We spend an inordinate amount of our mental and emotional bandwidth working to align ourselves with our stated identities. Society repeatedly asks us to make declarative “I am” statements on surveys, medical intake forms, or social media profiles. In doing so, we risk becoming an identity that is as much shaped by others as ourselves. “I am white.” “I am married.” “I am employed at Proctor.” 

 Each graduating class leaves a distinct impact on our school based on their personality and the collective journey that unfolded during their four years at Proctor. For the Class of 2020, that journey, shaped heavily by a remote Spring Term due to COVID-19, was as unique as any class in the school's 172 year history and culminated in the school's first ever virtual Commencement ceremony. 

And just like that it’s over. The planning, the preparations, the details, the mourning of what could have been had coronavirus not upended our lives, it is all behind us, and we shift our focus to reflecting on the raw emotions we felt today as we watched the Class of 2020 graduate from high school...virtually around the globe. 

Each year approximately 20% of the Proctor Academy's graduating class goes on to compete in collegiate athletics. The Class of 2020 is no exception as 33 members of the class (of 103 students) are pursuing careers at the next level. Thank you to all members of the Class of 2020 for their contributions to Proctor's athletic programs over the past four years. Be sure to take note of the names below and follow their careers in college and beyond!

It’s not the same as last year or the years before. These last two weeks before graduation are different, but still I can’t help but get excited. It’s a jangling energy and I recognized its arrival earlier this week when a familiar noise outside of Maxwell Savage startled me out of a WebEx meeting. 

A slight breeze, blue skies, and temperatures in the low-70s; Saturday was only the sixth or seventh sunny day we’ve had since March. For once this spring, the weather matched the occasion (it snowed at Prom a few weeks ago), and as the 115 members of the Class of 2019 gathered in Alice’s Garden prior to Commencement, every face was wearing a smile.

Hours remain until we can official begin celebrating the Class of 2019 with Senior Dinner and Senior Recognition Night. Commencement will follow in the morning, and then campus will be empty. An eery quiet will descend upon campus for the summer, a quiet we simultaneously crave and fear as we feel the energy of our students leave us until September. As our seniors take their final steps toward graduating, we reflect on the past week of culminating projects, visiting speakers, awards, and end of year rituals. 

Stewarding a community like Proctor is never the task of an individual, but rather the responsibility of every person whose life has intersected the school. Whether you consider yourself an alum, a student, a parent, a faculty or staff member, a grandparent, or a parent of an alum, your stewardship of the Proctor community matters. Today’s celebration of the Class of 2018 at Proctor’s 170th Commencement was a reminder of how the collective work of everyone in the Proctor community, past and present, has shaped Proctor into the perfectly imperfect place it is today.