Elected to membership in the Cum Laude Society were, from left, George Sturges '16, Antonia Ambrose'16, Seha Choi'16, Emily Bogan'16, David Brower'16, Katie Chen'16, Shaokai Lin'16, Jon Campau'16 and Rose Randolph'16 (not pictured).
Claire Davidson and Brandt Matthews, selected by their classmates to be the Class of 2016 speakers, each talked of the class’s collective journey over the past four years. Claire reflected, “We all remember how this story began…sitting through our first Third Form meeting with Mr. C…then juggling Humanities and hormones as Fourth Formers…PTSD and long-term sleep deprivation as Fifth Formers…and then, as Sixth Formers, being dealt a fate graver than death: the college process.” She likened completing the Common App to “…donating a kidney: you can only do it once, but you want to make sure you get it right…and you have to make sure it is a perfect match. The process is not fun, and the recovery is long, but in the end you feel pretty good about it.” She added, “Today we leave the Abbey, but the Abbey will never leave us. We have spent our time here preparing for this moment. I am immensely lucky to have spent four years with all of you.”
Brandt closed by reminding his classmates to stop and appreciate “…this feeling right now. The feeling of being your high school self– because we’re never going to be like this again, not exactly. Stop and remember what it feels like to exist as a Portsmouth Abbey student.”
On Prize Day, held Saturday, May 28, the School paid tribute to the students who had excelled during the 2015-16 school year. Those receiving special recognitions included Rosie Randolph, who was awarded The William Griffin Kelley Memorial Trophy, as voted on by the Faculty, for making the most significant contribution to the life of the School. The Excellence in Scholarship Award, for achieving the highest cumulative academic average in the class for Fifth and Sixth Form years, was awarded to Jon Campau. Jon also received the The William Barry McCoy Award, awarded by the Monastery to the graduating senior who best represented Christian attitude and leadership.
Brandt reflected, “Our time at the Abbey has been like the perfect ice cream cone – delicious, but never meant to last. In these final days, we’ve been able to stop and look around… our steps grew slower, our perceptions more refined, and our memories of days and years passed returned to us as sweet as when they occurred.” He kidded about adding up the passing time – five minutes –students are allotted between classes over four years, for a total of 320 hours of walking time. “These 320 hours translate to roughly 992 miles,” he calculated. “A 992-mile journey to where we are today. And as I look out on my classmates, I see that journey reflected in all of you. I don’t just see a bunch of tired faces. I see friends. I see accomplishments. I see a group of individuals who loved to complain but never once stopping working. And now we’re there.”
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Johanna Appleton'17 with her family on Prize Day. Johanna received the Cross-Country Coach's Trophy; the Track Coach's Trophy; the University of Rochester Humanities/Social Sciences Award; the National Latin Exam Level III, Prose School Winner Prize; the Senator Claiborne Pell Medal; the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of R.I. Book Award; and the Faculty Form V Award.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL