Commencement is the celebration of a beginning, and the emotions and atmosphere on display on the Ridge over the sunny and brisk May weekend reflected the beginning of incredible possibility for 157 new graduates from McCallie School.
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Years of hard work and perseverance paid off for several McCallie students at the annual Upper School Awards Day celebrations, with senior day student Allen Liu being named Valedictorian for the Class of 2018 and Graham Hartness winning the Grayson Medal as the top overall student of the senior class.
Read MoreTopics: Awards, Campbell Award, Grayson Medal, valedictorian, salutatorian, commencement, academics, leadership
As Hal Daughdrill ‘73, Chairman of the McCallie’s Board of Trustees, officially welcomed the Class of 2017 into “the long blue line” of alumni, he shared with them a brief reflection on what makes the diploma and their experiences on the Ridge so indelible for their lives. He spoke of his visit to a Golden M reunion, where men celebrate their 50th reunion year and one particular conversation he had.
It was at that point that I turned to one of the gentlemen standing next to me and said to him how remarkable it was that these men felt the impact of McCallie and their teachers so deeply and so strongly so many years after the fact. He turned to me and said, “Hal, it’s been this way ever since the day we graduated. It’s been like this for the last 50 years.”
Read MoreTopics: commencement, class of 2017, valedictorian, salutatorian
King Jemison '17 shared the following address with his fellow graduates and their families along with the McCallie faculty at Commencement for the Class of 2017. Jemison will attend Stanford University.
Six years ago, I attended my first McCallie Graduation to honor the senior who drove me to school every morning. I was in awe of how “cool” and smart and most of all, big, he was. I struggled to picture myself ever reaching that pinnacle. As a freshman, I still watched the seniors tower over me, both physically and mentally. Now, as I stand on this stage as a senior, I don’t ever remember going through some dramatic change. Instead, I’ve been shaped by such miniscule changes that I didn’t even realize what was happening. They all added up to the man I am today.
Read MoreTopics: commencement, valedictorian, valedictory address, class of 2017, stanford
Xuanlin Li '17 shared the following address with his fellow graduates and their families along with the McCallie faculty at Commencement for the Class of 2017. Li will attend the University of California at Berkeley.
Good Morning! I am very grateful to stand here on behalf of the class of 2017, and I am very grateful to see many faculty members, alumni, families and friends who are here today.
Today is the day of graduation, and it is fitting to once again hear the mission of McCallie: Honor, Truth, and Duty. The word that particularly stands out to me is Truth.
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian Civil Rights movement, once said, “Nothing is or exists in reality except truth … And where there is truth, there is also knowledge which is true … Where there is no truth, there can be no true knowledge.”
Read MoreTopics: commencement, salutatorian, salutatory address, class of 2017
