Excerpts from Graduation Speeches

Class of 2019, you have navigated your way through Nashoba Brooks with creativity, curiosity, grit, gumption, harmony, and humor. You embraced and embodied our core values with commitment to social justice, service, continuous learning, and community connection. 

As I have contemplated a message for this moment with this class, one thing that stands out about this group is that you have committed yourselves to be sure that your voices, individually and collectively are heard–not just the loudest voices, or the voices that are expressing popular or provocative opinions, but all of your voices––amplified and soft-spoken, expressed through word and illustrated through art, in prose and song, in the classroom and on the field, in concept and in action. You ensured that no member of your class was missed, and we are all the better for it. 

In doing so, you have celebrated a principle that is at the heart of Nashoba Brooks School and at the core of our mission–the aspirational pursuit of personal excellence. Simply put, personal excellence means that there is no one way to be excellent. Now, some might think that this lets you off easy, because if excellence is not narrowly defined, perhaps it could be anything. I would argue that this broader definition actually raises the bar. If excellence becomes externally defined by someone else, all you have to do is achieve an output and check the box. If you define excellence for yourself, you have the opportunity to set your goals in ways that will create meaningful challenges that are right for you, and then continue to shift them to new levels–always learning, always growing, always challenging yourself to achieve your best. No check and no box needed. 

Class of 2019, you have accepted the challenge of personal excellence, and you have risen to meet it again and again. You have pursued individual research, designed projects to go beyond established assignments, leaned into discomfort, lifted your voice for a solo performance, served as role models for younger students, committed to finding joy in hard work, and persisted with seemingly infinite patience through low and high ropes challenges at Chewonki. 

I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. But as we prepare to send you off on your next adventure, I should caution you that excellence–personally or externally imposed–can have a dark side. So, before I let you go, it is my hope that you will remember one very important thing from your time at Nashoba Brooks: excellence and perfection are not the same. Excellence is a continuous pursuit. Perfection is a farce. Hard stop.

And yet, too often, perfection is held up as a goal. From airbrushed photos to curated social media profiles, we hold up unnatural perceptions and unreasonable standards as things to strive for. What is stranger to me still is the concept that you should achieve this myth of perfection without letting anybody see you sweat. I am not sure who originally had this idea or coined the phrase of “effortless perfection,” but it has got to go. In fact, I would encourage you to cast off the concept of effortlessly perfect and embrace instead the notion of “effortly imperfect.” Life is by definition imperfect. People around the world have known the value of imperfection for years. The Japanese embrace the beauty of imperfection with the concept of “wabi sabi,” Persian rug makers include intentional imperfections in their handwoven works, and the African-American quilting tradition values asymmetrical designs as having the greatest beauty. Often it is the exception to patterns that yield some of the greatest discoveries in science and nature. A little imperfection can be a beautiful and powerful thing. 

Do you all remember Miss Perfect? That little, round, blue cartoon that was on the front of the little square books in the children’s section of the library. If she hasn’t visited you already, it is likely that at some point she will. It is somewhat inevitable that at some point, we all buy a little of what the peddlers of perfection are selling. So, when the apparition of Miss Perfect tries to take a seat on your shoulder, I encourage you to do what our first-grade students do to the “What If Monster.” Acknowledge her, figure out why she has decided to make an appearance, and [flick] send her on her way.” Imperfection, effort, creativity, joy, and dare I say, a little sweat will serve you better in the long run than she will. 

What I love about this class, is that I have already seen you give Miss Perfect a healthy flick. Whether calling an audible in the faculty/student football game, enjoying a little trail spice when your bagel fell in the fire on day three in the Maine woods, or ditching the heels for the Birkenstocks and hoodie to help out with clean up after the dinner dance, this class is willing to take risks, roll up your sleeves, and embrace the messiness that comes with the process of learning. In fact, if things aren’t going exactly the way you planned on your first attempt, you will put your heads together and try a new approach. A club doesn’t exist? You create it. Inspired to study instrumental music? Let’s start an ensemble. Grown beyond the beginner level? Then let’s add intermediate...and advanced. Curious about a new area of study? How about Yoga, ukulele, bee-keeping, or learning to fly during 20% Time. You recognize that the path may not always be clear, well-trodden, or easy...and you embrace that with a determination that is admirable and inspiring.

You are a remarkable class. As you walk across this stage today, you are prepared to question, research, articulate, refine, and defend your ideas. You recognize the value of many perspectives in shaping your own. Wherever your next steps lead, these skills will serve you well. And, as soon-to-be graduates of a girls’ middle school, research shows that you are more likely to set high academic goals, have greater self-confidence, and be more actively engage in your community and in the learning process. And though this will come as no surprise to you, you are more likely to assume greater leadership roles during your academic careers, and beyond.

As you prepare for your next chapter, I have many hopes for you. I hope that you will have the gumption to ask good questions, the courage to believe in yourself and each other, and the conviction to believe that you can--and will--have a very positive impact in this world. I hope you will have the resilience to pick yourself up and try again when things don’t go exactly as you planned on your first attempt. I hope that you will be open to new ideas, perspectives, and possibilities. I hope that you will have the patience, the curiosity, and the tenacity to sort through the flood of information available to you and find a way to make sense of it, even when it may, at times, seem senseless. I hope that you will face challenges head-on. And I hope that this will lead you to more engagement, and more joy in your education and your lives. May your journeys be full of joyful, effort-filled, beautiful imperfection. 

For some of our graduates, today represents the conclusion of two, three or four years at Nashoba Brooks, while for others, you have been part of the school community for most of your lives. And whether you’ve been here for 2 years or 10, you have left your mark on the school and we all are that much better for your presence at Nashoba Brooks.

Looking ahead at the next daunting years in the universal, well-awaited high school or middle school life, it still seems a bit terrifying, what with thicker textbooks, overwhelming choices, and the mysterious species of The Teenage Boy. Despite all that, we are confident that each and every one of us is ready!

After all, our books of knowledge are plentiful: we can balance chemical equations, analyze the deeper meaning of a shell, and even create a quality Latin meme!

We are excited, sad, nostalgic, anticipatory, and nervous all at the same time! We are sad to leave friends but excited for new experiences. We are nostalgic about all our years at Nashoba and are anticipating the many years ahead. Finally, we are, of course, nervous for a new place and a new set of people.

But wait. We have been thinking a lot about the years we shared together, and our feelings about the future, but we have not taken enough time to examine the present. At this very moment, we are all sitting in the Moriarty Gym, on June 11th, 2019. We need to remember that we are living in this moment, right now. We cannot change the past or predict the future. We can, however, affect the way that we act and learn and dream and live in this moment. It feels like Nashoba has been one incredible, full, colorful moment. We are so happy to have been a part of it and so grateful to those who have gifted us this extraordinary education. 

Thank you to our families and loved ones. You have stuck with us even when we have been annoying, cranky teenagers, and you have always been our number one supporters. We cannot thank you enough for all the incredible things you have done for us. We hope you know that we love you so much!

We would also like to thank the Nashoba Brooks superheroes who have helped us widen our minds and have also become our good friends. Faculty, thank you for your hard work, your dedication, your patience, your senses of humor, your inspiration, and, of course, your constant reminders of the core values! You did so much more than tolerate us, and we are all slightly in awe of that.

So now that we have talked about the past, the future, and the present...let’s get excited because WE ARE AMAZING! And, we are the Class of 2019!

As many of you know, I love literature, and in particular, I love children’s literature. This year, our third graders have read some of my favorites–The One and Only Ivan, Out of My Mind, and Wonder to name just a few. Each year, I look forward to graduation and the opportunity to share with our Grade 3 soon-to-be graduates a book that has been particularly special to me as we send them off for their next adventures.  

This year it is my great pleasure to share with you a classic, and one that I selected because I know that it is particularly special to our Assistant Head of Lower School, Jane O’Connor. It seems only fitting to select one of Jane’s favorites, because though we hope she will be attending many more Nashoba Brooks School graduations in the future, she will be sitting in a different seat, because, in a way, Ms. O’Connor will be graduating with all of you as she, too, moves on to explore new adventures. With this in mind, this year I selected a classic–and a favorite–to share with all of you, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. 

Much like Sal and her slow-going blueberry picking, our Grade 3 students know well that whether portraying a god or goddess, reading The One and Only Ivan, researching an everyday hero project, or learning to play the recorder, sometimes learning can feel like taking two steps forward and one step back. The path we travel is rarely a straight line, but as Sal reminds us, sometimes the journey provides just as much fun and excitement–perhaps even more–than the destination. 

Just like Sal and her mother, on our own journeys, we are often reminded that even if we are headed toward the same goal, we each move at our own pace and chart our own course. There is no single path to achieving our goals. This is something that the Class of 2019 knows well. 

Throughout the year, I have been so impressed to see the way you each have identified challenges for yourselves, set a course to pursue your own goals, and measured your accomplishment against your own growth--striving one step at a time toward what we at Nashoba Brooks refer to as personal excellence. You have conducted individual research projects, written multiple drafts of essays, reflected on your own progress, supported your classmates as they explored new learning territory, took on new risks and stretched to achieve them. 

In the book, Sal charted her own course. As her mother suggested, Sal continued her blueberry collecting on Blueberry Hill. When her feet got tired, “she sat down in the middle of a large clump of bushes and ate blueberries.”

You, as soon to be Grade 3 Graduates at Nashoba Brooks, know (as Sal and Little Bear learned) that sometimes, even with the best-laid plans, things do not always go exactly as we expect. Sometimes, like Melody in Out of My Mind, some recalculation and mid-course corrections are required in our learning journeys. Melody is often frustrated and misunderstood as she tries to help others fully understand what she and her brilliant mind are capable of. Sometimes it is an accident or a mistake that leads us to think differently and solve problems creatively. When we consider, reconsider, iterate, and share, we stretch farther and grow more. This is something we have seen you all do extremely well during your time at Nashoba Brooks. 

When you were required to take a temporary hiatus from tag on the playground during recess, you complied. But, when it was time to craft your persuasive essays for writing class, you put your newly honed skills to work. You developed a plan for earning back the opportunity and the responsibility of navigating games of tag that could be safe, inclusive, and fun.  

Continuing with the story, as Robert McCloskey explains, “Little Bear and Little Sal’s mother and Little Sal and Little Bear’s mother were all mixed up with each other among the blueberries on Blueberry Hill.” 

And let’s face it, at some point in any good learning challenge, things can get a little mixed up. When a new math challenge or a new spelling rule is introduced, sometimes things get shaken up a bit before they settle back down, like the glitter in the jar of water or the snow in the snowglobe. But, truth be told, things would be pretty boring if you didn’t shake up the snowglobe every now and then. 

Back on Blueberry Hill…

Little Sal and his mother were reunited. Little Bear and his mother were reunited, too. 

Like you, when Sal and Little Bear started off on their adventure, they didn’t know exactly where this would take them, but they were willing to take the first step, explore with curiosity, and see how the journey would unfold. As it turns out, once you take that first step, the possibilities are infinite. 

Sal’s curiosity to explore new opportunities and willingness to consider new perspectives without fear inspire and create new possibilities in much the way you inspire us here at Nashoba Brooks. Your thoughtful greetings for visitors, your engaging questions, kind words for teachers as you enter and exit the classroom, your deep thinking about precepts, your insightful observations about Melody, and your celebration of your real-life heroes are just some of the many ways you inspire us all. Whether you joined Nashoba Brooks in Preschool or Grade 3, you have put your curiosity, your creativity, and your care for each other to work!  

It is my hope–and your teachers’, too!– that you will carry your learning with you as you head off for your next adventure, and that you will continue to build on what you have learned, stretch your learning in new directions, and consider the things you encounter from a variety of different perspectives.