Good morning and welcome to the Promotion Ceremony for the Class of 2027. I want to extend a special welcome to the guests on stage with me, including Chair of the Board of Trustees Shannon Hunt Scott, Mayor of Los Gatos Maria Ristow, Head of Middle School Gulliver LaValle, 8th Grade Level Coordinator and Secondary School Counselor Eden Maisel, and Ryan DeSantis, graduate from the Class of 2019.
This is a momentous day, as it marks the first time in the school’s 87 year history that some of the students seated next to me – 18 to be exact – will be continuing on with us into high school, traveling across the valley and joining our new Upper School opening August 29, 2023. We are so excited that they have chosen Hillbrook, and eagerly anticipate co-creating this new program with them over the next four years. For the other amazing students seated next to me, they are also heading off to a range of excellent public and private schools, including a few boarding schools, as they continue on their JK-12 journey. All of these dynamic young people are ready for this significant transition, a transition that will see them move on from this campus, a place that some of them have been for the past 10 years. Regardless of where they are going to high school, this campus and our community will always be a home for each of them.
A quick by the numbers – the Class of 2027 is 53 students strong. 16 of you have been here since JK and K, two since 2nd grade, one since 3rd, three joined in 4th, five in 5th, 15 in 6th, eight joined in 7th, and three in 8th. You represent an extraordinary array of talents – writers, mathematicians, scientists, emerging engineers, and passionate changemakers. Your answers to the Scott Center questions – what matters to you and what are you going to do about it – reveal the breadth of your interests, from neurodiversity to gender equity, from climate justice to mental health. You created murals, wrote and produced plays, documentaries, and children’s stories, launched youth advocacy groups, designed products, and educated your peers and adults about important issues and ways we can do something about them. You are rising stars in many sports, including soccer, basketball, water polo, golf, field hockey, volleyball, rowing, fencing, horseback riding and skiiing – it would not surprise me to hear in a few years that some of you are competing at the collegiate level or have made the Olympic team. A number of you have starred on stage as singers and actors; equally impressively, a cadre of you honed your behind-the-scenes skills as cinematographers, stage managers, and film producers. You are artists and makers, designing, drawing, painting, and building an extraordinary array of pieces. You are collectors, Dungeon & Dragons players, Greek dancers, fire-breathing magicians, service dog trainers, and regatta boat makers. Oh, and you fielded a very good volleyball team last week, easily defeating the faculty team in three straight games. You are, to say the least, an impressive group.
Now, take a moment to imagine it’s August, the morning of your very first day of high school. You take a deep breath, And you walk through the doors. What advice can I give you in these last few minutes of your time as an 8th grader that can prepare you for that moment and for these next four years?
Initially, I thought I might turn to someone that all of you know, and at least a few of you think about a lot. Like all day, every day. Who might that be? Taylor Swift, of course. As I looked back through the lyrics of her songs, however, I was hard-pressed to find advice that felt relevant to this moment. From what I could tell, she’s mostly singing about love and revenge, not exactly the topics that I wanted to address today. It felt like she just wasn’t going to be the right one for high school advice. Never. Like ever.
Switching gears, I wondered if maybe going back a bit in time to my own generation might generate a more promising choice. I looked back to the early 80s when I was in Middle School. There are lots of choices – including a few artists that some of you might even know and listen to today – Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Duran Duran. Unfortunately, looking back at their lyrics and their lives, I was again hard-pressed to come up with much that they had to provide in the form of advice or inspiration. The music was memorable, but I don’t think that it offers the secret to your success in high school. And, given that Prince was asking us to party like it’s 1999, any advice they have also seems a little out of date.
So what to do? I realized that perhaps I was looking too hard, that perhaps if I paid more attention I would find that what I was looking for had been here the whole time.
Listening to Recognition Speeches last night, I was reminded of the amazing things that each of you have already done, the invaluable lessons you have gained during your time on this campus, and the caring, passionate young people that you are. I was reminded that you are ready for whatever high school will throw your way. You have our core values – be kind, be curious, take risks, be your best. You have the academic skills, a solid foundation in critical thinking, writing, mathematics, literary analysis, scientific inquiry, and historical reasoning, not to mention an array of artistic, athletic, and leadership skills that you have honed over the past years. You also have learned valuable lessons from engaging with our Social Impact & Leadership projects, lessons that will remind you that you are a changemaker now – not just when you grow up. And, of course, you know how to tell a joke.
So, instead of giving you advice right now, I’m going to remind you that whether you move up with us at the Upper School or you move on to a different school, you will always be a part of Hillbrook and the Hillbrook community. You have an entire audience here today, including your family, your friends, your teachers, and other adults that care about you, that are so proud of all you have accomplished, and are so excited to see what you do in the next four years and beyond. We believe – in you and all that you can and will do to make the world a better place. Know that all of us here will remain your biggest cheerleaders and supporters in the years ahead.
I am now honored to introduce our next speaker, Ryan DeSantis. Ryan was the winner of the Hillbrook Award in 2019. This honor recognizes a student who best exemplifies our vision – to inspire students to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. In addition to being honored in the moment, the Hillbrook Award winner returns four years later to address our 8th graders. This year’s Hillbrook Award winner, Chloe Scott, will have the honor of addressing this year’s 4th graders (the Class of 2031) in four years.
After graduating from Hillbrook, Ryan attended Nueva, where he focused on his passion for science, doing research that eventually led him to publish and present research about CBD and the neuroprotective effects for worms with ALS. He also ran cross country and track, serving as the captain of the track team. Next year he will be attending UC Berkeley where he will be majoring in Material Science Engineering.