Alumni Entrepreneurs to Speak at Commencement 2025

Mariah Draper Calagione ’89 and Sam Calagione III ’88, founders of Dogfish Head Brewery, will be the keynote speakers at Northfield Mount Hermon’s 142nd commencement ceremony on May 25.

The Calagiones both attended NMH, as did their children, Sam IV ’18 and Grier ’20. They have served the school in numerous volunteer roles over the years. Mariah recently completed 13 years on the NMH Board of Trustees — six of them as chair — following in the footsteps of her father, the late Thomas Draper ’60, who served on the board in the 1970s. The couple now serves as honorary co-chairs and members of the steering committee of This Place, This Moment: The Campaign for Northfield Mount Hermon. The campaign seeks to raise $275 million for financial aid, faculty support, and other programs at the school

“Northfield Mount Hermon is truly the centerpiece of my family's life,” Sam said. “It is certainly the place where I figured out who I wanted to be and how I wanted to interact with this wonderful, challenging, creative world we live in. 

“We look forward to congratulating and saluting the class of 2025, sharing a bit of our story of what Mariah and I have learned along the way as we've juggled our life's awesome adventures between our heads, our hearts, and our hands.” 

Mariah and Sam met doing their workjobs in the dishroom at Alumni Hall. After college – Mariah at Brown University; Sam at Muhlenberg College – they married and founded a brewpub and commercial brewery, Dogfish Head, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The company quickly took off, with the Calagiones enlarging their brewing operation, adding a distillery, and opening several new pubs. Along the way, Dogfish was recognized with numerous industry honors, including a James Beard Award. 

Integral to their work was a focus on philanthropy and community partnerships, through Dogfish Head’s “Beer & Benevolence” program. In 2019, Dogfish Head merged with Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer. Sam now sits on Boston Beer’s board, while Mariah recently retired as head of the company’s social impact team, where she continued the kind of community-based work they began at Dogfish Head. 

The Calagione family has been generous donors to NMH, including gifts that allowed the construction of the Draper Riverhouse and the Calagione Fitness Center. They’ve also supported financial assistance for students, including the establishment of  scholarship funds honoring Thomas Draper and Arshay Cooper, founder and director of the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund and a member of the NMH Board of Trustees.

The Calagiones’ community service and philanthropic work expands beyond NMH and includes community-based projects in Delaware, where they grew their business and raised their family. In 2023, Mariah received a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award, a national honor that recognizes outstanding local public service.

“We’re thrilled that Mariah and Sam have accepted the Class of 2025’s invitation to be this year’s commencement speakers,” said Head of School Brian Hargrove. “They exemplify all that is special about Northfield Mount Hermon: a resolute commitment to serve and to lead. Their journey as entrepreneurs models our educational principles — they learn by doing, they embrace a creative and collaborative process, and they make sure their choices reflect their values. To be sure, they engage their heads, hearts, and hands in all they do. We’re excited to have them share their inspiring story with our graduates.”

Photos from top: Mariah and Sam Calagione; the Calagiones with Head of School Brian Hargrove at the dedication of the Calagione Fitness Center; the Calagiones speaking at an NMH campaign event in New York in January.