The epigram chosen for the Bromfield Class of 2021 T-shirt couldn’t be simpler: “We made it and that was enough.” But speakers at Bromfield’s 142nd graduation ceremony, held outdoors Sunday afternoon, disagreed.
“The T-shirt was awesome. I understand the sentiments of that phrase,” said Bromfield principal Scott Hoffman in his opening remarks. “[But] you have done more to make it to the finish line than perhaps any other class in our school’s history. … and that is more than enough.”
Keynote speaker and class president Taylor Caroom approaches the stage to deliver her speech. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz) MORE PHOTOS
After 15 months of schooling under pandemic rules that changed weekly—from remote to hybrid to in-person classes—the 96 members of the Class of 2021 seemed ready to move on, all smiles as they paraded to their seats, two-by-two to the music and words of “I lived” by One Revolution.
The day was sunny and hot, with temperatures hovering above 90 F, wispy cirrus clouds overhead. Scheduled originally for Friday, June 4, Hoffman chose to postpone graduation until Sunday due to a threat of rain and lightning. Neither materialized, leaving Hoffman to quip that he hoped he was a better host than meteorologist.
With each graduate permitted to invite up to eight family members, the administration provided seating for 1,000 attendees. The blue chairs faced a raised podium. Bare Hill Pond shimmered in the distance, framed by the town library and Bromfield School.
More than a few seats were empty as some audience members took shelter under trees at the edges of the Mass. Ave. field. A few attendees brought umbrellas. The school provided two tented water stations, and the Harvard ambulance was on hand to deal with heat-related emergencies, though none were reported. Athletic director David Boisvert was at the wheel of a golf cart for anyone needing assistance getting to and from their cars. The Garden Club of Harvard provided a colorful display of peonies, delphiniums, and other spring flowers at the podium.
Speakers at the event included valedictorian Kasia Ostrowski, salutatorian KeeSeok Lee, and faculty-chosen keynote speaker (and class president) Taylor Caroom. The guest keynote speaker, chosen by the Class of 2021, was former sixth-grade science teacher Glenn Tarullo.
Perseverance
“Perhaps the word that defines us best is perseverance,” salutatorian Lee told his classmates. The word denotes “tenacity, determination, or unrelenting persistence,” he said, but in his view the best definition of perseverance “is the ability to renew yourself, especially during difficult times.” He continued, “By this, I mean that perseverance is the ability to rediscover our roots, trace out our identity once more, and embrace who we are, no matter how different or unique we are.”
‘We’re so much more’
For keynote speaker and class president Caroom, it was time to stop talking about the pandemic. As she was preparing her talk, she said, she realized that she and her classmates had spent the year talking about nothing else. Frankly, she said, “I am sick of talking about the pandemic. Although this has been a defining moment for our class, and our generation, I don’t want it to define us.”
“Yes, we are the juniors who got sent home on a random sunny day in March,” Caroom said, “but also the class that is compassionate, graceful, accommodating, determined, passionate, and strong. She continued: “The class that makes sure no one sits at lunch, eating alone … I hope we remember to remind ourselves each and every day that we have a complex and rich history that cannot be defined by one moment, because we are so much more.”
Time
Valedictorian Kasia Ostrowski ruminated on the elusive qualities of time, and the difficulties of defining it without using the word itself or a synonym. “Maybe it’s because of the weird limbo we’ve been stuck in since March 2020,” she said in her only reference to the epidemic. “One moment, you’re packing your bags for Nature’s Classroom, barely able to sleep because of the butterflies in your stomach. And the next you’re up on stage, saying goodbye to people you feel like you just met. I’m so glad I got to spend my time with all of you.” (See the full text of Ostrowski’s address.)
A jubilant Nick Thornton at the end of the ceremony. (Photo by Jen Manell) MORE PHOTOS
‘Dr. T’
Tarullo was warmly greeted with applause and shouts of “Dr. T” as he stepped to the stage. The former health care executive, who turned to teaching late in his career, had four messages. First, he said, the meaning of life is to find happiness within yourself. “I’m a scientist,” he reminded his audience. And studies showed, he said, that one factor that contributes to happiness is being around other people who are happy. “And that was one of the qualities you had,” he said. “Are you guys still acting goofy?” he asked, drawing scattered laughter from the graduates. “You have the unique quality of being able to make others happy just by being who you are.”
Second, Tarullo said he remembered the Class of 2021 as having a strong sense of fairness. “If you weren’t treated fairly, if your classmates weren’t treated fairly, or if the world wasn’t treating others fairly, it upset you,” he said. “We live in a country—in a world—that is very unequal economically, educationally … America—the world—needs your values, we need your compassion, we need your skills, we need your intelligence. I hope you will share it.”
Tarullo said he wanted to say how unfair it was that COVID-19 threatened the graduates during their junior and senior years. It’s hard for me to be optimistic, or pollyannaish,” he said, but although the year had been full of hardship and loss, it was also a time when the class had shown “great resilience and the ability to adapt and get through a terrible plague.”
Finally, Tarullo said, graduates needed to know that life wouldn’t always be easy. But whenever they were feeling down, they should think back to what they had learned in sixth grade.
Unique and precious
“Well over 7 billion species of animals and plants have lived and become extinct on this planet,” he said. ”When you’re feeling down, when you need some encouragement, when you need reassurance, think about how special and unique you are. Think back to sixth-grade astronomy, and realize that you may be the most unique and precious being in our entire Milky Way galaxy, with over 200 billion stars, more than 400 billion planets. Surely there may be nothing quite like you in the 2 trillion other galaxies out there. You may be the most complex and extraordinary creation of an entire universe. Think of what that makes you capable of doing and achieving in the coming years.”
Following Turullo’s talk, it was time to distribute diplomas. One by one, in alphabetical order, starting with Ziyad Ali, each senior was called to the podium to receive theirs from Superintendent Linda Dwight. Twenty-five minutes later, the last of the Class of 2021, Jelin Zhong, stepped from the stage and, diploma in hand, returned to her seat.
There was a pause to recognize teachers and staff who are retiring this year and to acknowledge the work of senior class faculty advisers Kellie Carlucci, Sara Lamere, and Susan Chlapowski as well as senior class officers Caroom, class president; Vivian Liu, vice president; Ostrowski, secretary; and Arianna Thornton, treasurer.
‘Off we go’
And then: “I now ask the senior class to rise … face your families and move your tassels from right to left,” said principal Hoffman, delivering the words everyone had been waiting for. “Music please.”
With that the class of 2021 tossed their hats into the air and exited—quickly, as COVID-19 rules required—to strains of “Tongue-tied” by Grouplove.
Students and well-wishers gathered and hugged and snapped photos on cameras and phones for a few blissful moments before dispersing. A drone darted over the crowd, and there was a whiff of cigar smoke in the air. The class slogan on Bromfield’s rock summed up the day: “Off we go,” it said.
