Vermont Academy's 136th Commencement

On Saturday, May 23rd at 11 a.m. EST Vermont Academy held its 136th Commencement and first virtual Commencement.
Student Body Co-Presidents Evan Zorman ’20 and Taylor Hennum ’20 opened the ceremony with a warm welcome. They said, “As a class, I can comfortably say we wouldn’t be here today without the support of our family and friends. We are especially indebted to the hard work of Ms. Friel, our Class Dean, Dr. Zaccara, Ms. Atkins and Ms. McArdle in College Counseling,  and Mr. Ross and the Dining Hall Staff.” 

They then introduced Class of 2020 Salutatorian, Hannah Sethi ’20, who spoke about her time at Vermont Academy. She noted, “With so much free time, I’ve recently been struck by the realization that high school was some of the best days of my life, my fond memories to hold on to when I’m older. Even more than that, it’s hit me that graduating is one of our biggest accomplishments yet. It is the culmination of years of hard work, fun, and endless craziness. For parents, coaches, teachers, and others that have helped us along this journey, thank you, we needed it. Graduates, I am so proud of each and every one of us. I know that we will carry our time at VA with us as we go on to do great things”.  She then introduced Sarah Annis ’20 the Class of 2020 Valedictorian.  

Sarah said, “Though it hasn’t been the spring we wanted, there’s been some good to come out of this pandemic. People everywhere have gotten a lot better at personal hygiene, learned to bake, and have started seeing grocery shopping as either one of the most freeing experiences ever or incredibly awful. These, of course, are also all things that you learn at VA. You would be hard-pressed to find any student who hasn’t gone to the market just to get off of campus, heard a dorm parent sit them down and explain that yes, you do need to clean your room, or been rather jealous of the smells of fresh bread emanating from multiple kitchens on campus and wanted to try baking as a result. It took a pandemic for most people to learn these things, but we’ve been lucky enough to just do it in school.”

Senior and PG Class Dean, Ms. Meredith Friel announced the Anna Mae D. Fenney Medals, which are awarded annually to those students who maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.67 and who have achieved high honors for each trimester during the 2019-2020 academic year. 

This year’s recipients are Sarah Annis ’20, Tianyi “Christine” Cai ’20, Charles-Olivier Gagnon ’20, Taylor Hennum ’20, Kristyna Kaltounkova ’20, Zhixia “Edward” Liang ’20, Miao “Jerry” Lin ’20, Logan McAllister ’20, Savannah Mouyos ’20, Emma Ostiguy ’20, Alexandra Paluszek ’20, Zhenyu “Kano” Qi ’20, Bijon Shidu ’20, Jazmine Servance ’20, Hannah Sethi ’20, Gabriella Tranquada ’20, Yuxiang “Peter” Zhao ’20, and Gabrielle Wood ’20. 

Commencement Awards

Grant V. Frazer Award: Zhixia “Edward” Liang ’20
The Academy endowed an annual award in Mr. Frazer’s honor, an award to be given to that student who best exemplifies this teacher’s own dignified humility, quiet strength, and constant drive toward excellence.
 
Charles Jackson Award: Corey Dunn ’20
Awarded to a senior who has contributed substantially to the life of the Academy in areas such as performing arts and/or journalism, and who has been a loyal and concerned member of the Academy.

Bernice B. & Olin D. Gay Award: Miao “Jerry” Lin ’20
Presented by Mr. and Mrs. Olin D. Gay to recognize a student who personifies the qualities of friendliness, cooperation, kindness, and concern for his/her fellow individual that should not be allowed to pass unnoticed. 

Larry Smith Award: Alexandra Paluszek ’20
Its purpose is to recognize in a member of the senior class the traits of cheerfulness, acceptance of responsibility, and wholehearted devotion to a job to be done, which were characteristic of Larry Smith. Larry always did quiet but superlatively efficient work behind the scenes to help others and to contribute to the life of the school.

Robert L. Long Leadership & Service Award: Lauren Eppinger ’20
Endowed in honor of Robert L. Long, former Academy Headmaster. This award is given to a senior whose leadership and service to Vermont Academy has earned our respect and gratitude.

Head of School Awards: Siyang Wang ’20 and Gigi Wood ’20
Head of School Awards are chosen by the Head of School and given to those students who have had a great impact on the Academy. Whether it be in the classroom, in the dorm, or in the athletic arena these students have stood out among their peers and made a difference in our community. 

The Ford Improvement Prize: Jeffery Simon ’20
Presented by Daniel Ford to recognize that student in the senior class who has not only contributed to the success of school activities but has also won the respect of his/her teachers and peers through notable progress and improvement in scholastic activity. 

Shanaman Cup: Ella Bushee ’20
To a member of the senior class who by his/her loyalty, diligence, and devotion to the best interests of the school, has exemplified and upheld the ideals and traditions of Vermont Academy.

Barrett Medal: Taylor Hennum ’20
Awarded annually to a member of the graduating class for all-around achievement in citizenship, scholarship, and athletics.  It is the Academy’s highest award.  Each year the faculty selects one student for this special award. Doing so is a great deal of fun because the recipient and all candidates are such remarkable young people. 

Ms. Meredith Friel took the podium again to read students' names for the presentation of diplomas. 

Head of School, Dr. Jennifer Zaccara closed the ceremony. Her commencement address can be found here
 
If you were unable to watch the ceremony you can find it on the Vermont Academy YouTube here. 
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Vermont Academy is a coed college preparatory boarding and day school in southern Vermont, serving grades 9-12 plus a postgraduate year.