Class of 2022: ‘We Love Being Part of Your Story’

Brunswick graduated 112 members of the Class of 2022 in its 120th Commencement exercises on May 18, under lavish May sunshine and clear, blue skies.
 
The celebration brought hundreds of family members and friends to an outdoor ceremony on Robert L. Cosby Field — Brunswick dad Rev. Elias G. Villis P ’19, ’22, ’24 provided the invocation, while Head of School Thomas W. Philip introduced the proceedings.
 
Philip told the graduates that Brunswick is a home for them, and home is a place where pride and love abide.
 
“I am — and on behalf of all the faculty and this community here assembled — so proud of how you care for and support one another,” he said. “I — and all here — absolutely love you guys. 

“We love being a part of your story,” he said. 

As part of the ceremony, Philip requested and led a moment of silence for Teddy Balkind, the St. Luke’s hockey player who died in January.
 
Valedictorian Seth Yoo provided the introduction for Ivy Speaker Zixun Tony Luo, who drew a standing ovation after he detailed parts of his own life story, including his experience as a school child in Shenzhen, China — and what he has learned since coming to Brunswick four years ago.
 
“I looked at the three words Courage, Honor, Truth one more time before I came up on the stage,” he told the crowd. “Over the past four years, I have sought the meaning of those words. And I’m proud to say that now I finally understand.
 
“To my courageous classmates, you have taught a nervous classmate how to be courageous,” he said.
 
Edmund A. Hajim P ’84, ’86, Brunswick board chair from 1980–1983, served as Commencement speaker.
 
Hajim shared the details of his own remarkable life, which began with a childhood in foster homes and orphanages, continued through the University of Rochester, the U.S. Navy, and Harvard Business School — and includes a celebrated, 50-year career in the highest echelons of Wall Street leadership. 
 
“I tell you this story because there’s a message that anything is possible in this wonderful country,” he told the graduates. “Education is the solution to everything, almost everything.”
 
Hajim implored graduates to use their time in college to reach and to stretch, to test themselves. 

“There can only be two results: Success or a learning experience,” he said. “I say early failures are a gift.”
 
Hajim said one of the principles that has guided his own life has been passion, and he advised graduates to search for it.

“Find something that makes you take two steps at a time,” he said.
 
Here’s the full list of Commencement award winners:

Valedictorian   Seth Yoo
Kulukundis Cup   Seth Yoo
Community Service Award   Nikitas N. Handrinos
BPA Prize   Samuel D. Hall
Jenkins Athletic Award   William R. Donovan
Thomas A. Altman Prize   Henry M. Caponiti
Robert L. Cosby Award   Caleb A. Boateng
A. MacDonald Caputo Award   Charles P. Johnson
Faculty Citations   Jackson W. Schwartz
Wells M. Faulstich
Jeffrey Ruis
Gregory P. Kapp III
Head of School Trophy   Myles E. Spiess


For a sneak peek at selected highlights from the day's festivities, visit: wickpics.org/p1066833217
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