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A Turning Point: Graduation 2021
A Turning Point
A close and nurturing community is at the heart of Fenn, and the School’s evolution back to the full-scale Fenn experience that preceded the onset of COVID-19 continues in earnest. Graduation week festivities last June marked the first time that Fenn faculty, staff, and students were able to assemble as one community and that Fenn families were invited to return to campus since the start of the pandemic. On the following pages, enjoy the sights and scenes of this turning-point moment that saw graduation move from its customary New Gym location to a sprawling event tent on a Fenn athletic field, signaling a very welcome celebration. It was heartening to see Fenn boys linked arm-in-arm in this snapshot in time after many months distant from one another.
Graduation Festivities Return to Monument Street
A TOWERING EVENT TENT ROSE UP on the athletic fields bordering Monument Street on Monday, June 7, as a sure sign that the 2021 graduation festivities were returning to campus after virtual celebrations imposed by COVID last year.
A June 8th Prize Day celebration ushered in the end-of-school graduation programming, marking the first time that all students, faculty, and staff had assembled together since COVID halted in-person teaching and learning in March of 2020. Head of School Derek Boonisar acknowledged the milestone at the start of the program.
“This was a year like no other,” he shared, “and no one needs a reminder of the challenges, disruptions, and frustrations that it presented. It tested the resolve of us as individuals and as a school community, and I am proud to say that we passed the test with flying colors. Your collective optimism has been an inspiration and is undeniable proof of the strength of this community.”
It was an apt moment of reflection before the program transitioned to recognizing students across divisions for their individual accomplishments. (See Awards and Prizes on page 28.)
The Sam brothers: Neeron ’10, Odom ’13, Piseth ’15, and Panha ’21
Two Graduation Ceremonies Help to Ensure Community Safety
On Wednesday, June 9, and Friday, June 11, 67 eighth and ninth grade Fenn students joined the ranks of Fenn’s 4,200+ alumni in two separate graduation ceremonies that enabled attendance by socially-distanced clusters of graduate families. While attendance was capped, and graduates and their guests were required to follow COVID protocols to help ensure a safe gathering, a familiar air of celebration, pomp and circumstance, and Blue-and-Gold pride marked the 92nd commencement exercises much like generations before them.
The bell atop Ward Hall signaled the start of each of the graduation day processionals, which did not follow their customary routes in recent decades from Ward Hall, where graduates gathered, to the New Gym for the ceremony. This year, graduates processed behind Derek Boonisar from Ward Hall, across Carr Road, and on to the cavernous tent where families, faculty, and staff awaited them safely outdoors.
Reflections from Derek Boonisar on the unique contributions and promising futures of each graduate were a highlight before students received their diplomas, as were the student prizes, musical offerings from faculty and staff, and farewell remarks from student leaders.
Timmy Smith, the chosen speaker for the eighth grade graduation, began his remarks with memories of playing superhero with classmate JP Ward when they were young boys before pivoting to recount the myriad ways that he had witnessed Fenn teachers and staff operating as real-life heroes and role models across his Fenn tenure and in the face of COVID.
“We learned from our Fenn teachers, our families, and each other about the power of kindness, loyalty, friendship, respect, curiosity, grit, bravery, passion, dedication, and resilience,” he shared. “These are the powers that really
matter. Fenn has helped us all develop into our own version of a superhero.”
School President, Will Hatten, and Vice President, Teddy Stiga, shared similar gratitude during their remarks at the ninth grade graduation, while also reflecting on the brotherhood that developed within their Fenn class.
“Over the past few years—and we may have COVID to thank for this— we grew into a team,” Will remarked. “As Henry Ford once said, ‘Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success.’ Our class worked hard to bring the community together during COVID, and I hope we will look back on these times together as a success. Every team has its struggles and goes through adversity, and to be successful, every member of the team has to work together while pushing in the same direction. And together, we can climb many mountains, big or small.”
–Head of School Derek Boonisar during Prize Day on June 8, 2021
“Over the past few years—and we may have COVID to thank for this—[our ninth grade class] grew into a team … We worked hard to bring the community together during COVID, and I hope we will look back on these times together as a suc-
cess.” – Will Hatten, School President
Teddy Stiga, in separate remarks, cast a spotlight on the camaraderie that he believes will forever link the class, even going so far as to lobby for it to become a fifth core value at Fenn to accompany honesty, respect, empathy, and courage.
“While we would never wish a pandemic on anyone, Fenn allowed us to be here together to find camaraderie that has helped to build friendships that will last a lifetime … By the end of this year, we could call each other brothers, not just classmates … the connections we made will last forever. And who knows,
maybe Mr. Boonisar will consider adding a fifth core value of camaraderie here at Fenn…?”
Ninth grade classmate Herrick Stevenson rounded out the slate of student speakers at the ninth grade graduation with a presentation of the Class of 2021’s graduation gift to the School. Two new benches will sit along the banks of the Concord River on Fenn’s North Campus in honor of the class. “We hope that they help to remind the community to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty that we are so fortunate to enjoy here at Fenn,” he urged.
And with that wise recommendation, the graduation celebrations of the week of June 7 had drawn to a close. May Fenn’s most recent graduates be thriving in the next stage of their educational journeys!
“While we would never wish a pandemic on anyone, Fenn allowed us to be here together and to find camaraderie that has helped to build friendships that will last a lifetime.” – Teddy Stiga, School Vice President
GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2021
Charles Greenwood Bartlett Ryan Scott Bettenhauser James Maxwell Carlin Wade Frederick Clark John Patrick Doherty Will Francis Gaynor Lucas Beau Greenland William Mark Hatten Samuel Gordon Kahn Charles Whalen Krayer Garrett Joseph Lanagan Evan Ning Ethan Alexander Rich Panharith Keo Sam Colin Peter Soukup Herrick Wilson Stevenson Theodore Myles Barclay Stiga Dereck Rayliu Then Luke William Tsiaras Joshua Leonard Weig Mark Zixuan Zhang
GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2022
Callen Hoyt Beveridge Joshua Edward Brennan Samuel Asher Brock Luke Van Chang Alexander James Chayrigues Thomas Jae Donahue John Paul Doty Charles Crabtree Driscoll Samuel Thomas Elliott Oliver Todd Erston Max William Frey Miles Prentice Fritz Richard Goin Gallant III Ian Hays Gardiner III Joshua Michael Gidlewski II Thomas Jerome Hudner IV Akhil Sai Janapareddy Calvin Jared Hjalmer Johnson Brayden Thomas Kavanagh Dylan Paul Krayer Xiaocheng Li Gunnar Patrick Lyons Seiji Ansel Ma Christopher John Mariani Jackson Christopher Masters Henry Maynard Braeden Grant Moitoso Henry Edward Morgan Thomas Colm Mulvany Connor James Nairus James Wakelin Oldershaw Jeremy Lloyd Olson William Glynn Ostrow David Ripley Peirce Tal Nguyen Richmond John Wilson Schneider Gabriel Ethan Silverman Timothy Matthew Smith Nicholas Andrew Teague Finn Christopher Cleaver Uhrich William Gray Veague Oliver Perkins Viehland John David Wallace Alexander Mei-Zhong North Wei Charles Ulysses White Douglas Jules Zhang
Schools Our Fenn Graduates Are Attending
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Bedford High School Belmont Hill School Boston University Academy Buckingham Browne & Nichols School Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Cambridge School of Weston Carroll School Catholic Memorial High School Concord Academy Concord-Carlisle High School Deerfield Academy Geneva English School Governor’s Academy Groton School Hotchkiss School Kimball Union Academy Lawrence Academy Lexington High School Lincoln-Sudbury High School Loomis Chaffee School Middlesex School Milton Academy Mount Saint Charles Academy New England Innovation Academy Noble and Greenough School Phillips Exeter Academy Pingree School Proctor Academy Rivers School St. Andrew’s School St. George’s School St. Mark’s School Tabor Academy Williston Northampton School
Awards and Prizes
DURING GRADUATION WEEK FESTIVITIES, the following students received special recognition for their academic successes, as well as their character, effort, and growth. These prestigious prizes are awarded annually based on recommendations and votes of Fenn School faculty.
Faculty Prize
(Fenn’s highest honor, recognizing ninth graders for their character and involvement in school life): Lucas Beau
Greenland, Panharith Keo Sam
Lovejoy Prize
(created in 1998 by Trustee Emeritus Frederick H. Lovejoy, Jr. ’51, recognizing eighth graders for exceptional character, effort, and achievement that enriched the life of the school): Thomas
Jae Donahue, William Glynn Ostrow, David Ripley Peirce, Tal Nguyen Richmond, Timothy Matthew Smith
Walter W. Birge III Prize for Philanthropy and Support of the Fenn Community
(named for a former headmaster, recognizing a ninth grader for his community service and helpfulness to teachers and peers):
Will Francis Gaynor, Herrick Wilson Stevenson
Dr. Samuel C. Fleming Memorial Prize
(established by the class of 1965 in memory of their classmate and friend, recognizing students that persevered in meeting academic challenges): Ryan Scott Bettenhauser, Thomas Colm Mulvany,
Gabriel Ethan Silverman, Colin Peter Soukup
Mark Biscoe Award
(named for former master teacher Mark Biscoe H’95 P’74 ’79, recognizing personal growth and citizenship): Garrett Joseph
Lanagan, Theodore Myles Barclay Stiga
James R. Carter III ’54 Prize for History and Social Studies Alexander James Chayrigues, Thomas Jae Donahue, William Glynn Ostrow, David Ripley Peirce, Panharith Keo Sam, Timothy Matthew Smith, Mark Zixuan Zhang
Tete Cobblah Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Luke Van Chang, Panharith Keo Sam Eleanor B. Fenn Modern Language Prize Lucas Beau Greenland, Timothy Matthew Smith
Austen Fox Riggs Award
(given in memory of Austen, a Fenn student from the class of 1955, to Lower School students who most resemble “Autie” in their helpful effort contributed in work and play): Eli Joseph Waldeck
David S. Huston Band Award David Ripley Peirce
Kirsten Gould Arts Awards
Panharith Keo Sam (visual arts); Colin Peter Soukup (drama); Douglas Jules Zhang (music)
Lennox Lindsay Latin Prize William Glynn Ostrow, Panharith Keo Sam
Alan S. Moats Mathematics Prize Evan Ning, William Glynn Ostrow, Alexander Mei-zhong North Wei, Mark Zixuan Zhang
Millar Brainard Science Prize Panharith Keo Sam, Mark Zixuan Zhang
William O. Travers Writing Contest
Lower School: Fiction – Dante Angelo DiBenedetto, Poetry – Alexander Cronin Sutton, Personal Narrative – Mason Levens Slugg; Middle School: Fiction – Charlie Huxtable Hood, Poetry – William Richard Sandor, Personal Narrative – Liam Matthew Keane; Upper School: Fiction – William Glynn Ostrow, Poetry – Akhil Sai Janapareddy, Personal Narrative – Charles Ulysses White
