The Valedictory Address

Advith Sharma ’23

Valedictorian Advith Sharma ’23 speaks to the Class of 2023 and families during the Commencement Ceremony held on June 10, 2023

Faculty and staff, family members, guests and my fellow graduates, good morning Today is a special day—a lot of celebration of what is, some reflection of what was and some anticipation of what is yet to come The Class of 2023 is here with our hearts full of gratitude

I came to Hackley as a second grader. My parents told me that a Lower School student greeted them and rushed to hold the door open for them during the prospective parents’ tour. This kind gesture convinced them that Hackley was the right choice for our family. Thank you to all the parents here who chose Hackley and made it possible for us to be part of this wonderful family—a family that values friendship and kindness and is always ready to lend a helping hand.

I want to express our deep gratitude to the members of our Hackley family: our fantastic dean, Ms. Leffler, Mr. Wirtz, Mr. King, administrators, staff and, of course, our amazing teachers. They are our cheerleaders in every endeavor, our role models who inspire us to be the best version of ourselves each day, our trusted advisors who are there for us in all the meaningful moments.

I want to acknowledge my classmates. There could not be a more warm, kind and friendly Hackley class than our very own.

We support each other unconditionally, we cheer each other on in our pursuits, we debate each other on ideas and we laugh with each other over shared experiences—we look out for each other every day.

Our whole class finds joy in giving back to the community. We each do it in different ways: tutoring, mentoring, organizing clubs and drives. No matter what we are doing, it’s amazing how much we enjoy being in one another’s company at Stings, at Hudson Scholars get-togethers, in the hallways or the dining hall—the list goes on.

Thank you to Ms. Leffler and our awesome homeroom advisors who helped us create so many memories as a community, from boat building in ninth grade to writing speeches in eleventh grade, cookies and hot chocolate in the Lindsay Room, Chapel Talks and the Graduation Walk. These were some of my favorite moments, and I hope we can all pick out a special one to reflect on today, our first day as Hackley graduates!

One of my favorite Latin mottos is sapere aude, which means “dare to know.” It challenges us to have a mindset open to continuous learning, whether it is learning intellectual skills or learning life skills. At Hackley, we have had our pick of classes across the liberal arts and sciences. We found ways to bridge topics across disciplines and develop an interdisciplinary perspective. We learned to grow as individuals and as a team—in the classroom, in extracurricular clubs, on student councils, in music ensembles and on athletic teams. We devised new strategies to tackle problems and came out victorious as a team, whether working on trig substitution in calculus, raising funds to meet an ambitious budget in our clubs or getting through our opponents’ defense on athletic fields. Our class is clearly greater than the sum of its parts; our potential is unlimited when we work together.

Our learning experiences have been complex, novel and challenging. While we may not remember every historical figure, formula or vocabulary word we learned, Hackley has bestowed upon us a power to keep up with a rapidly changing world. And this power is learning how to learn. Around Harkness tables in humanities classrooms, we leaned on one another to fill in gaps in our understanding and layer our perspectives. In STEM classrooms, we developed a toolkit that we can apply to any new problem that is sent our way, rather than simply memorize. In research and independent studies, we were empowered by scholarly sources, mentors and the internet to push the boundaries of knowledge. In the arts, we came to appreciate the creativity, interpretation and listening that led to incredibly inspiring outcomes. Of course, when ChatGPT became a thing our senior year, we spent time learning how to use ChatGPT, as well!

Our class is no stranger to difficult realities—we have confronted them within the Hackley community as well as in the global community. We learned to find causes, values and aspirations that resonate with us in such intimidating and uncertain times. The COVID-19 pandemic began in the Spring of our ninth grade year. Attending school through Zoom and then returning to school with masks, recognizing each other merely through our foreheads and eyes, defined the key phase of our high school years. It was tough to comprehend what “normal” really was. The loyalty and kindness we showed one another, our resilient spirit and ability to share laughter and tears turned out to be the Class of 2023’s very own definition of “normal.” Whatever curveballs life threw at us, we continued to show the same passion for learning and a drive to succeed throughout our four years in the Upper School, and I think we should all be very proud of that. And I know we will continue that way.

As we step away from the Hilltop into the next phase of our lives, I hope we can continue to find people, places and causes that we can seek out in the good times and the not-so-good times. Ultimately, no matter how the world around us looks, by reaching for one another and staying the lifelong learners that we are as a class, we will be prepared to shape it for the better.

So, to my classmates I say, keep daring to know. Let us always stay curious. And let us never forget this passion for knowledge that was fostered here on the Hilltop. Hackley’s sense of community, the close relationships we have nurtured and the lessons we have learned will never leave us. We are and will always be part of this Hackley family. Class of 2023, let us go forth and spread beauty and light.