Harvey Graduates Largest Class Ever

It was a wet start to the festivities as morning rain showered down on the graduates and their families arriving for commencement Thursday at The Harvey School, but no one could be heard complaining. All were smiles and joyful as the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony proceeded on schedule in the magnificent new athletic center where 75 seniors, the largest class in Harvey's history, received their diplomas.

The downpours forced the processional and recessional lines to parade indoors, but, keeping with school tradition, Pipe Major Jonathan Henken signaled the start of the ceremony and processional with a bagpipe rendition of the “Earl of Mansfield” as he led the line of graduates through the gym to their seats.

Headmaster Barry Fenstermacher offered his welcoming remarks, saluting the class for its achievements inside and outside the classroom. He called the graduates “a wonderful collection of individuals who came together and worked together in very distinct ways.” He told them, “Don’t worry about fitting in. Do what you know is right.”

Bedford native Whitney Johnson, the founder and executive director of the not-for-profit Ubuntu Africa, delivered the commencement address, telling the graduates not to let fear keep them from pursuing what their heart calls them to do. “Following your heart is not easy, it takes courage,” she said. “Run toward the things that scare you,” she urged. “Take risks, try new things, put yourself out there, and be true to yourself.” Johnson founded Ubuntu Africa when she was 21, shortly after graduating from Colorado College in 2006.

After the school’s board of trustees chair Eileen Walker and Headmaster Fenstermacher finished presenting diplomas, the school’s top scholar, Lillian Brouwer, delivered the valedictorian address, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, “‘What  lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.’” She urged her classmates to consider “the power that lies deep within each of us” and use that power as fuel to “light our journey in life.”

Their new life's journey began when Pipe Major Henken began playing “The Minstrel Boy,” a signal for the recessional and the conclusion of the commencement ceremony. While the wet grounds kept the post-commencement reception indoors,  no one seemed to mind as the graduates were greeted with big smiles and warm embraces from their family, friends and faculty.

List of Local Commencement Award Winners:

Photography Prize: Samantha Aloi of Yorktown Heights

Ronald W. Duncan Music Award: Tristan Watson of Pound Ridge

and Dante Palminteri of Bedford

John A. Shea Latin Prize: Christian Artuso of Katonah       

Japanese Prize: Tristan Watson of Pound Ridge

Mathematics Prize: Carolyn Stark of Katonah

Edward Micola Model UN Award: Harrison Solomon of Bedford

Harvey P A Cavalier Award: Michael Goodkind of Katonah

Lindsley Loring Loyalty Award: Harrison Solomon of Bedford

Founders Honor Cup: Christian Artuso of Katonah