CAMPUS CONNECTION
The Extraordinary
CLASS OF 2021
10
M AGA ZINE
PH OTOS BY: WENDY C A R L S O N
A
under the cloud of a pandemic, 160 seniors capped off their final day at Hotchkiss under picture-perfect blue skies. Family, friends, staff, and faculty members –– nearly 800 guests in all –– gathered at an appropriate social distance on Hoyt Field to honor the Class of 2021 in Hotchkiss’s 129th Commencement. The event marked the first time the entire class had met together, in person and maskless, in a public setting since the pandemic began. Head of School Craig Bradley opened the ceremony by saying, “I don’t know that I can fully express how grateful I am that almost all of us are able to be here together, in person, to celebrate this joyous occasion.” He thanked the Class of 2021 for working with the School community to complete the year without a major outbreak of COVID or an interruption in teaching and learning and for managing to keep the “the Hotchkiss bubble” essentially COVID-free. “I will be eternally grateful to you — the members of the Hotchkiss community –– during this time of the pandemic for your willingness to sacrifice your personal needs for the good of the whole. Collectively, we have achieved this moment. Here we are, together, in person, safe and sound and gathering to celebrate your graduation from Hotchkiss in the good company of your families. I feel a profound sense of joy and gratitude,” he said. In his parting words to seniors, Bradley spoke about the value of facing difficult challenges, a theme that was echoed in the remarks that followed by the School FTER A YEAR THAT BEGAN
Co-presidents Cyrus Farman-Farmaian ’21 and Keren Mikanda ’21 and by keynote speaker Julie Cotler Pottinger ’87. Bradley recounted an experience of whitewater kayaking over a dangerous stretch of rapids in Scotland when he was in graduate school. “Sometimes no matter how well you prepare and what you anticipate, life brings the unexpected,” he said, describing the need to remain calm and rely on knowledge and skill when swift currents pulled him into treacherous and
potentially life-threatening waters. “How you respond to those experiences stimulates your learning and growth and that builds resilience,” he said. “I hope that the experience of the pandemic has demonstrated to you that at some moments in your lives, each of you is likely to find yourself facing challenges that are daunting and unfamiliar, challenges that you’d rather not face,” he said. “You’ll have no choice but to move through them. Trust in your skills and abilities. Use
