CHAPEL
You will have learned how to win and lose, and most importantly you will have learned how to be on a team. CHRISTINE BRENNAN THE WORLD AWAITS YOU “The world awaits you and this is your launching pad,” said Christine Brennan as she addressed the Suffield community. Christine is a sports columnist for USA Today; a commentator for ABC News, “PBS NewsHour,“ and National Public Radio; and the best-selling author of seven books. She was also the first female sports reporter hired for The Miami Herald in 1991. She focused on the legacy and impact of Title IX and on the value of athletics. “Playing a sport is empowering,” Christine said. “Whatever you are going to be when you grow up, you will be better at it because you played sports. You will have learned how to win and lose, and most importantly you will have learned how to be on a team.”
I never think of something as an obstacle in my way. I just think about how I am going to get something done. LAURA SLOATE A MINOR IMPAIRMENT Laura Sloate is a managing director and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman in New York City, and she is blind. At age six, detached retinas caused Laura to lose her eyesight, yet she feels “not seeing is a minor impairment.” Laura learned early on how to become a problem solver. She accomplished her schoolwork with readers, tapes, and oral exams. Resilient and ambitious, she followed her interests and accomplished goals. She loves going to the movies and is passionate about classical music and sports. Her words offered an invaluable perspective on education, career, and a balanced life. She reflected on successes and failures by saying, “You can only be as good as you are today, and you are going to make mistakes. Learn from them. Study them. Let them make you better tomorrow.” She added, “Wall Street is very competitive. You fail a lot, often many times a day. You learn that you are going to make bad decisions, and when you are wrong you instantly know it. But you also know that you have to get back up and try again. I never think of something as an obstacle in my way. I just think about how I am going to get something done.”
Nothing is real. Everything is an illusion. VOLKER KRASEMANN TO SEEM RATHER THAN TO BE “Nothing is real. Everything is an illusion.” Science Department Chair Volker Krasemann encouraged the Suffield community to reconsider its perception of reality. Demonstrating optical illusions and referring to the 1999 movie The Matrix, Volker traversed through the cognitive abilities of the brain and identified its limitations. He said that while Suffield’s motto is Esse Quam Videri (to be rather than to seem), from the perspective of science, it is impossible to decipher what is real. Highlighting advancements in video games and virtual realities, Volker also called attention to digital animations—synthesized simulations—and noted that sensation and perception are powerful abilities of human consciousness.
41