Class of 2000: Emerging Jubilant

Clockwise from above: Sharing a happy moment after the commencement ceremonies are new graduate Bonnie Lui and retiring Spanish instructor Hal McCann. Bedecked with flowers, Candace Douglas, top center, relaxes with classmates Bonnie Oliva, left, and Chrystal Akor, right. Eli Lazarus receives the Aurelian Society Award from Head of School Barbara Landis Chase. Right center (left to right): Jason Kaplan, Stefano de Stefano, Dean Boylan and Taylor Fund join the alumni ranks. Right bottom Student body president Steven Koh, center, spares a moment for a family photo. Left to right are Steven's father, Howard, his brother Daniel '03, Steven, his sister Katie and his mother, Claudia Arrigg '67. Bottom center: Chase congratulates prizewinners Katherine Otway, left, and Aimionoizomo "Momo" Akade, right. Left bottom (left to right): smiles are the order of the day for, left to right, Annie Lowrey '02, graduate Caitlin Lowrey and Kezi Barry '02. Photos by J.D. Sloan

Eager to tackle the challenges before them, 323 Phillips Academy seniors—164 boys and 159 girls—graduated June 4 in the school's 222nd commencement ceremony. About 3,000 people attended the graduation exercises, where Head of School Barbara Landis Chase talked about connections, including the students' connections with the environment, their families, the human family, and their Andover teachers and campus. "Only in discovering the strong cords that connect us to others do we come to feel confident and content in who we are," she said. "Only in reaching out do we live a life of real meaning." "Often when people talk about Andover they focus on the competition. But what gets lost in those conversations is the way Andover students truly want the people around them to succeed, the way you take pride and pleasure in your friends' successes, as well as your own, the way you cheer one another on," she said. School President Steven A. Koh of Andover also spoke with eloquence of the connections the seniors made to one another. "We were a class that was tested in more ways than we thought possible," he said, referring to the deaths of classmates John "Jarvis" Jordan and Zachary Tripp. Noting that this is the first class to begin in the 20th century and graduate in the 21st, Koh said, "We are a group of individuals who make up one amazing class." He spoke of the faculty who "understand and respect us" and parents "who will always support us, long after we leave."

Chase presented the academy's most distinguished awards to six outstanding members of the graduating class: Katherine E. Otway of Reading, Mass., received the Non Sibi Award, given to a student who has honored the academy's non sibi (not-for-self) tradition through efforts on behalf of others. She will attend George- town University in the fall. Ashley A. Harmeling of North Reading, Mass., received the Yale Bowl, given to the member of the senior class who has attained the highest proficiency in scholarship and athletics. She will attend Harvard University. Ursula G. DeYoung of Manchester, Mass., and Alan G. Ginsberg of Andover, Mass., received the Faculty Prize for outstanding scholarship during the senior year. Both will attend Harvard University. Aimionoizomo "Momo" Akade of Brooklyn, N.Y., received the Madame Sarah Abbot Award, given to a young woman for strong character, leadership and outstanding scholarship. She will enter Yale University in the fall. Eli D. Lazarus of Alna, Maine, received the Aurelian Honor Society Award for sterling character, high scholarship and forceful leadership. He will attend Williams College. The Class of 2000 will matriculate at a total of 88 four-year colleges and universities. The top choices are Columbia, 21; Harvard and Yale, 17 each; Boston University and Wesleyan, 11 each; University of Chicago and Duke, nine each; and Boston College, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Middlebury, eight each. — Tana Sherman Copyright, Phillips Academy, 2000