the way to my office. I have loved seeing you spike the volleyball and strike out opposing batters and clobber walk-off homeruns. You have talent galore. I am grateful for the introduction—hopeful, inspiring, and challenging—that you’ve offered to me and to my family as we start our own Andover education. There are two scenes that I am sure I will remember about the Class of 2013. The first comes from the depths of a cold and snowy winter. It had been snowing and snowing and snowing some more—when along came the biggest snowstorm of the year, Winter Storm Nemo, the fifth highest snowfall in the recorded history of the Boston area. We all know that students are required to shovel the spaces outside their dorms—a good practice for life in general. The scene that I will remember was not just the feet of snow, but the crew of students who charged out with their shovels, bundled up from head to toe, to shovel out the administrative buildings and the classroom buildings and the steps to the chapel and the Addison, alongside the OPP staff who had come in over the weekend to operate the plows and dig us out. The shovel crew included senior faculty members, staff, and students of all ages. It was the scene of a strong and considerate community of people who go above and beyond what’s required of them to make Andover a better place. The second vignette is covered not with the whites and grays of a massive snowstorm but with brilliant sunshine. Just a few weeks ago, on these same lawns, a small group of students worked with faculty to organize the first ever—some are calling it the “First Annual”—Spring Arts Festival. Students here work harder than they should, in many cases, and the experience is more stressful than is healthy. But for an afternoon, that stress was swept aside by a broad arc of balloons that spanned the Vista between Foxcroft and Bartlet, a never-before-attempted avant-garde dance that involved paint on feet and a big sheet of plastic that looked like a slip-and-slide, bands, and lots of face 12
Andover | Commencement 2013
Inset left: Richard Levy and Will Kim Above: Lily MacRae, MJ Engel, Madeline Silva, and Garrick Gu Above right: Flanking Head of School John Palfrey and Trustee President Peter Currie ’74 are the recipients of the five major awards announced at Commencement: Gabriele Fisher (Madame Sarah Abbot Award), Cameron Morose (Non Sibi Award), Piper Curtis (Yale Bowl), Emily Field (Faculty Prize), and Rolando Bonachea (Aurelian Honor Society Prize). Above right inset: Jennifer Elliott, dean of Abbot Cluster and instructor in history and social science Right: Christopher Amendano, Andrea Vargas, Jonathan Thompkins, and David Jordan Right inset: Susanna Rademacher and Claudia Giles Below right: Ayaka Shinozaki, Stephanie Kim, and Emily Jia Below: Harrison Roche, Aaron Finder, Paul Turiano, Andries Feder, and Lazola Nyamakazi Left: Jessica Vocaturo and Giovanna Pickering