbot Award, given to a young woman for strong character, leadership and outstanding scholarship. She will attend Duke University.
• Eli Grober of Andover, Massachusetts received the Aurelian Honor Society Award for sterling character, high scholarship and forceful leadership. He will attend Columbia University.

Following speeches by Adams and Chase, the graduating members of the class of 2009 moved to the school’s Great Lawn in front of the Oliver Wendell Home Library where they stood in a giant circle for the passing of the diplomas. The commencement circle is a ceremonial tradition the Academy first adopted in 1952.

This year’s graduating class includes 53 students from the town of Andover, as well as students from such other local towns as Billerica, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, North Reading, North Andover, and Salem, NH. Other U.S. cities represented by the students include New York, Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco. International students hail from China, Germany, Canada, Japan, Hungary, India, France, Spain, Thailand, and Venezuela, among other countries.

The Phillips Academy Class of 2009 will matriculate at 91 four-year colleges and universities. Top choices, accounting for nearly 43 percent of the class, include Harvard, 18; Yale, 14; Princeton, 13; Stanford, 12; University of Pennsylvania and Columbia, 10 each; Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Duke, 9 each; Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, and New York University, 8 each.