Friday evening’s commencement speaker was Michael Dirda, book columnist for the Washington Post, author of several books, and recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and an Edgar Allan Poe Award. Mr. Dirda graduated from Oberlin College in 1970 and earned an MA and PhD from Cornell University. In his remarks, Mr. Dirda recalled that it was almost exactly fifty years ago that he himself received his high school diploma during a time of change and challenge. “You new graduates are entering a similarly volatile world,” he said. And he may have surprised members of the Class of 2016 when he advised them, “Please, don’t play it too safe when you’re young…. No one likes a young fogey.” After offering ten pieces of advice drawn from his life as a reader, Mr. Dirda told the graduates he feels “real envy for all of you who are just starting adult life today. Enjoy yourself.”

 

On Amici Night, later the same evening, Rob Carter, father of Sam Carter ’16, who along with his wife Lindsay chaired the Sixth Form Parents’ and Grandparents’ Gift committee, presented the school with two gifts, representing 100 percent participation by the parents of the graduating class. They topped their goal of $500,000 to honor their sons by naming the Class of 2016 Private Dining Room in Terry Dining Hall and establishing the Fund for Faculty Housing.

 

Ford Beazley ’16, senior prefect, and David Williams ’16, co-valedictorian with Ford, also offered remarks. Ford announced his class’s contribution to the Woodberry’s Amici Fund. He also spoke of how honor defined his experience at Woodberry “Honor is more than a word made up of air, more than a useless emblem for a gravestone. It’s the keystone of our community,” he said. “There are few places you will find a lost dollar stay pinned up to a dorm bulletin board for a whole year, but Woodberry is one of them.”

 

David’s valedictory address recalled memorable moments of the school year. “The difference of a Woodberry education is that it is a life education that extends far beyond the classroom,” he said. “Take advantage of the resources Woodberry has to offer,” he advised underformers, sharing his own experience completing a project in astrophotography during his final month at the Forest as part of the inaugural year of the Senior Distinction.

 

Significant awards presented during Commencement included Distinguished Service Awards presented to retiring English teacher Thomas J. Parker, retiring Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Eric Chafin, and Roddey Dowd ’74. The George R. O’Connor Prize for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to math teacher Colin Gay ’93. Ford Beazley received the prestigious Archer Christian Memorial Medal.

 

Congratulations to the ninety-four members of the Class of 2016.