Addressing her classmates for the final time as a Williston student, Lauren Martinez ’26 asked one simple question that summed up her class’s time at Williston and the spirit of the school’s 185th Commencement: “How lucky are we?”
She then elaborated: “How lucky we are to stand among this group of people, people accomplished in academics, the arts, athletics, whose homes span across towns, countries, and continents, and call them our classmates. … How lucky we are to complain about being exhausted because we spent the entire night swimming, dancing, singing karaoke, and playing sardines and minigolf with our best friends and the people who watched us grow without realizing it.”
Martinez’s thoughts provided a fitting through-line for the ceremony, which celebrated the class’s achievements while offering encouragement as graduates prepare for college. The audience also heard from keynote speaker Glenn Jones ’95, who reflected on the year’s accomplishments before sharing his advice.
“Be your word,” said Jones, a news anchor for NBC10 Boston. “Be in the moment—always. Be yourself. Be original. Be worthy of Williston.”
The 185th Commencement ceremony was held on the Academic Quad on May 23, 2026 celebrating the 115-member class of 2026. Commencement capped off a week of celebrations for the graduating class, including our Athletic Awards, Academic Awards, Willy Gras, and prom/senior lock-in.
Head of School Robert W. Hill III also had advice for the senior class. Coming off an academic year where the school prohibited the use of cell phones during the class day, Hill was struck by the return to a more “retro” style of campus interactions. He urged students to remember that going forward.
“In just a few moments when you walk across this stage holding a Williston diploma, you will just be starting your adult journey to live lives of consequence, meaning, and deepening human experience,” Hill said, “and as you do, I urge you to ‘Go retro,’ keep playing hacky sack, keep reading books, keep arguing ideas with friends, and no matter what, find the courage to hold onto your deepest human values.”
The ceremony also included the presentation of senior academic awards (see the full list here), highlighted by three major prizes: the Valedictorian Prize, the Sarah B. Whitaker “White Blazer” Prize, and the Archibald V. Galbraith Prize.
The Valedictorian prize and the Galbraith prize both went to senior class president Alex Landon ’26. The Valedictorian Prize is awarded to the first scholar of the class and is a combination of two older school prizes, when the Edmund H. Sawyer Prize was given for work in the classical curriculum and the Horatio G. Knight Prize was given for work in the scientific curriculum. The Galbraith Prize is awarded to that senior who in academics, athletics, and citizenship is exemplary, representing that which is best in the school.
The White Blazer Prize was given to Francesca Gionfriddo ’26. The award is named for the co-founder of the Northampton School for Girls and is given to a senior who has made the greatest contributions to the academic, athletic, and community life of the school while exhibiting exemplary leadership and integrity.
The Cum Laude Society also inducted its second group of students for the school year during the ceremony. Joining the 11 students honored in January with induction were:
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Keshav Ambadi ’26
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Morgan Dulude ’26
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Bennett Evelti ’26
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Francesca Gionfriddo ’26
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Max Gordon ’26
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Scarlette Graybill ’26
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Ryan (Runzhe) Hu ’26
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Lauren Martinez ’26
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Haruka Okuno ’26
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Christopher Oswitt ’26
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Isabel Sorkin-Camacho ’26
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Douglas Warner ’26
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Ashley (Binyang) Zhang ’26
At the conclusion of the ceremony, seniors took part in their last tradition as Wildcats, saying goodbye to faculty members, who were lined up around the the Academic Quad. Amidst the tears, hugs, and smiles, another line of Martinez’s speech rang especially true.
“How lucky are we to have spent a year, six years, and everything in between, in a place that is more like home than a school and with people that are more like family than classmates and teachers.”
- To watch the Commencement ceremony, Baccalaureate, Academic Awards, and the Stoling ceremony, visit our YouTube channel.
- Pictures from Commencement Weekend can be found on our Flickr page
- The list of our Academic Award winners can be found here, and a video of the Academic Awards can be viewed here