BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

Embrace Change
2011 Commencement Awards
Beth Duffy, a four-year student
from Wolfeboro, delivered
the valedictorian speech. In
introducing Duffy, Mike Cooper
said: “Our next student speaker
this morning is a Brewster Lifer
whose history with us actually
began at age 3 in 1995 when her
mom joined the Brewster faculty.
She was one of five students
selected to the National Honor
Society in her junior year. She has
been a member of the Judicial
Board for the past three years and
this year was named one of the
three chief justices of the board.
A four-year member of HOWL,
she has also favored us with her
talented performances on the
Brewster stage, including her much
celebrated role as the princess in
our winter musical production of
Once Upon a Mattress.”
Duffy’s remarks focused on all the inevitable changes that she and her
classmates encountered during their years at Brewster. Admitting that she was
not very comfortable with change, she nonetheless learned that life without
change leads to a stagnant and boring existence and, that although she doubts
she will ever be in love with the unknown and unexpected, she has come to
accept them.
“Many of my classmates were in the same boat of awkwardness and confusion
as to who we would become. Tiny boys and girls crowded the Bubble, and, above
the sounds of cracking voices and shrill screams, we forged bonds and friendships
that are still in place today. As time went on, those scrawny boys were replaced
with their more muscular counterparts, and the awkward girls grew into
confident young women.”
“These physical transformations were accompanied by other changes in maturity
and respect levels. Brewster has turned even the most scatterbrained, frazzled
individuals into well-organized students ready to succeed. Our school has also
taught us to advocate for ourselves. Instead of students turning to indifference
toward their schoolwork and grades, we were taught to communicate with a
teacher if we were confused about an assignment or redo a test or paper if we
weren’t fully satisfied with our grades.”
Duffy thanked her classmates and almost-graduates for being a group filled with
such camaraderie and acceptance. “We’re now headed towards real life, but if we
take what we’ve learned, from Brewster and from each other, and if we accept
the changes that are sure to come our way, things will only get better from here.”
Athletic Director’s Award • Chelsiea Goll • Yegor Bezuglyy
The Headmaster’s Prize • Beth Duffy
The Postgraduate Award • Max Hooper
Faculty Service Award • Hannah Pope
Faculty Service Award • Ashley Rose
Ronald “Buzzy” Dore Memorial Award • Will Fix
Jill Carlson Memorial Award • Chelsiea Goll
Faculty “Growth Achievement” Award • Hilary Greeff
Mabel C. Tarr Award • Beth Duffy
David Sirchis School Service Award • Stephanie Menezes
Arthur J. Mason Foundation Award • Calder Billings
Burtis Vaughan Award • Sarah MacDonnell
Arthur M. Hurlin Award • Taylor Booth
To learn more about these awards, visit:
www. brewsteracademy.org/commencementawards
Members of the Class of 2011 are attending
the following colleges and universities:
Assumption College
Babson College
Bentley College
Boston University (4)
Bowdoin College
Brooklyn College
Bryant College
California Lutheran University
Colby-Sawyer College
College of Idaho
College of the Holy Cross (2)
Concordia University, Canada
Dalhousie University, Canada
DePauw University
Elmira College
Elon University
Emerson College
Endicott College
Fairfield University
Gettysburg College
Gilmore School
Hartwick College
Harvard University
High Point University (4)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges (5)
Keene State College
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola University
Marist College
Marymount Manhattan College
Miami University
New Jersey City University
New York University (2)
Northeastern University (3)
Norwich University (1)
Pennsylvania State University
Providence College (2)
Purdue University (2)
Quinnipiac University (2)
Roger Williams University (3)
Rollins College (2)
Rutgers University
Siena College
Smith College
South Kent School
St. John’s University
St. Michael’s College (3)
Stetson University (3)
Suffolk University
Susquehanna University (4)
Syracuse University (2)
Texas A & M University
Texas Christian University
Trinity University
University of Arizona
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Connecticut (2)
University of Hartford
University of Kansas
University of Massachusetts,
Amherst (2)
University of Miami
University of Mississippi
University of New Hampshire
University of Pittsburgh
University of Prince Edward Island,
Canada (2)
University of Redlands
University of Rhode Island
University of Tampa (2)
University of Vermont (4)
University of Washington (2)
Villanova University
Virginia Military Institute
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Western State College
Whittier College (2)
Wittenberg University
Xavier University
8 BrewsterConnections – Fall 2011