T O D A Y - Berwick Academy

– that you reject apathy at all costs. Through your
willingness to be involved, your pursuit of the Road
will offer clarity and reassurance as to what lies
ahead. Simply keep moving forward.
McCarthy further implores us to live in the
moment of our journey as well. “No lists of things
to be done. The day providential to itself. The
hour. There is no later. This is later.” Be present in
mind and in spirit in all that you do. Start today by
absorbing the magnitude of your accomplishments
with your family and friends. Say thank you to those
family members that offered you the opportunity to
attend this place as well as to the teachers who have
been so invested in your success. But above all else,
cherish the relationships that give your life its sense of
true meaning. When I visited this school for the first
time four years ago, I asked the seniors at that time
what they treasured most
about Berwick Academy.
They told me that it
was the relationships
they formed here – with
their peers and their
teachers— that had made
their experience unique.
Rest assured that there
will be so many people
– those you have not
yet met – that will offer
your life a connected
sense of purpose and
meaning through the
catalyst of their care
and compassion. You
are not alone. Make
yourself present and
open, and allow those
relationships to nurture
you in new ways. And
remember that your
current relationships – friends and family – can help
you overcome any obstacle that heads your way as
you pursue your journey down the Road.
“‘No lists of things to be done. The day
providential to itself. The hour. There is no later.
This is later. All things of grace and beauty such
that one holds them to one’s heart have a common
provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.
So,’ he whispered to the sleeping boy. ‘I have you.’”
2010 Commencement Speaker Mark Huddleston, UNH President
in so many ways – some of your Berwick roads have
lasted but a year and others for 13. And suddenly we,
who are left behind in your exquisite wake, must all
struggle to fi nd new sources of sustenance as our roads
now purposefully diverge – as we always knew they
must. Carry our mission and our values as you move
forward, and come back to visit us early and often. It is
your success and happiness that fulfills us with meaning
and purpose. On behalf of the Berwick Academy
faculty – from kindergarten to grade 12—this entire
collective who has played a major role in your arrival
today—I close simply by saying thank you. And when
that mournful joy, unabashedly uttered from throbbing
tartan bag pipes, is at long last quiet on this particular
June morning, know that you have changed us. You
will never be forgotten here because your story, your
laughter, and your whispers can no longer be extracted
from the structures, the fields, and most importantly
the people, who embrace you one final time today.
Good luck.
Like McCarthy’s father we, as Berwick
faculty members, have also “had you” to sustain us
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