alumni day - The Taft School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

✵ Kevin Jacobs ’04 and his very proud parents Rob Kneip ’04 with brothers Will ’96 and Fred ’92OCTAVIA GIOVANNINI-TORELLI ’04, class speakerRepeatedly, teachers and parents witha big grin have admitted, “You guysare my favorite class.” Today graduatesa class that can only be defined ascharismatic. We are not afraid to takerisks, or try new things, and we certainlyhave not succumbed to fit anyTaft mold. Instead, we have acceptedmany challenges and succeeded in ourown style, without shedding our distinctqualities, and always with alaugh. We have a special oomph, acertain positive energy, and an intriguingenthusiasm that unifies theindividuals sitting in front of me.When I came here, three yearsago, I was completely unaware and unprepared.What I found was a forcethat settles among and solidifies thered brick buildings and fuels the individualsthat walk among them. Ineach of the students graduating heretoday, a little fire has been sparked bythis powerful passion. For me, in anEnglish classroom during the fall ofmy junior year, a teacher lit my firstmatch. In the chem lab, during a heartbreakinggame against Hotchkiss, atbreakfast with an adviser, studying lateone night for a big exam, touring thecampus in a relaxing game of Frisbeegolf, reading Red Inc., performing at acoffeehouse, chilling in the Jig, listeningduring a moving Morning Meeting,or perfecting a pastel portrait of a bestfriend, my peers have found their ownsparks throughout this rare haven.The teachers sitting behind mehave provided us with this excitementalong with limitless knowledge, support,and inspiration, and it is becauseof them that I stand in front of youtoday. My success didn’t come easily,and I was frequently frustrated withmany failures. But it was my teacherswho wiped my blood, sweat, and tears,and repeatedly instilled their eager faithin me. Three years ago, I was confused,worried, and scared. Today, I am brave,confident, and ready for any dauntinghurdle. I can feel the future on my skin.I owe these teachers—we all owethem—infinite gratitude for sharingtheir brilliance and compassion andallowing us to believe in one anotherand ourselves.I will leave with stories of all theliving, eating, fighting, exploring,winning, losing, sharing, cuddling,traveling, dancing, cheering and creatingtogether. The intensity of ourjourney and the genuineness of yourcompanionship have helped me discovermy greatest strengths and haveguided me on the path to attain my fullpotential. I owe you, Class of 2004, forchallenging me, invigorating me, andencouraging me. Thank you for yourtime, your ears, your laughs, your tears,your smiles, and your love.In a few years we will look backon our Taft times, and remember themas a fond memory, like how we recallcamp. But Taft is a place that we oncecalled home. Today we leave our safeshelter and are released out into the freshair. Breathe deep and inhale the sweetnessof our youth and all the infinite44Taft Bulletin Summer 2004
✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004PHOTOS: HIGHPOINT PICTURES Class speaker Willy Oppenheim ’04reminds his classmates not to dwell on thepast but to look ahead to the future. Friends Lauren Malaspina, Tumelano Gopolang, Patricia Garcia, Jessica Durkee, EugeniaSaunders, and Rebecca Duffettpossibilities. We have marked ourterritory, and now it is time to go takeon the next terrain. And every timewe visit we are welcomed home by agreeting engraved on red brick stone.We graduate with more than a diploma,with more than memories, butwith that distinctive flame that yearnsfor the inspiration from the journeysahead of us, to help our sparks burnbrightly. Now it is time for us to let thislittle light of ours shine. Good Luck.WILLY OPPENHEIM ’04, class speakerIn a few hours, when the campus is quietand the cars are packed and we have allgone our separate ways, this entire ceremonywill seem like one big blur. Thesun will be setting by then, and thisfine May day will be coming to its ordinaryend. We will be ambivalent, I’msure, as we watch night approach—wewill be giddy with excitement but unableto ignore the small sad void in ourchests, the touch of nostalgia, the unspokendesire to cling somehow to thisday, to Taft, to all that is changing inthe world and hold it against our heartsforever. We will remember this moment,right now, here in the courtyard,together as a class and a community forthe last time, and somewhere in ourtired, tangled thoughts, we will knowthat we don’t need to be sad. We willknow that we loved it all as best wecould, and we will smile.I want to talk about what it meansto say goodbye, to leave a place that hastouched you, to feel the force of changelike the wind on your back, pushing youforward into a future unknown.At times like these it is easy to startbelieving that we have no control over ouremotions. We can’t erase the quiet sadnessthat rides along with all the pride and joyand triumph of this day, but I think it isimportant to point out that we are notpowerless. We can’t stop the force ofchange—no one can—but we can controlthe way that we respond to it.Essentially, we have two choices: wecan fight against change, or we can tryto embrace it. Fighting change is prettyfutile. Nothing lasts forever, no matterhow hard we try to preserve it. Ourschool changes constantly, and so do ourlives. We grow older; we meet newpeople and learn new things. Change ispart of life, and it can’t be avoided. Ifwe graduate today and we can find solaceonly in the fact that some thingsmight stay the same, I think we will inevitablybe disappointed.We should start celebrating the factthat we have shared something beautifulenough to make us hate saying goodbye.I have certainly had some feelings of nostalgiaover the past few weeks, but I amcomforted by my knowledge that I washere and that I loved this place.Taft doesn’t need to lead to anythingin order to have been worthwhile. Weleave behind the bricks and the pond andthe dorms and the people, but we takeTaft Bulletin Summer 200445
Page 1: B U L L E T I NDinner withAlumnialu
Page 4 and 5: FROM THE EDITORThe summer issue ine
Page 6 and 7: ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTNorcott Receives La
Page 8 and 9: PETER FINGERALUMNI SPOTLIGHTJamie B
Page 10 and 11: AROUND THE POND—continued from pr
Page 12 and 13: AROUND THE PONDJuried Student Art E
Page 14 and 15: AROUND THE PONDTrees Dedicated in M
Page 16 and 17: AROUND THE PONDIn BriefPoetTony Abb
Page 18 and 19: S P O R TsportSpring highlightsBy S
Page 20 and 21: S P O R Tchampions with 11-2 record
Page 22 and 23: ANNUAL FUND NEWSClass of 1920 Award
Page 24 and 25: AlumniDinnerwithSix restaurateurs t
Page 26 and 27: Timothy Connors ’78MezcalDenver,
Page 28 and 29: Craig Larson ’82Crazy From the He
Page 30 and 31: ack to 1910. In fact, her family ev
Page 32 and 33: ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Page 34 and 35: ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Page 36 and 37: ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Page 38 and 39: ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Page 40 and 41: ✵Voyages ofDISCOVERYExcerpts from
Page 42 and 43: Salutatorian Jeff Fielding ’04 al
Page 46 and 47: ✵ Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’7
Page 48 and 49: E N D N O T ESOME THOUGHTS ON THECr
Page 50: Taft BulletinThe Taft SchoolWaterto

alumni day - The Taft School

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?