"Do Good Today": NMH Celebrates Start of 2025-26 School Year

With summer humidity giving way to a crisp preview of fall, Northfield Mount Hermon recently welcomed new and familiar faces to campus for the 2025-26 school year, as students filled the dorms and classrooms, greeting friends and preparing for the adventures of a new year.

While faculty and student leaders arrived last week, the official celebrations began Saturday, when new students gathered in Memorial Chapel with their families for NMH’s traditional matriculation ceremony.

The tradition, in which students add their names to NMH’s historic registry books, dates back to the school’s earliest days. After being dormant for several decades following the merger of the Northfield and Mount Hermon schools, the ceremony was revived in 2003 as an official welcome for new students.

Head of School Brian Hargrove opened the ceremony by welcoming the newcomers and their families. Students were introduced to NMH’s singing culture as Choral Director Alexandra Ludwig and new music teacher and accompanist Matt McClure led a rendition of the school song, “Jerusalem.”

Isabel Hunt ’26 followed with the first moment of silence reflection of the year, sharing her memories of being a new student and lessons about self-confidence and belonging.

“Inventing yourself at NMH doesn’t mean becoming someone new,” Hunt said. “It means growing into the most honest, most positive version of who you already are. As you begin your own NMH journey, I invite you to be brave, to work together, and to be unapologetically yourself.”

The new students then stepped forward to add their names to the registry books, following generations of NMH alumni. After the ceremony, students and families spilled onto the chapel lawn for pictures and farewells.

“I'm really happy to be part of the community here and learn,” said Abigail Lessard ’27 of Montreal. “A new country, new people, new language — it’s just exciting.”

Fellow Canadian and new arrival Katerina Christodoulopoulos ’28 agreed. “It's crazy all the different kinds of people here — so many different sports, different clubs, different cultures, all in one place. You walk by anybody, they're just like, ‘Hi!’ — It’s like you know them already.”

NMH on Stage

On Monday, returning students arrived to reunite with friends, unpack, and take part in orientation meetings and icebreakers. That evening, the community gathered in the chapel for the first all-school meeting of the year, NMH on Stage. Between interludes of singing, games and student-produced videos, faculty and students reviewed community etiquette, key dates, workjob expectations, and other NMH traditions and resources.

Jayhee Lee ’26 delivered a moment of silence reflection on the importance of challenging oneself, recounting his struggles with public speaking and the progress he has made through NMH’s Model UN team.

“At NMH, you’ll be faced with things you don’t want to do,” Lee said. “I encourage you to take those opportunities when they show up. It’s a normal part of our academic lives at NMH. Don't be scared to take those chances.”

Hargrove also spoke, sharing the story of former NMH trustee Jamie Bennett ’65, who recently passed away. Hargrove recounted Bennett’s service to the school and his personal motto: “Do good today.”

“I saw how Jamie lived that for 60-plus years. I see how [students] do that all the time, and it's really an inspiring thing. So I want to welcome you home: Let's have a great year, and let's do good today,” Hargrove said.

Grant Gonzalez, NMH’s assistant head of school for campus life, spoke about the significance of the term “lamplighter” at NMH and encouraged every student to “light the way for others during the darker moments.

“Your education is not just about your own intellectual transformation and growth — that is important, but you are here to learn with others collaboratively, to learn how to live a life of service and purpose,” Gonzalez said. “That type of learning will allow you to bring light to all of your future communities once you leave NMH.”

Convocation

On Wednesday, the NMH community gathered for Convocation, followed by the traditional Moody Mixer on Thorndike Lawn.

As the Class of 2026 filed into Memorial Chapel to the applause of the other classes and faculty, the Rev. Lee-Ellen Strawn opened the ceremony with an invocation before introducing Bryanna May ’26 for a moment of silence.

May spoke to her classmates about “finding comfort in the uncomfortable.

“It's more than looking at a bad situation and choosing to see the glass half full: It’s realizing and acknowledging that something is extremely challenging but being strong enough to find contentment in that,” May said. 

She encouraged her peers to trust that they are well-equipped and supported to handle challenges. “You are not always going to be comfortable and you may not always be able to control your circumstance — that’s life — but you are able to choose how you react, so act courageously and find comfort in the fact that it will all work out.”

Following May’s remarks and the singing of the senior class hymn, “Let Freedom Span Both East and West,” Hargrove addressed students. “You are all here for a reason,” he said. “You are all remarkable, and you all bring different qualities, backgrounds, and perspectives to our community.”

Picking up a theme from his remarks at NMH on Stage, Hargrove urged each person to consider how they are using their talents and choices to “do good today.” He also emphasized NMH’s commitment to celebrating “the wide-ranging backgrounds, experiences and identities represented in our community.

“While these ideas may sound radical to some, this is not new at NMH,” Hargrove said. “This is our ongoing legacy; it is also our responsibility. Our care for our neighbors – our ability to extend ourselves and offer radical love – is one of our most beautiful qualities at NMH.”

After the school song, newly appointed faculty chairs and fellowships were announced:

• Class of ’43 Fellowship: Meredith W. Durkee
• Byung Ku Huh Faculty Fellowship: Juliana I. Cruz Martinez
• Perry Faculty Fellowship: Nicole A. Williams P’26
• Litchard Faculty Fellowship: David L. Pillsbury P’25, ’27
• Margaret Sieck ’72 Endowed Teaching Chair in Environmental Studies: Peter J. Sniffen P’25

Cruz Martinez, who teaches Spanish, said it was an honor to receive a fellowship and thanked her colleagues for their support.

“For me, it's just an award that keeps me pushing to become a better teacher every single day, and that's what I love, teaching we can improve every single day,” she said.

Sanjar Aliev ’26 delivered the spade oration, a tradition tied to the ceremonial spade which every senior class uses to plant their class tree before Commencement. He shared how his experience on the swim team taught him to focus less on competing with others and more on achieving personal goals.

“Comparison is the thief of joy, and by looking at others, I missed the progress I had made since I started,” Aliev said. “Everyone has a different starting point, and people progress at their own rate. Always give yourself credit for the work you put in, don’t get discouraged, and focus on your own growth.”

He encouraged classmates not to wait for the perfect moment to begin something challenging.

“All you have to do is just start,” Aliev said. “Little by little, through hard work, pressure, and the support around us, we grow into someone we couldn’t have imagined two years ago. That’s what this place is about: not being perfect, but becoming better. Early on, it may be uncomfortable, but by leaning on one another when it gets tough, we will succeed.”

Photos by Dan Little Photography, Kathryn Bunnell Photography, and Matthew Cavanaugh Photography. 

See more scenes from the beginning of the school year on Flickr.