News and Events : News 06-07

Opening Convocation Speech
by Blisse Wilkinson, Class President

Good morning trustees, administration, faculty, staff, parents and fellow students. It is good to be here. Four years ago when I was a freshman here I did not imagine how much the school would change, how much the world would change, or how much I would change.  I never saw myself as president of the graduating class or having the honor of speaking before you at Convocation. What I can say is that amid all of the changes, I am glad to be here. 

Over these years at NMH it has become a part of my greater knowledge that the world in which we live is a small and fragile place. Our school has set an example for the world by bringing people from all walks of life, colors, religions, and countries together as a community from the first graduating class of 1892. Since D. L. Moody’s founding of the school it has operated as a place which values interaction from diverse backgrounds. The first class of five seniors consisted of men from England, Canada, Ireland, the town of Northfield and his son Will Moody. Because of D. L. Moody’s aspirations to establish this school and its place in the world, we have always welcomed different races and cultures. Today, 110 years later, the Internet, high speed travel, and global economy enable people to see how interconnected we can be, but NMH is light years ahead. These days of extremism and terrorism we see the effects of not learning how to live together. As the world changes it is time to value the importance of being good neighbors.

It’s good to be here because we attend the school where the slave-born Thomas Nelson Baker at 26 became the first African American to attend NMH. He came from the Hampton Institute in Virginia at a time when distance between New England Massachusetts and the south was equivalent to distance from here to Hong Kong. He spoke at the first commencement along with Chan Loon Leong and Louis Johnson of the Choctaw tribe, who both spoke in their native languages. In a time of white superiority, D. L. Moody represented and acknowledged many ethnicities. The rest of the world is just now catching up to the place where D. L. Moody brought us years ago. 

I am engaging in self reflection during this busy time for myself and all seniors as we prepare our college applications. I have given hours of thought toward my personal growth; I have developed an awareness of community needs and gained the desire to be of service. I know that it is mostly because of the moral discipline that NMH has instilled in me. We have to constantly renew ourselves just as NMH is by making physical changes to our campus. Henry F. Cutler, a headmaster at the Mount Hermon School from 1890-1932, wrote in his diary the night before his first day of class, “I feel very sure that I have been called to this place, and I intend to do my best.” It’s good to be here to take these few moments to visualize how you will make this the best year that you can.

You are in the right place to achieve your goals. It is great to be here.