Class of 2020 Honored During Modified Graduation Ceremony

Members of the Class of 2020 graced the stage of Benjamin Hall during a bittersweet moment as they received their diplomas during individual graduation stagewalks. Graduates, along with small family groups, were welcomed back to campus individually for the modified ceremony.

 

“Each diploma presentation was freighted with a bittersweet sense of the spring that they had all moved through together to the 97 different futures toward which the class members will now head,” said Head of Upper School Fletcher Carr who bestowed the diplomas.

 

“More than anything, however, it was incredibly uplifting to see the impressive young men and women that this group had matured into over their time at Benjamin,” said Carr.

 

Carr said that the ceremonies were “wonderfully instructive in underscoring the many types of successful students that emerge from the Upper School program every year.”

“ . . . Seeing these terrific young people lifted my spirits as I realized that while the pandemic has tested us in ways that we could never have envisioned, the educational program that we have developed here for both on-campus and remote learners serves our students extraordinarily well under nearly any circumstance,” said Carr.

 

Our most recent graduates represent a diversity of interests and talents with 86 students earning Regional Scholastic Art Awards last year and 24 percent committed to playing collegiate athletics this year. The Class of 2020 will matriculate to 63 different institutions in 27 states. 

Associate Director of College Counseling Bekka Goldberg said despite moving through an unprecedented Spring, the Class of 2020 all received admission decisions, considered their options, and made their choices of where to enroll just as they would have done under normal circumstances.

"Their resilience was evident as they continued to work hard in their classes - many had their strongest semester in their most challenging coursework of high school! Even as our world changed, it was so refreshing to connect with members of this special class. As counselors we even had students who scheduled Zoom meetings with us just to say 'hi,'" said Goldberg. "While these young people will be off on various paths in the coming months, one thing is for sure - we will be excitedly watching to see how they will change the world."