Graduates hear about popsicles, promises, and wide open spaces

Rebecca Turner springs off the stage at the end of Bromfield’s 2010 graduation ceremony. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)  MORE PHOTOS

Last Friday, on a gorgeous spring afternoon, members of the Class of 2010 walked onto the risers in front of Old Bromfield to begin the Bromfield School’s 131st commencement exercises under the direction of Principal Jim O’Shea.

Class Marshall Andrew Hong, wielding the traditional blue-and-white stripped baton, led class members to their seats in time to the processional “Dreams,” by the Cranberries. After congratulating the class seated behind him and the audience of friends and family assembled on the field, O’Shea made a brief presentation from a podium festooned with spring floral arrangements provided by the Harvard Garden Club. He urged the class to cultivate qualities of self-respect, compassion, and empathy throughout their lives, noting that these qualities are the true mark of a successful and well-lived life. He also assured the class that the staff and faculty at Bromfield wished them well in all their future endeavors.

“We will always stand behind you,” he pledged.

Superintendent Dr. Thomas Jefferson followed O’Shea to the podium, sharing lessons learned from his first job working in a popsicle factory, as well as insights found in the lyrics to the Dixie Chicks’ song “Wide Open Spaces.” The first taught him the wisdom of looking beyond appearances, he said, and the second the value of creating a life of one’s own.

Keynote speaker and National Honor Society member Jennifer Duckett was the first student to speak. Noting that this class was the first to enter Bromfield as sixth-graders, she said that they all quickly unified around the challenge of dodging seniors in the hallways. Now that they are leaving Bromfield behind, she told them to “dream and keep dreaming,” and not to let anything stand in the way of making those dreams come true. “Float on, Class of 2010, float on,” she said in parting.

Salutatorian Danny Eisenberg urged the class to take on adulthood as an exercise in both daring and humor, and not to abandon frivolity even in the face of error. Your mistakes will be big, he said, but the bigger mistake would be not to see humor in the situation. “Get up and brush yourself off,” Eisenberg advised. “Then look around and say, ‘Man, did you see that?’”

In a reflection on the ideology of previous generations, valedictorian Dominique Ledoux expressed curiosity about where the Class of 2010 would find its place in history. She urged the class to rise to the challenge of solving the world’s current problems, including two overseas wars and a precarious global economy. Find something you are passionate about, she told the class, something so interesting and all-consuming that you can devote a lifetime to it—and make a significant, positive difference by doing so. The chance to make that difference begins now, she said. “Let’s start swimming and make our mark on this world.”

After the class finished David Bowie’s classic song “Changes,” O’Shea again took the podium to begin the awards ceremony. Various speakers bestowed a variety of honors, a complete list of which accompanies this article. Following the awards ceremony, the class was invited to accept diplomas from School Committee Chairman Keith Cheveralls, Jefferson, O’Shea, and Associate Principal Scott Hoffman. Rounds of applause punctuated by an occasional cowbell greeted each graduate crossing the lawn to collect a folio and a handshake.

At 7:15 p.m., with high clouds gathering and cooling the field, O’Shea paused to thank the faculty, staff, and volunteers who made the evening’s ceremony possible. A special thank-you was given to teachers Thérèse Keoseian, Mary Ellen McGarty, and Michael McGarty, all of whom are retiring from Bromfield this year. In keeping with the moment, student council president Ben Landry and class president Jake Basile thanked teachers Patricia Nilan and Julie Fraser for their support of class activities.

After asking the class of 2010 to rise, O’Shea led the group in the presentation of tassels to the applause of friends and family. Immediately after, caps flew in the air and a happy chaos engulfed all as the two-man sound team cued up the recessional “Float,” bringing the ceremony to an end.