On Friday, May 14, the Class of 2021 gathered in Brauer Auditorium for the first – and the last – time this academic year. They celebrated Senior Night, and the evening was filled with moving remarks, student awards, musical performances, and a slideshow.
Student Council Co-Heads Ava Mandoli ’21 and Luke Rickers ’21 welcomed everyone to the event, remarking that this was the first time they had the opportunity to address all their peers in person. Then the first musical act took the stage, a band made up of Jack Morris ’21, Sebastian Neumann ’21, Max Novak ’21, and Joey Roth ’21.
Hanna Wurdack ’21, Salutatorian for the Class of 2021, shared her thoughts before Mr. Josh Smith, Director of Athletics, took the stage to recognize student-athletes continuing their sports in college and the achievements of the Boys Swimming and Boys Soccer teams. He also presented the two athletics awards: The Burlingame Award went to Lily Baker ’21 and the James A. Baur Award went to Will Kacmarek ’21. Shudi Wang ‘21 then played a beautiful piece on the piano.
Several faculty members presented the Academic Awards:
- Excellence in the Arts Award – Jaylah McMurtry ’21
- Nadia Danett Foreign Language Award – Jack Morris ’21
- Mitchell Science Award – Bonnie Sneider ’21
- Kalish History & Social Sciences Award – Cal Barton ’21
- Eagleton English Award – Fiona Richards ’21
- Guilliams Creative Writing Award – Mimi Brown ’21
- Werremeyer Mathematics Award – Prithvi Dhanabal ’21
- Mary Eddy Klein Class of ’38 Spirt of Learning Award – Jonah Zacks ’21
Estephanie Estrada ’21, Ava Mandoli ’21, and Simrin Phatak ’21 entertained the crowd with their performance before Riley Clinton ’21, class president, shared his address. Clinton also recognized all of the senior class advisors and presented the Rivinus Award to Dr. Julia Hansen ’01. Jack Morris ’21 returned to the stage, this time with Mimi Brown ’21, to perform a duet, and then Cal Barton ‘21, selected by his peers to be the class speaker, spoke.
Special honors were then bestowed:
- Head of School Prize (given at Commencement) – Hasani Spann ’21
- Aurelian Prize – Cal Barton ’21
- Morse Family Twelfth Grade Award – Ava Mandoli ’21
- James Andrew Benecke Award – Téa Mitchell ’21
- Wood Humanitarian Award – Ally Kalishman ’21 and Gretel Wurdack ’21
- Faculty Prize – Estephanie Estrada ’21
Jaylah McMurtry ’21 serenaded her class with a moving solo, before Head of Upper School Scott Small gave concluding remarks. The Senior Roll Call, a slideshow featuring the baby and senior photos of the Class of 2021, was a hit. Finally, Senior Dean Chris Ludbrook thanked everyone for coming and, for the first and last time this year, dismissed the seniors.
The event was live-streamed and recorded. Watch here: