COMMENCEMENT | 2021

Keynote Speaker

Diane M. Foley leads the Foundation named in memory of her son, Jim, who was kidnapped in 2012, tortured, and ultimately murdered while covering Syria’s Civil War. She told the Class of 2021: “Please consider answers to four fundamental questions: What really matters to you? What makes you happy? What makes you the most sad? And what would you change if you could? Your answer may give you a purpose—a reason for being.

Helping families with loved ones held hostage and promoting journalist safety through the Foley Foundation has been healing for me. … I sincerely wish each of you graduates a life filled with a passionate purpose that will give you deep joy. Dare to care deeply about yourself and others. May you have the moral courage to choose to make our world a better place.”

The Class of 2021’s commencement ceremony had an extra layer of gratitude: COVID prevented the Class of 2020 from gathering in person, so just being able to be together felt like a gift in 2021. Precautions were still in place, including an outdoor rain-or-shine mandate, and a limited number of guests for each graduate so all families could be spaced apart in seating pods. Led by Class Marshals Mitchell Coope, Dawson Cunningham, Katherine Martin, and Christopher Webb, the Class of 2021 processed onto Brown Field holding onto their caps in the gusty winds but smiling wide. At his last Commencement as Brewster’s Head of School, Dr. Craig Gemmell set the tone with four words: gratitude, reflection, remembrance, and celebration, beginning, “I’ve never felt so grateful to be attending a commencement ceremony because WE HAVE ALL MADE IT despite the wild changes our world has endured over the past stretch.” He also asked the audience to stand in ovation for the “soon-to-be legendary Class of 2021” that has been “united and positive and mature, and have more than risen to one mighty challenge after another this year!”

Just The Facts

WEATHER REPORT: Brrr…unseasonably cold, windy, and rainy.

VALEDICTORIAN: Reese Richmond “As a class, we have taken a year filled with curveballs and made the most out of a lessthan-ideal situation. We created memories filled with happiness and laughter that will without a doubt transcend both time and place.”

SALUTATORIAN: Neilie Alperin

GRADUATES

MUSICAL MOMENT:

POSTGRADUATE AWARD: Kopchon Sittithammachoti

MILITARY APPOINTMENTS: Gus Schoenbucher, The United States Merchant Marine Academy.

AS IS TRADITION…The Winnipesaukean dedicatee, Peter Mann, had the honor of reading the names of the graduates as they received their diplomas.

EXTRA-SPECIAL MOMENT: Reese Richmond and her family kept the news of her receiving the Valedictorian’s spot from her grandmother, who was in attendance. Grandma Marty was indeed surprised, especially when Reese made her the star of her speech. “My grandma, Marty, has a little fun fact that she loves to share,” she began. “If you can spell the word ‘socks,’ in English, S O C K S, then you can speak Spanish. In Spanish ‘es o sí que es’ translates to ‘it is what it is’.”

FINAL MESSAGE: “Dare to care deeply about yourself and others. Dare to be bold and think big. Dare to bring hope into our world. Be daring in these ways and you will surely live lives of purpose. Good luck and godspeed.” —Craig Gemmell