Williston Northampton School graduates 123 at 176th commencement

By FRAN RYAN

For the Gazette

Published: 05-29-2017 2:52 AM

EASTHAMPTON — Graduates with tears of joy and parents with proud smiles filled the Williston Quadrangle on Sunday morning as 123 students of the school’s class of 2017 celebrated their graduation.

“It is always such a bittersweet day,” said calculus teacher and track and cross country coach Martha McCullagh. “It is exciting for the students as they move on to their next adventures but it is also sad to see them go.”

Student class speaker Nicholas Baker Hill of Northampton spoke of Williston as being an organic place of learning and support that is deeply based within the Williston community itself.

“The rules in our community are not what cause it to function. It is the people involved in the community that are the ones who set that bar,” Hill said. “Influence isn’t found in our student handbooks, it is found in the people that are here.”

Hill told his fellow students not to run off to the “oasis of college” as if they were escaping the “prison of high school,” but to remember to value the time they have spent at Williston and what has helped them grow the bonds that will inform the future actions they will take.

He ended his address by saying “Class of 2017 let’s rise up!”

John Hazen White, a 1976 graduate of Williston and current chairman of the board of trustees, reiterated the importance of wisdom before the students received their diplomas.

“Not so long ago, I sat where you are sitting now. It is a big responsibility we have, to carry this wonderful, incredible, and inspiring place forward into the world,” White said. “Remember, the concept of wisdom cannot be bought and paid for — it must be learned with development and growth.”

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Carrie Baker of Northampton, mother of Nicholas Baker Hill, said she was exceptionally proud of her son. “He has had an amazing experience during his six years here,” she said, adding that Nicholas is planning to attend Middlebury College in the fall.

Peter Blain of South Hadley said his family was thrilled to see his son Saul Graber Blain get his diploma.

“This is beyond words. It is very exciting to see him be rewarded after all of the hard work,” Blain said. “We are very happy for him. His sister is at the University of Amsterdam now, so she is watching the graduation on a live feed through YouTube!”

Destiny Chidinma Nwafor, of East Orange New Jersey, was stormed by dozens of friends and well-wishers after she completed saying her goodbyes to faculty members, who traditionally stand in a long receiving line to bid farewell to their students.

Many non-graduating students tightly embraced Nwafor, with tears streaming down their faces as she reassured them that she would return to visit.

“It still feels surreal. I don’t feel like I am leaving,” Nwafor said.

As well as her diploma, Nwafor received two awards, one for performing arts, as well as the Katherine Ockenden award, which is given to a senior who has contributed moral, positive leadership to the school. She will be studying computer science at Cornell University in the fall.

“It makes me feel proud, a good proud, not an arrogant proud,” she said.

Nwafor’s mother beamed as her daughter was being interviewed by the Gazette.

“She is my fourth of six children and I am very proud of her,” said Sarah Nwafor, 54. “She has loved it here and it has been a wonderful place for her. It has been a pleasure being part of this community.”

The class of 2017 represents 13 countries and 15 states. A total of 87 students received academic awards at the graduation.

Giving the commencement address this year was John M. McCardell Jr., vice chancellor of Sewanee: The University of the South, in Tennessee, and the president emeritus of Middlebury College, in Vermont.

In 2015, McCardell was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. A prolific writer, and specialist in 19th-century U.S. history with special emphasis on the old South and on American historiography, McCardell is the author of “The Idea of a Southern Nation.”

In his address to the graduating class, McCardell stressed the idea of pairing self-restraint with humility in order to achieve selflessness.

He also advocated the never-ending search for wisdom, reminding students that “Knowledge is proud he knows so much. Wisdom is humbled he knows so little.”

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