Commencement

On Monday, June 13, the School celebrated the School’s newest alumni—the Class of 2022—in the 161st Commencement Exercises.

“What defines a moment? . . . I realize now that it’s not ‘What defines a moment?’ but ‘Who defines a moment?’ The experience that I have had here will be far more about the people I have found along the way than any other experience that I might have had . . . High school is not about defining moments, but the people that define them.”

- Class President Ashleigh Provoost

Jack Martin ’22—Magistri Laudandi Award: the student who demonstrates personal integrity and generosity that inspire the best in others, whose sense of purpose is to the greater good, and who helps all succeed.

LIFERS: 13-Year Club—members of the Class of 2022 who attended Pingry since Kindergarten

FIRST ROW: Belinda Poh, Cordelia Ludden, Diana Severineanu, Alivia Clark, Katherine Xie, Leila Elayan, and Kaitlyn Devito. SECOND ROW: Emma Drzala, Paige Mennen, Ashleigh Provoost, Christine Guo, Sarah Gagliardi, and Samantha Barr. THIRD ROW: Emmet Houghton, Samuel Henriques, Christopher Gu, Madison Mendelsohn, and Devan Lalla. FOURTH ROW: Nicolas Zarbin, James Houghton, Andrew Wong, Kenan Mushayandebvu, Avik Sanyal, and Clint Robinson. Giles Burnett ’22—The Class of 1902 Emblem

Award: by the efficiency and amount of service, and by loyalty of attitude, the student who has done the most for the School and shown the

greatest amount of school spirit.

Alivia Clark ’22 singing the National Anthem.

Valedictorian Emmet Houghton ’22

LEGACIES: Pingry has a long history of students whose parents and/or grandparents also graduated from the School

FRONT ROW: Olivia Hauck ’22, Samuel Benton ’22, Charlotte Schneider ’22, Ulysses Smith III ’22, Alexandra Sartorius ’22, Julia Saksena ’22, Allison Williams ’22, Martine Bigos ’22, and Kristin Osika ’22. BACK ROW: Karen (Schatman) Benton ’81, P ’16, ’22, Elisa Della Pello ’88, P ’22, ’28, Kathleen Bartlett ’89, P ’22, Grant Smith, Jr. ’77, P ’19, ’22, ’28, Kathryn (Iacuzzo) Sartorius ’92, P ’22, ’25, ’29, Alison Little ’82, P ’22, ’25, Thomas Williams ’87, P ’20, ’22, Mark Bigos ’79, P ’22, and Dr. Linda Kalnins ’80, P ’22. Not pictured: Benjamin Gottesman ’22 and Andrew Gottesman ’88, P ’20, ’22; Devan Lalla ’22 and Dr. Sanjay Lalla ’85, P ’21, ’22; Paige Mennen ’22 and William Mennen ’85, P ’21, ’22.

COMMENCEMENT

The graduates’ photos line the driveway of the Basking Ridge Campus.

An annual tradition: The Pingry Record’s Commencement issue is

distributed after the ceremony. “Don’t stop yourself from impacting someone’s life, or someone impacting your life, because you feel like you can’t relate to them . . . Hear people out for what they have to say. Understand people and their backgrounds . . . Go make someone else a better person, and allow someone else to make you a better

person.” – Student Body President Giles Burnett

“For machines to create compassionate, equitable solutions that address the complex moral issues of our world— to reflect a genuine sense of humanity—they need our constant collaboration and deliberate engagement. And no one is in a better position to do this than the Class of 2022 . . . As the world locked down, this class rose up . . . Embrace the technology, but let it not exceed our humanity. Continue to rise up, lean into innovation, and ensure your individual voices and unquestionable integrity help create the responsible and revolutionary solutions the world so

desperately needs.” – Valedictorian Emmet Houghton

The graduates being cheered and congratulated by the faculty at the conclusion of the ceremony.