Graduation 2024: Celebrating a Class with Heart, Spirit, and Talent

Honors for those distinctions had been handed out the previous day, at the annual Prize Day ceremony recognizing outstanding achievement. Graduation was a moment to celebrate every member of the class, who all persevered through the COVID years and found success in and out of the classroom. As Head of School Ryan S. Dahlem told the assembled families, professional community members, and soon-to-be alums, “Graduation is not merely about the culmination of years of academic study; it is a celebration of the growth, resilience, and countless moments of connection that have shaped you, our graduates, into the exceptional individuals and class you are today,” adding, in a moment of prescience, that it was also “a great day to jump in Nonesuch Pond.”

Dahlem, presiding over the first graduation of his tenure as head of school, gave a nod to former head David Berwind, who passed away in March. “Mr. Berwind,” said Dahlem, “described his connection to his first senior class as ‘analogous to a parent’s bond with their first child.’

“To the Class of 2024,” he continued, “I am grateful to share a similar bond with you.”

Acknowledging that the head of school typically offers advice at graduation, Dahlem said he’d “keep it simple” and limit that advice to the essential: “At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships.” He noted that the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies on happiness ever conducted, found that positive relationships are the strongest predictor of happiness. 

Dahlem welcomed Board of Trustees President Alan D. Rose, Jr. ’87, who briefly addressed the graduates, urging them to stay connected to Rivers, no matter where life leads them. Melissa Anderson, head of the Upper School, then introduced Will Mills, Upper School dean of student life, the faculty speaker chosen by the class.

Mills, who will soon be moving on from Rivers after a memorable 15 years, balanced humor, poignance, and heft in his remarks. A sight gag involving a six-foot stick used to measure social distancing during COVID brought a ripple of appreciative laughter. But laughter gave way to seriousness as Mills emphasized that the day marked a turning point in the graduates’ lives: While students have spent years making various decisions at Rivers, their decisions going forward will build toward an autonomous adulthood. “I want to emphasize that it is your life from this point forward…You need to decide what’s important to you. You need to decide who you want to surround yourself with. You need to set your path. You need to decide,” said Mills. 

With that, Anderson returned to the stage to introduce this year’s student speaker, Caleb Lys ’24, whom she described as a “technicolor presence” at Rivers. Lys walked the Class of 2024 through its journey, starting with COVID restrictions in ninth grade, progressing through bonding in the woods at Grade 10 orientation and traversing the ropes course at Grade 11 orientation, and moving on to academic challenges and the college-application process, undoubtedly still fresh in the minds of the graduates. 

Lys shared that, as the youngest member of the class, “the rest of you truly became my older siblings. I have spent every day on this campus admiring you all and trying to fill these vast footsteps left everywhere you walk.” He shouted out the accomplishments of several classmates, adding, “I am more impressed with the kindness and support that we have given each other in reaching these accomplishments.” 

Addressing the graduates directly, Lys concluded, “To all my older siblings that I’ve grown to know and love, this is goodbye for now. But don’t be sad that it’s over, just be happy that it happened.”

The moment to bestow the diplomas had arrived, and, following Rivers custom, Dahlem shared a few thoughts about each individual student, from Julia Ahearn to Aidan Zheng. 

“And there you have it,” he concluded. “Ninety-three unique journeys that make up this phenomenal class gathered together here one last time.”

And, again following Rivers custom, caps were tossed in the air near the flagpole, seniors ran into Nonesuch Pond, and the Class of 2024 was launched into the wider world. 

Click here to view a video of Graduation 2024.