In-Person Graduation Returns to HM
On Wednesday, June 16th, 178 members of the Class of 2021 received their diplomas in a socially distanced outdoor ceremony on Alumni Field under sunny skies. Immediate family members were in attendance, while the festivities were live-streamed for family and friends who were not present.
The event was characterized by a joyful mix of awe and gratitude over being able to experience this day together. After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 turned the last part of their junior year into a remote learning experience, the Class of 2021 spent a significant stretch of the final phase of their HM education separated from one another. Their return to campus as seniors in September 2020 was made possible after HM's classrooms, laboratories, and athletics facilities had been transformed to incorporate the most stringent COVID-19 health and safety precautions possible. During their senior year, they learned to adapt to such preventative measures as social distancing, and to both planned and sometimes sudden transitions between periods of in-person and remote learning. It was a strange and challenging year, but through a combination of flexibility, patience, and optimism, the Class of 2021 navigated their new reality with poise and determination.
The special qualities this graduating class brought to campus were acclaimed by those who addressed them at the ceremony. Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly noted that, "As the oldest members of the student body ... this year's seniors returned to school eager to engage with their studies, their teachers, and their peers ... as is characteristic of this class." Also addressing the students were Upper Division History teacher and Class of 2021 Grade Dean Dr. Susan Groppi, Upper Division Head Dr. Jessica Levenstein, and Jaden Kirshner '21, whom the classmates had selected as their valedictorian.
The 178 graduates will matriculate at 65 different institutions of higher learning. The colleges that will welcome the largest number of Class of 2021 members are:
In addition, four students will matriculate to international universities, including the University of Toronto, Oxford University, American University in Paris, and Trinity College Dublin.
To view the exciting graduation ceremony for the HM Class of 2021, and hear all of the speakers' addresses, go to: https://vimeo.com/563879126/34be57f4b8