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June 4, 2006
ANDOVER, Mass.— Phillips Academy held its 228th commencement ceremony on Sunday, June 4 for the class of 2006, a class consisting of 309 seniors — 160 boys and 149 girls.
About 3,000 people attended the graduation exercises, which took place in front of Samuel Phillips Hall on the school’s Great Lawn. In a time-honored Andover tradition, the graduation procession of faculty and students 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.
Sunday’s celebration followed a weekend of commencement events, including a senior-faculty banquet, a senior concerto concert and a candlelight baccalaureate service Saturday evening in Cochran Chapel.
In addition to the thirty-seven students from Andover, the 2006 graduating class includes students from such local towns as Lawrence, Methuen, Lowell, North Reading, North Andover, and Haverhill. Other U.S. cities represented by the students include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. International students hail from Canada, England, China, Japan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Thailand, and Germany, among other countries.
In her commencement address to the graduates, Head of School Barbara Landis Chase spoke of hospitality, honesty, hard work, and hope – four characteristics she said she hoped the students “found in abundance at Phillips Academy” and which they will carry with them into the future.
Recalling how Andover started off its year by taking in 19 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Chase told the assembled audience, “Hospitality has to do with the way we open our minds and hearts to outsiders, and it rang in our new year.” Two of those students, she noted, were members of this year’s graduating class.
Chase also spoke of the “beauty and redemptive quality of work,” telling the students that “what I hope for each of you is that you will find work that makes you happy – not every minute of every day, but often enough to be sustaining, personally absorbing, and meaningful to a community beyond yourself.”
Finally, she spoke of hope, quoting the poet Emily Dickinson, who wrote that hope “is the thing with feathers.”
“Hope does indeed take flight on the wings of teaching and learning,” said Chase. “It is one of the major products of a liberal education. As a student you gain fresh knowledge, expand your understanding, and in the process can scarcely escape a feeling of hope for your future. And as you think about how you will use that knowledge and understanding, you feel a sense of hope that you can make a real impact on the world.”
School President Ali Siddiqi ’06 of Salem, New Hampshire, drew laughter from his classmates and the assembled crowd as he shared his memories of his four years at Andover, while also paying tribute to the education he received. “Although my world has been Andover, I have come to know the world through Andover because the world is at Andover. The world is here not only in the form of international students, but the world is here in the form of international ideas, international discussions, and international concerns.”
He admitted that leaving the school behind is difficult, but encouraged his fellow seniors to take the spirit of the school out into the world with them. “Yes, the memory and legacy of Andover can stay alive in your heart, but why not put it into action so that everywhere you go, everyone you meet, can be affected by this place, this world that we have come to love?”
Following the speeches, Chase presented five major prizes to outstanding members of the graduating class. The recipients were:
- Kendall M Massengil of Richmond, Virginia 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 Washington & Lee University.
- Thomas M. Dignard of Reading, 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 Yale University.
- Warakorn Kulalert of Bangkok, Thailand received the Faculty Prize for outstanding scholarship during the senior year. He will attend Harvard University.
- Katherine M. Faulkner of Homer, Alaska received the Madame Sarah Abbot Award, given to a young woman for strong character, leadership and outstanding scholarship. She will attend Harvard University.
- Ali Siddiqi of Salem, New Hampshire received the Aurelian Honor Society Award for sterling character, high scholarship and forceful leadership. He will attend Columbia University.
The Phillips Academy Class of 2006 will matriculate at a total of 107 four-year colleges and universities. Top choices, accounting for almost 33 percent of the class, include: Harvard, 18; Brown, 13; Yale and Georgetown, 12 each; University of Pennsylvania, 10; Cornell and Trinity College, 9 each; and Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 8 each.
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