Convocation 2023

Hello, friends. 

It is so wonderful to be here today as we formally greet the new school year and one another. 

At NMH on Stage, I had the opportunity to share a few reflections on the year ahead and my hopes for us. I noted that, while this year will certainly include its fair share of hard work, I also know that it will include many individual and collective moments of joy and celebration as we move together through our Northfield Mount Hermon journey. 

In our school reading, we introduced ourselves to "The Odyssey" and considered Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca. This epic reminds us of the ups and downs one experiences in life, for we are rarely afforded a clear path or a straight line to our destination. While our challenges may lack the grandiose, heroic nature of Odysseus’ return to Ithaca, I think there’s value in considering our own paths to Northfield Mount Hermon and how we navigate our home here. 

We may assess our obstacles in objective terms and dismiss them as insignificant (especially in the context of Homer’s "Odyssey"). Yet, I would contend that, when we are experiencing them, the challenges are quite real and feel extraordinarily consequential. 

And, I have an admission here, in my own optimism and general positivity, I often miss this important point. I fail to appreciate — or even understand — the context of other people’s experiences and hardship. While I seek to be genuinely empathetic, I understand that there are times that I simply miss as I seek to problem solve, find the positive, and move through the moment. 

I share this with you today because I think it gets to a very real challenge: how do I do a better job of “belonging” others? How, collectively, do we take on the challenge of connecting with one another when we occupy a space and a time that encourages rapid judgements and pushes against meaningful engagement with one another? 

Here’s a thought: What if we accepted — really embraced — the idea that we are absolutely dependent on our fellow travelers? What if we valued that we are, in fact, the sum of the relationships and connections we make with one another? What if we took action on this ideal and actively sought to belong one another — to find the connection that surely exists among all of us? 

Lord Alfred Tennyson, a 19th-century poet, said it this way in his reflection on Odysseus’ journey, he writes in Ulysses, 

For always roaming with a hungry heart 
Much have I seen and known—cities of men 
And manners, climates, councils, governments, 
Myself not least, but honored of them all,— 
And drunk delight of battle with my peers, 
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. 
I am a part of all that I have met; 
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough 
Gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades 
For ever and for ever when I move. 

I am a part of all that I have met. As some of you may recall, I love this particular line in this poem. It was cited by a dear friend and mentor often as he reminded me of the power of community, the satisfaction of shared purpose, and the potential for joy unlocked in every journey. As I thought about the year ahead, I returned again and again to these ideas. 

The power to do good work exists every day within the NMH community. While I certainly take pride in our collective impact, I want to emphasize the power each of us holds individually here. A kind word, a compassionate action, a thoughtful apology, a willingness to really see and hear a classmate with a different background or perspective — these are all small yet tremendously important steps we can take every day. I ask us all, let us reflect on and take action on these good works now. Your neighbor needs you AND you need them. 

While many endeavors capture the satisfaction found in shared purpose and execution, one particular art never fails to mesmerize me: dance. Year after year, I attend the dance concerts, learn of students totally new to dance, and see beautifully choreographed performances as they move as one on the stage. Their focus and discipline inspire. So, too, do the earnest smiles shared when the performance ends. I wonder what we could achieve as a community if we adhered to similar focus and discipline? What goal could unite us in this way? I would like to offer one: nurturing a community that honors our value of inclusivity at every turn, that seeks to lift all voices, and that stands together in both adversity and in triumphs. 

Finally, I ask that we center the potential for joy. Now, I acknowledge that I am returning to my own impulse toward relentless positivity. Yet, I ask you to consider this idea for a moment. What if joy was possible at every turn? What if we gave ourselves — and one another — permission to see the good that is present in each of us, bring it forward, and celebrate it? What if, in the most intense moments in our lives, we paused to simply breathe, reflect with gratitude, and find the joy that may just be around the corner? Friends, we can help each other with this, too. 

I am a part of all that I have met. We are a part of all that we have met. We are united along this journey. We are travelers together. We are stronger when we connect, when we belong one another. So, let us heed Tennyson’s plea in the final words of Ulysses and remain “strong in will” as we “strive, seek, find and [choose] not to yield” along our road at Northfield Mount Hermon. We are in this together.