Gratitude for the Brooklyn Friends School experience and confidence in moving forward characterized Commencement Exercises for the Brooklyn Friends School Class of 2011 held on Monday, June 6. In a departure from the past, this year's ceremony took place at Skylight One Hanson, the magnificent lobby of the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank at the crossroads of Flatbush, Atlantic, and Fourth Avenues. An Art-Deco masterpiece that tells the story of New York’s past through iconography, mosaic murals, and sculptural reliefs, the location was a fitting setting for a notably historic high school graduation for the school's 49 seniors. Of that number, one-third had attended Brooklyn Friends School since their preschool or lower school years -- a record number in recent years.
Adding to the historic nature of the evening, the Commencement Exercises were the first to be conducted by Brooklyn Friends' 19th head of school, Dr. Larry Weiss. In another nod to history, the faculty speaker was Dr. Jon DeGraff, an esteemed upper school history teacher, and the commencement
speaker was Dr. Darrick Hamilton. An alumnus who attended Brooklyn Friends from kindergarten through 12th grade, Dr. Hamilton received the school's George Fox Award. He is currently Associate Professor at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and serves on the School's Board of Trustees.
"I simply cannot imagine who I might be had I never attended Brooklyn Friends," said Dr. Hamilton in his remarks to the graduates and their families. "I am a Brooklyn Friends Lifer -- it is my foundation. I am extremely proud that it as much a part of my identity as anything else." He told the audience that his career choice to be a scholar and teacher developed directly as a result of his Brooklyn Friends experience. "Brooklyn Friends produces intellectuals -- graduates who are in constant search of the truth, always seeking to answer questions, learning how things work, not simply for a love of knowledge, but to put that knowledge to work to make the world a better place."
Dr. DeGraff and the Class of 2011’s two student speakers, Sarah DeFalco and Max Scherzer, echoed the themes of making a positive contribution to the community and facing challenges with competence and confidence. Dr. DeGraff told the graduates that their BFS education has taught them to "expect excellence" and he urged them to use their team-building and leadership skills in all their endeavors.
Sarah talked about her classmates' unique talents in the academics, the arts, athletics, and service and predicted that all had the ability to fulfill their potentials. Max added that the Class of 2011 had perfected the art of "living in the moment" -- a quality that enabled them to appreciate one another and their school experiences. The exercises also included choral and instrumental elements featuring high school students and members of the faculty.
Head of Upper School Roxanne Zazzaro, Board of Trustee Co-Chairs Karen Robinson and Lisa Sack joined Head of School Dr. Larry Weiss in presiding at the ceremony and awarding diplomas to the graduates. Setting the context for the world into which the graduates will commence, Roxanne said, "BFS graduates may be looking at their journey differently, because their scope of vision is open, wide, and multi-dimensional."
The young men and women of the Class of 2011 will matriculate at 40 different institutions this fall, in 17 states and Canadian provinces. They will be studying fields as varied as theater, physics, piano performance, anthropology, television broadcasting, political science, industrial design, and evolutionary biology. Of 49 students, six will attend an art school or music conservatory, and five will attend five different colleges that are or were historically Quaker-affiliated.