GILL — Northfield Mount Hermon School’s 138th commencement ceremony this Sunday was a hybrid event. While students, school staff and a limited number of guests were able to hold the ceremony in person at the school, it was also live-streamed online.
Head of School Brian Hargrove made some passing mention of the unique conditions in his address to the Class of 2021. But neither he nor the other speakers dwelt on it. For the most part, the ceremony went as it would have in almost any other year.
“Together, we’ve endowed the Class of ’21 with a gift that can never be taken away. An education,” Hargrove said. “It is an extraordinary gift that will be with you forever.”
The ceremony also featured the graduating student Zari Newman as the class orator, and youth advocate and author Arshay Cooper as the commencement speaker.
Hargrove described Newman as a “change-maker” and “a student who seeks to understand the world around her.” He noted that she was involved in theatrical productions on campus and athletic activities, including varsity wrestling.
“Her moral compass points north, guiding all of her thoughts and actions and interactions,” Hargrove said.
Newman spoke about her challenge in adjusting to boarding school life after moving from her home in the Bronx, N.Y., in relation to the upcoming challenge of adjusting to life after high school.
“I feel ready to graduate,” Newman said. “I feel good, prepared. But I’m also scared.”
The experience at Northfield Mount Hermon School, she suggested, would prepare her and her fellow students for moving to the next phase of their lives.
“All of us are about to take off on this significant flight together, our destination unknown, with skills we’re not really sure we have,” she said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time at NMH, it’s to trust that we can do the improbable.”
Cooper is a youth advocate who has spoken about his difficult childhood growing up in Chicago, and his experience captaining the first all-Black high school rowing team. He is also the author of a memoir, “A Most Beautiful Thing,” which was adapted into a documentary film of the same name in 2020.
“Through rowing, Arshay (Cooper) has discovered another gift — the ability to bring people together for a common purpose,” Hargrove said.
Cooper spoke about achieving goals, and persevering through fear and difficulty.
“The question for me as a young person was, how do I allow this fire inside of me to shine brighter than the fire that’s going on around me?” Cooper said. “I knew my unlived life was waiting for me. I just wasn’t sure how to get there.”
He advised the graduating students to keep a good work ethic, to not be distracted, to not give in to fear and to leave their environment better than they found it.
“Don’t let the small distractions destroy your journey,” Cooper said. “The only thing changing is the environment. I’m here to tell you, you’re ready.”
A list of Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden county and North Quabbin area graduates and their awards and academic honors:
Arden Bacon of Florence, The Appley Award; Keel Brissett of Sunderland, The Henry R. Huntting Literary Prize, and The Robert P. Weis Mathematics Prize; Alvan Cesar of Springfield; Melina Coy of Wendell; Ruthie Davis of Greenfield, Cum Laude; Adrien Fountain of New Salem; Clarese Gardiner of South Deerfield; Arwen Hansell of Northfield; John Klinger of Whately; Ashley LaCross of Ashfield; Eva Markham of Plainfield, The Marie Hood Award; Peyton Pettiford-Rowan of Florence; Emaline Relyea-Strawn of Mount Hermon, co-salutatorian, Cum Laude, The Marshall E. Climan Award, and The Viva Faye Richardson Piano Award; Jason Roberts of Greenfield, Cum Laude; Sylvia Schatz-Allison of Mount Hermon, The Jo Dorchester Award; Thalia Schodel of Mount Hermon; Emilia Seaver of Charlemont, Cum Laude; Jacob Smith of Mount Hermon, The David Michael Walker Prize in Music; Jude Spencer of Greenfield; Julie Sprankle of Gill; Christopher Spring of Colrain; Patrick Thayer of Northfield; Eliza Voorheis of Sunderland, Cum Laude, The Art Purchase Prize; Lily van Baaren of Bernardston, The Prize In 3-Dimensional Art; Rosalee Young of Charlemont