Commencement Concert Community Convocation
There is something uniquely special about this community, my lighthouse. I was not and never will be alone—it is impossible to be alone in this community. There will always be a friend, a teacher, a dean who asks, “How are you?” At Andover, I am enveloped in light. I also get to be a single ray of light that shines light on its members.
ELIZA FRANCIS ’26
When I cold-called a former editor in chief of The Phillipian, he helped me through one of my hardest moments of my four years at Andover. A statistically improbable connection—and yet invaluable to me. Andover’s community envelops everyone who’s ever entered the chapel for matriculation and walked out the same doors in a reverse fashion at the end of Community Convocation. This community is not confined to just the four years we’re here but stretches backward and forward in time.
MICHEAL KAWOOYA ’26
In the Dean of Students Office, we developed Core Blue in the summer of 2022 to synthesize and articulate our core values: Act with honesty and integrity, respect others. respect yourself, build a healthy and inclusive community. I invite you to remember how these simple and foundational values have guided us during these four years and to keep them close at hand as you leave. Values anchor us.
KIT LECKERLING P’26, ’28
Instructor in History and Social Science; Cluster Dean, West Quad North
For the first time during Commencement Weekend, two students— pianist Ethan Jiuming Liu ’26 and violinist Claire Yilin Wang ’26 (pictured above)—performed an original composition. Titled Goodbye, White Squirrel, their piece was inspired by the joy of spotting this rare animal.
“One highlight of our walks around campus—especially during the springtime—was seeing a white squirrel scrambling in the trees or on the ground,” Liu explains. “Every time we saw this animal, we stopped and took pictures of it. As seniors, we try to think of moments that will memorialize this special place. We hope this composition honors those memories.”
