Remarks at Matriculation of Class of 2014
Terry Cowdrey
Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
It is an honor to add my welcome on behalf of the staff of the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. It is a great pleasure to see all of you—students in the Class of 2014, transfer and exchange students, and your families. You students were invited to join this community of scholars because of the potential that you bring to gain much from this experience and to contribute much, to each other and to those who are already here.
Just as you were chosen to become part of our community, so, too, did you choose to accept our invitation. Your reasons for selecting St. Lawrence are as varied as the talents and experience you bring. As has become our tradition, I will spend the next few minutes introducing you to one another and introducing you new students to the campus community. This introduction will give you a sense of the talents and achievements of this remarkable group of young people.
From Katie Abramski to Tirzah Ziegler, there are 611 first-year students, 317 women and 294 men. There are 6 exchange and 18 transfer students, enrolling from 17 different colleges. You come from 28 countries, 4 Canadian provinces, and 26 U.S. states. We welcome students from Bulgaria, Germany, Spain and Greece; from England, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands. You have traveled to Canton from across the African continent---from Senegal, Malawi, Swaziland and Sierra Leone; from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. New students are from Thailand, China and Japan; Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India. Others have come from Paraguay, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bermuda. Eight of you are the sole representatives of your state or province, enrolling from Alberta and Quebec, from Kentucky, Michigan and Delaware; from Texas and from North and South Carolina. First-year students graduated from 416 high schools---and one was home-schooled.Nearly 300 of you are the only one from your high school to select St. Lawrence this year; while new students who graduated from Saratoga Springs, Jamesville-DeWitt and New Hampton School are each here with five classmates.
Each of you has demonstrated the preparation and motivation to succeed in and out of the classroom at St. Lawrence. Your accomplishments to date and the initiative you have shown to seek challenges lead us to have great confidence in your academic future. Among you are students who left their homes—and, in some cases, their countries—to attend boarding schools that offered greater rigor and opportunity. You chose honors and Advanced Placement courses and completed the International Baccalaureate curriculum. You accelerated your education through dual enrollment and, distance learning and immersed yourselves in experiential learning at the Island School, High Mountain Institute and Chewonki. You enrolled in the Advanced Studies Program, the Traveling School, and studied on exchange on every continent; and you have hosted exchanges students from around the world. You conducted research on vernal ponds and studied the development of snap beans and sweet corn; you analyzed bacteria levels in bottled water and the effects of soda on tooth enamel. You pursued internships at labs, arts centers, and medical facilities, and studied marine biology in Alaska and marine mammals in British Columbia. You collected scientific samples in the Yucatan for the Smithsonian, studied the diversity of microorganisms in soil samples from a Chilean desert, and created a model zoo exhibit for sharks, dolphins, polar bears at the Bronx Zoo. Your achievements have been recognized with awards at the school, county and state level.
Through these and other experiences you have gained an awareness of the world beyond your own community. Your desire to make a difference has taken you across the globe. You volunteered with Doctors without Borders in Nigeria, with the Red Cross in Bulgaria and Kenya, and with Medicine for Humanity in British Guyana. You helped with a reforestation project in Peru and built houses with Homes for Hope in Panama and with Habitat for Humanity in the Philippines. You helped build a library in Ecuador and you have worked at orphanages---feeding babies and teaching English--in Ghana, Thailand, and Mexico. You knit comfort dolls for children in Africa, worked at a water sports school in Greece, and taught kids to play lacrosse in Guatemala. You have visited family around the world and were named Student Ambassador for the Rwandan Educational Partnership. You have combined your athletic interests with travel—playing squash in Egypt and skiing in Chile and Switzerland. You are active in Amnesty International, the Human Rights Club, and STAND, working to raise awareness of genocide in Darfur. You have experienced the world with People to People, Where There Be Dragons and Adventures Cross Country. Many of you chose St. Lawrence because you know of our emphasis on education for global citizenship, and you seek classmates who share an interest in learning all you can about the world.
Some of you have experience in helping people of different backgrounds work and live together—through organizations in your schools such asKaleidoscope, the Student Peace Alliance, WAVE (Working Against Violence Everywhere), and A World of Difference. You facilitated Diversity Day, led the Gay-Straight Alliance, worked as a peer mediator and participated in the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project.You were selected to attend the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and interned as a translator for Catholic Migration Services.You have honored your own heritage through your involvement with Polish Scouting, the Greek Orthodox Church, and ethnic music and dance—including Chinese, Irish, Middle Eastern, African, and Bollywood. Two of you are self-described “Hinjews.” You are active with the Unitarian Universalist church, the United Youth Fellowship and you teach Bible school and volunteer as an acolyte and altar server. You created a multimedia town history and won the DAR Good Citizen Award.
One way you have brought others together is through your participation and leadership of your student government and other school and community organizations. You have been class president—in some cases for all four years--and student body and school president, prefects and proctors, dorm leaders and mentors. You are tourguides and editors of yearbooks, literary magazines and newspapers; officers in the student council, National Honor Society, Interact, Key Club and Disciplinary Committee. You further developed your leadership skills through your participation in Scouts—many of you achieving Eagle rank and Gold and Silver status---including Venture Scouts and Explorers. You have attended the Lead America Conference, Boys and Girls State, and the National Student Leadership Conferences. You have combined leadership with your academic interests at the National Youth Leadership Forums on Medicine, Law and National Security and at Georgetown’s National Security and Counter-Intelligence Program. You worked on President Obama’s campaign and two of you attended his inauguration. One of you was Homecoming King and one, Prom Prince.
Another reason you chose St. Lawrence is because you wanted to be part of a community which fosters learning in and out of the classroom. Many of you pursued co-curricular activities and hobbies that were an extension of your academic interests. You were active in Model United Nations, Mock Trial and Model Congress. Two of you have written books---several have published poetry, made films, and won prizes for artwork. You tested your knowledge through Whiz Quiz and Masterminds, and competed on math teams, in Science Olympiad, FIRST Robotics and Envirothon. You have interned at art centers and sculpture parks, founded the Astrophysics Club, and were active in Live Green, Team Green and Grease Monkeys, an alternative energy club.
Your love of the natural world is evident through your concern for the environment and your pursuit of outdoor recreation. You conducted water audits with the Mayor’s Youth for a Sustainable Future, interned with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and volunteered with the Dutchess Land Conservancy. To raise funds for NativeEnergy, you organized a ski race--the Race Against Global Warming, and you have been active participants in the Town Tree Committee and the Planting Peace Project. You converted your car to run on waste vegetable oil and built trails with the Student Conservation Association and Landmark Volunteers. You attended the international conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, and are active in the Lorax Club and SEAS (Student Environmental Awareness Society). You have explored the outdoors with Outward Bound, NOLS and Wilderness Ventures, interned with the National Wildlife Federation, and worked at the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. You have raised poultry, sheared alpacas and kept bees. You have helped stock trout, and you love to fish and hunt. You won first place in World Series of Birding, identifying 132 species in 24 hours.
Some of you combine your love of the outdoors with physical activity, and were drawn to St. Lawrence because of an appreciation for our natural environment. You hike, rock and ice climb, canoe and kayak. Three of you are Adirondack 46ers—one achieving this milestone at age 10; others of you are on your way, and one has hiked 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine. You have parlayed your interests into part-time jobs---working as lifeguards, caddies, on ski patrol and as a belayer. You enjoy paddle making, river rafting, dog sledding, and SCUBA. Eighty of you participated in pre-trips organized by the Outdoor Program. Dozens of you have worked as camp counselors, giving back because you are appreciative of your own camp experience. While wilderness canoeing, you were named Best Senior Tripper.
Many of you are competitive athletes-- 84% of you competed in at least one sport and 75 of you arrived early to campus for pre-season practices. You compete in all the sports St. Lawrence offers and then some---badminton and bowling, synchronized swimming, snocross and motocross. You seek adventure snowboarding, wakeboarding, longboarding, and duneboarding. You have sailed in the Junior Olympics and rowed in the Royal Canadian Henley regatta. You love Ultimate Frisbee and surfing; you have won state championships with your football, soccer and crew teams; and a national championship in Tae Kwon Do. You are triple jumpers, long jumpers and high jumpers; you pole vault and hold the school record in steeplechase and the 200-meter. You lift weights and box, and have competed in the Empire State Games and the Bay State Games. You founded the School Spirit Club and won the award for Most School Spirit---and you are a member of Bleacher Creatures. 279 of you captained athletic teams in high school, and several of you captained three sports. You ski jump and rollerblade, and have been on the cheerleading squad and the shooting team. You share your love of sport with others—volunteering at therapeutic riding centers and with Special Olympics. You referee hockey, basketball and laser tag; you play disc golf and whiffleball and fly remote control planes with your grandfather. You teach kids to skate and swim, and coach nearly every sport you compete in. You volunteered at the Boston Marathon and the Iron and Tin Man Triathlons; you interned with a minor league baseball team and worked in food service at Fenway. You are martial artists, earning black belts in karate. You were selected to be a torchbearer for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Many of you athletes are also artists—more than 40% of you are musicians—many with All-State recognition--and over 150 have been involved with theater and dance. You will undoubtedly contribute to our vocal and instrumental groups – you are string, woodwind and brass musicians. You have served as drum major and concertmistress, and sung an opera solo at Carnegie Hall. You also play the bagpipes, the fiddle and the erhu—the Chinese violin. You play guitar, bass and keyboards, making music with your friends in bands such as Last Train Out, The Juveniles and Ramnod Sunshine. You have great experience both onstage and backstage---as Pig Pen in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and on stage crew for the same show, different school. You have been the scarecrow and a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. And many of you have been part of productions of Footloose, High School Musical, and Bye, Bye Birdie. You dance---ballet, hip hop, modern— and you do improv comedy. You are playwrights, choreographers, and songwriters. You have designed sets, run lights, danced at Disney World, and served as percussion captain in the marching band. You are in show choir, swing choir and handbell choir. You sell your watercolors and work framing art. You have won awards for your ceramics, photography, and painting; you write and illustrate graphic novels. You have interned at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts and with Vermont Life magazine.
One of the best ways to get to know the Canton community is by continuing your involvement in service. As a group you bring a remarkable record of involvement—83% were involved in service in your schools and communities.You have responded to needs near and far. You have made blankets for babies and for senior citizens; collected coats, toys and books; cell phones for soldiers, and shoes through Soles4Souls. You have raised money through Relay for Life and Race for the Cure, walking to raise money for life-saving research for myriad illnesses: cancer, cystic fibrosis, and MS, among others. You have biked and painted pumpkins for diabetes research, cut your hair for Locks of Love, and crocheted hats for cancer patients. You volunteer with kids at day care centers, camps and afterschool programs. You founded A Cause for Paws and have fostered animals through HOPE (Help for Orphaned Pets Everywhere), walked dogs at shelters, and rehabbed racehorses. You contribute your time at food pantries and with Meals on Wheels and the Empty Bowl Project. You have shared your love of reading by volunteering at your library and through Page by Page and Read Across America. You organized the Seasoned Citizens Prom, and worked with elders to write their life stories. You work with your classmates as peer mentors, tutors, and Best Buddies. You started Birthday Wishes, to help children in homeless shelters celebrate and you knit scarves to distribute at a soup kitchen. You serve your communities as EMTs and firefighters, and you advocated for the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents. You have given your time to your classmates through your involvement with Link Crew, SafeRides, SADD, and County Youth Court. You worked at the polls on Election Day and chaired the Teacher Appreciation Committee.
You have remarkable talents to share with one another. You bake and sew, design jewelry and websites, and arrange flowers. You practice yoga and paint murals. You are disc jockeys and computer programmers, a blogger and a junior minister at a Buddhist temple. You love anime, archery, and astronomy. You write a newspaper advice column and work as a personal trainer. You build bikes and boats. You have interned with medical professionals, in law firms and with non-profit organizations. Some of what you have learned from these experiences might apply to your future career---much of what you have learned has taught you about human nature as you continually interact with others.
Some of you have put in many hours of manual labor—shingling houses, working as a stone mason, and doing maintenance at your schools. You have been landscapers and farmhands. You have sold bikes, shoes, sporting goods and clothing and have delivered newspapers, pizza and furniture. You have painted houses and boats, worked at grocery stores and in restaurants---including at many Dunkin Donuts. You have been nannies and baristas; a launch driver and a river guide; a locksmith and a peach picker. Some of you chose to start your own business---lawn care, swim instruction, sports videography, and commercial clamming. Others have learned from working with your parents or other relatives---on family farms, in restaurants, in construction, in wineries---at a general store and in a cranberry bog. You have groomed dogs at The Soggy Doggy and scooped ice cream at Mountain Mist, Twisters, and Sprinkles, to name just a few. You have been a manager at Hungry Herb’s Pizza, a busgirl at the Flying Goose, and a milkshake maker at the Galaxy Drive-In. You are the moose at the Orvis store.
Many of you continued family traditions by choosing St. Lawrence. Fifty-two of you have parents who graduated from St. Lawrence--for 15 of you both parents; 57 of you follow older siblings—in one case you are the fourth of the four kids in your family to become a Laurentian. Fifteen of you have both parent and sibling legacies. One set of brothers start their St. Lawrence careers together today; others are starting school for the first time without their twin. Twenty have grandparents who graduated from St. Lawrence—nine of you are third-generation Laurentians. One of you is the twelfth member of your family to enroll; another is the fourteenth. And one of you has a great-grandmother who shares her name with a St. Lawrence residence hall. 190 members of your class knew early last year that St. Lawrence was the right choice and made their commitment through applying Early Decision. Sixteen of you took a gap year between high school and college, deferring your enrollment from last fall to now. Eighteen of you got a head start on your St. Lawrence careers by spending your summer on campus through the Higher Education Opportunity Program.
In your class Katherine—spelled 3 ways—is the most popular women’s name—there are 15—and one Katherina and one Kathleen. Many prefer to be called Kate or Katie as do lots of the 11 Caitlins—spelled six ways!--in the class. Andrew is the most common men’s name—there are 14 plus one Andres—three prefer Andy and one Drew. There are also 14 versions of John---counting 7 Johns, 3 Jonathans, 3 Ians and a Juan---two prefer Jack, two prefer Jonny, and one goes by Jake---and then there is a Robert who uses his middle name of John. Three of you use initials—K.P., W.J., and Tad, whose initials are T-A-D. Eleven of you—nine men and two women--prefer to be called by your middle names. There are two Katherine Higgins and two Terrence Dixons---and a Riley Austin as well as an Austin Riley. Many of you have place names----Dallas, Austin, Savananah, Madison and Geneva; there is also a Star, a Crystal and a Tiara. Sixty-three of you were born in June—more than in any other month, and if your birthday is June 20 or January 24, you have six classmates who share your birthday. And let’s give a special round of applause to Will Phelps who celebrates his birthday today.
In your essays you wrote about your heroes—most often your parents and grandparents, your brothers—including Alex, Dan, Jared and Mike--and sisters—Marcie, Rose, Isadora and Adriana, your aunts and uncles, your teachers and coaches—Mrs. Henderson and Mrs. Brophy and Coach Hathaway. You wrote about your horses—Nemo, Bogart and Squid—and your dog Remi. You wrote of Harry Potter’s influence, and quoted authors you find inspiring--- Jon Krakauer and Cormac McCarthy; Thoreau, Emerson, and Mark Twain. You admired the words of Maya Angelou and Eleanor Roosevelt; Goethe and Nietzsche; Vince Lombardi, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps. You quoted Jefferson and Lincoln; Bono and Cat Stevens; Gandhi and Harvey Milk.
As you have heard and will continue to learn, you represent widely varying backgrounds, experiences and interests. You bring to St. Lawrence different perspectives on many issues. As you get to know one another, your goal should be to learn from one another. What you have in common is that you are all curious, motivated, and ready to start the next chapter of your lives.
Our great confidence that you will fully engage the St. Lawrence experience and make the most of the opportunities that are here leads us to welcome you to this community today. As individuals and as a class you will make your mark on St. Lawrence. You are responsible for creating your own future. Whether your experience is as rewarding as it can be is entirely up to you. It is with great pride and anticipation that I present the Class of 2014 to Dean Lehr.
