Many Voices, One Community: Waring Seniors Present Convocation Speeches

In its simplest interpretation, a convocation is an assembly of people, a meeting. It’s a time when people come together formally, often to discuss, celebrate or spread information. 

Convocation at Waring is a warm, welcoming tradition for new students, faculty, and families. Senior convocation speeches, in particular, are among the most genuine and rewarding moments for all who are honored to share in the event. 

Waring Convocation

At Waring, Convocation marks the unofficial start of the academic school year after the annual Camping Trip. It’s a time when new students are introduced and welcomed into the Waring community, students provide musical performances for the parents, faculty and fellow classmates and members of the senior class deliver their moving senior speeches. 

Convocation and Commencement are the bookends that denote two major rites of passage for students as they transition into the school, and from Waring out into the world. It is a time for reflection and recognition of the positive impact of a Waring education. 

The Senior Tradition 

Even before the start of the school year, seniors prepare for the moment when they will deliver their senior convocation speech. Many of them have been noodling away at ideas in their head for months in advance of this much-anticipated tradition. The opportunity to express how Waring has impacted them and their classmates is something the entire community looks forward to each year. 

While every senior works diligently to put into words what their time at Waring has done for them, only a few seniors are chosen to present at the Convocation. The faculty and senior class votes on which speeches should be conferred on that special day. Seniors who are not chosen also deliver their speeches during an All School Meeting within the first few weeks of school. 

Common Themes 

Each Waring student has experienced their own unique educational journey, whether it is a part of the theater or music program, an athletic team, or perhaps the World Champion Wolfpack Robotics team. While Waring students experience a comprehensive range of educational opportunities, senior convocation speeches often portray similar themes and messages. 

Common themes that could be heard throughout the Convocation speeches included the profound impact of Waring teachers, the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone and the authentic community that Waring provides to students, faculty and staff. Many seniors gave touching, humorous and genuine speeches that had all of us in tears, laughing and shaking our heads at the common experiences. 

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Senior Henry put it aptly as he described an ill-fated haircut by a fellow student while away on a school trip originally meant to embrace the idea of getting out of one’s comfort zone to experience growth and learning. While the buzz cut ended up poorly showing “business on one side and party on the other,” the concept of trying something new and exploring uncharted territory is something he has learned to pursue at Waring. 

Classmate Natalia also encouraged younger Waring students to take a “leap of vulnerability if you can and express your passions.” She implored others to try this even if it’s hard and no matter if it’s in a math class completing a problem on the board, interpreting poetry in Humanities class or debuting a hidden talent. The message remains the same; take a chance and grow from it. 

Waring Teachers’ Impact

Among the most poignant themes the seniors touched on was the impact that Waring teachers and staff have made on their lives. Senior Amelia discussed that although her start as a new student may have been a rocky one at Waring she experienced “a flood of new ideas, new friendships, and new mentors.” The anxiety of being new quickly disappeared and resulted in “a renewal of the passion and excitement of learning that had been dulled by my previous school experiences.” This passion was spurred on by teachers who are dedicated to their craft and subject area. 

Echoing these sentiments, Lyda voiced, “Waring has brought me some of the most amazing teachers and people I think I will ever know. They have pushed me to speak out, be social, and have helped me truly find who I am.” She also revealed that Waring has made her excited, interested, and invested in the work rather than just doing the minimum to get by. The teachers, mentors and community of Waring helped nurture that passion. 

Whether it was reciting a poem memorized in French in front of the whole school, hiking in the White Mountains for a week at Endterm or trying engineering at the First Tech Challenge, senior Evan S. believes that “in a community like this, there’s no such thing as failure, not with so many voices cheering you on from the sidelines.”

Waring’s Authentic Community 

There is something very unique about a place that allows students to follow their passions, learn something new about a subject and themselves as well as provide a genuine and authentic community in which to do this. Waring provides this and more. 

Johnny touched on this theme in his Senior Convocation speech as he recalled his time bonding as a community on the annual Camping Trip. He especially remembers the night of the Coffee House when faculty and students came together in a sing-a-long. The power of the genuine love shared at Waring spills over at times. Johnny remembers, “From time to time, between the seniors’ songs, the whole school is invited to join in on the classics, from Country Roads to Brown Eyed Girl and Joni Mitchell’s Circle Game. Trust me when I say there is no shortage of tears on those nights; sometimes, it’s just too hard to fight them, especially when you realize how rare those moments are outside of such a place as this, around these people.”

Not wanting to forget anything about her time at Waring, June wrote in her senior speech to take it all in, from the comforting “dusty” smell of the barn to the sturdy new school building. She wants to remember it all and encourages, “New students- take a breath, and take everything in… because before you know it, you’ll be heading into your final year here, with one last chance to take it all in.”

Convocation is a special time for all of us as we begin anew, but it is especially significant for our seniors who will be heading off in a year to practice what they have learned as they carry with them the knowledge, confidence and skills gained at Waring.