Williston Northampton School’s 179th Commencement looked a little different this year, when 132 members of the class of 2020 received a virtual send off in a ceremony broadcast from the Phillips Stevens Chapel (watch it here).
Following a week of taped celebrations, including a video of a parade on campus, messages of love and encouragement from alumni, and traditions such as painting the lion, singing the Sammy Song, unfurling the senior banner, and ringing the victory bell, Head of School Robert W. Hill III delivered the Commencement addressed and called the names of the 132 seniors who became alumni.
Awards were bestowed at a later date (watch the video here).
The Commencement video opens to the strains of bagpipes, long an accompaniment to the school’s Commencement exercises, and a welcome from Head of School Robert W. Hill III, who opened by saying, “Welcome to the celebration of the class of 2020. You made it! I’m imaging now cheers from your home crowd.”
He noted that this was the first time in Williston’s 179 years that graduation was not held on campus. “It does not take a big leap to say that you are completing your Williston careers at a pivotal time in world history.”
Then, Hill introduced language teacher Karen Ram, president of the Cum Laude society, who inducted 12 new members (read more). They are:
Oscar DeFrancis
Dylan Fulcher-Melendy
Kyle Grabowski
Conrad Kang
Sarah Kimmel
Anna Moran
Luke Po
Abigail Seltzer
Ciara Tapanes
Jonathan Toth
Ying Hsuan Michelle Tu
Kenneth Wang
They followed the 12 students who were inducted into the society in January:
Eric Albanese
Jason Albanese
Brenna Banas
Julia Farnham
Rachel Goodman
William Gunn
Yi-Cheng Ethan Huang
Jiakai Jack Long
Keyu Lu
Nathaniel Markey
Anya Rozario
Zeyu Steven Wang
Academic Dean Greg Tuleja and Assistant Head of School Ann Pickrell announced senior prize winners, which are usually shared during the Academic Awards Ceremony the day before Commencement (read more here). The year’s Athletic Awards (read more here) were presented in a virtual ceremony on Friday, May 22.
Williston’s Chair of the Board of Trustees John Hazen White Jr. ’76 addressed the school community, remarking on the resilience of seniors, who missed out on many of the rites of senior spring. “Although this year is different, because we’re not together, here, at one time, in our own Williston way, we really are together in our hearts.”
To the class of 2020, he said, “I applaud you for what you’ve been through for the past several months, to have muscled through, persevered with persistence and courage. You’re nothing less than remarkable.”
As he remarked on seniors’ transformation from student to alumnus, he welcomed them. “We all share a very special common thread that runs through,” he said, “and that is Williston Northampton School.”
Tuleja then conferred diplomas on the members of the class of 2020, reading each of the 132 names of the graduates.
Hill closed out the event by addressing them, saying, “As you leave behind your teachers and mentors, know that they will stay with you for the rest of your lives. As you stride forth to chart the next stage of your life’s journey, I hope you do so with purposeful steps, integrity in all that you do, and an undying passion balanced with humility. Keep Williston close in your hearts no matter how far way you may roam, and always know that you will find a home when you return.”
Williston is committed to commemorating this graduation with an in-person event as soon as it is deemed safe to do so.
Congratulations, Wildcats!
The name and hometowns of the graduates are:
Britanie Acurio, Bronx, NY
Jason Rocco Albanese, South Deerfield, MA
Eric Harris Albanese, South Deerfield, MA
Madhav Ambadi, West Springfield, MA
Abhinil Bagde, Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Brenna Mackenzie Banas, San Jose, CA
Michael Beaulieu, Somers, CT
Dominik Behrens, Hamburg, Germany
Rider Gorman Bishop, Florence, MA
Katherine Huntington Borden, Amherst, MA
Aidan Leia Bourbonnais, Southwick, MA
Henri Edward Bourque, Claremont, NH
Noah Thomas Brooks, Longmeadow, MA
Penn Edward Cancro, New Haven, CT
Madison Jean Cardaci, Westminster, MA
Guillermo Alberto Castañeda Chang, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Connor Matthew Cavanagh, Holyoke, MA
Marco Fiorentino Cerezo, Velez-Malaga, Spain
Jade Wing Shum Chan, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Trevor Joseph Corsello, Selden, NY
David Costello, Simsbury, CT
Cooper James Creek, Merredin, West Austraila
Marissa Eve Dalton, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Oscar Paul DeFrancis, Northampton, MA
Abigail Dennin, New Rochelle, NY
Sydney Amelia Ewell, Montague, MA
Julia Anne Farnham, Amherst, MA
Casey Feins, Naples, FL
Caroline Forman, Needham, MA
Nicole Mae Foster, Longmeadow, MA
Dylan Marian Fulcher-Melendy, Easthampton, MA
Rachel Goodman, Longmeadow, MA
Ryan Goodman, Longmeadow, MA
Kyle Joseph Grabowski, Westfield, MA
Jesse Griggs, Apple Valley, CA
William Lefever Gunn, Easthampton, MA
Nhat Minh Ha, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Dylan Meh Haaland, Silver Spring, MD
Sam Haddad, Springfield, MA
Mitchell N. Hansen, Mahwah, NJ
Elizabeth Harris, Coral Gables, FL
Thomas Joseph Harty, Billerica, MA
Nicholas Heafey, Florence, MA
Yi-Cheng Huang, Taipei City, Taiwan
Abigael Rose Hunter, Southampton, MA
Jiaxin Ji, Shanghai, China
Adam Carlson Johnsrud, Amherst, MA
Reagan Joyce, Longmeadow, MA
Shogo Kamei, Tokyo, Japan
Conrad William Kang, Amherst, MA
Sarah Kimmel, Bethesda, MD
Tristan Gavin Kline, East Chatham, NY
Martin Laham, Westwood, MA
Grace Margaret-Anne Lane, Amherst, MA
Robert Cameron Lawrence, Rowayton, CT
Blake Leveston, Louisville, KY
Gabriel Liu, Piedmont, CA
Taylor Noël Livingston, Westerly, RI
Jiakai Long, Shanghai, China
Keyu Lu, Shanghai, China
Finlay Arthur MacDonald, South Glastonbury, CT
Martín Machón Köng, Guatemala
Wol Maiwen, Auburn, ME
Hollis Beresford Mann, South Hamilton, MA
Nathaniel Hunter Hallock Markey, Northampton, MA
Alan Hendry Martin, Easthampton, MA
Alex Michael Marwaha, Northampton, MA
Akivha Joseph Mazile, Easthampton, MA
Zoë Mervis, Carmel, IN
Cal Messina, Pittsfield, MA
Zachary Mills, Jacksonville, FL
Shaul Mitton, Stratford, PE, Canada
Anna Catherine Moran, Springfield, MA
Hakeem Morgan, San Jose, Costa Rica
Christopher James Najarian, Needham, MA
Huong Thu Nguyen, Hanoi, Vietnam
Caroline O’Connor, Southampton, MA
Jamison Lauren O’Malley, Southport, CT
Jun Hong Park, Seoul, Korea
Bao Gia Pham, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Trang Thuy Phan, Hanoi, Vietnam
Matthew James Pimental, Rumford, RI
Luke Cameron Chua Po, Florence, MA
Daniel Probst, Novey Panama, Panama
Chloe Oakes Prouty, Southampton, MA
Sahnet Nicole Ramirez, Boynton Beach, FL
Joe Rees, Amherst, MA
Nina Elizabeth Renkert, Norfolk, CT
Jason L. Rhett, Amherst, MA
Anni Raquel Richard, Westhampton, MA
Riley Megan Roche, Chelmsford, MA
Anya Hai Rozario, Northampton, MA
Bryn Saarela, Denver, CO
Jake Sacratini, Pincourt. QC, Canada
Hector Samayoa Menendez, Guatemala, Guatemala
Sebastian Andres Santelices, Santiago, Chile
Toyokazu Sato, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Panut Sawatyanon, Prasamutjadee, Samutprakarn, Thailand
Lila Brett Schaefer, Northampton, MA
Bailey Schiff, Los Gatos, CA
Matthew Seltzer, South Hadley, MA
Abby Seltzer, South Hadley, MA
Changhyun Seo, Seoul, Korea
Sabrina Marie Serricchio, Longmeadow, MA
Katherine Rose Sherer, Tiburon, CA
Cameron Angelo Sherman, Boston, MA
Alice Adrienne Shevchenko, Moscow, Russia
Liam Shields, Lee, MA
Daniel Arturo Simpson, Easthampton, MA
Michael Allen Slate Jr., Westfield, MA
Lauren Solzak, South Deerfield, MA
Margaret Cook Strange, Conway, MA
Jackson Wilmot Strout, Manchester, MA
William Adam Strout, Manchester, MA
Samuel George Strout, Manchester, MA
Jersey Lynn Strum, Somersworth, NH
Hallock Huang Stuart, Hong Kong
Mariel Sutinen, Tuusula, Finland
Kevin Peter Talbot, Westfield, MA
Ciara Tapanes, Northampton, MA
Jonathan Michael, Toth Granby, MA
Connor Steele Touhey, Florence, MA
Hana Tsukamoto, Tokyo, Japan
Ying Hsuan Tu, Taipei, Taiwan
Zeyu Wang Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Tian Xing Wang, Beijing, China
Kenneth Xie Wang, Belchertown, MA
Vince Wang, Hong Kong
Dylan Ward, Westport, CT
Louisa Weed, Boca Raton, FL
William Whelan, South Hamilton, MA
Shearee Zangmo, Thimphu, Bhutan