A Tribute to the Class of 2007

At Lovett's 45th commencement exercises on May 20, the trustees, faculty, and I paid tribute to the 152 members of the Class of 2007. I would like to share with you some excerpts of what I said about this class at the outset of this important ceremony.

Seniors, as we begin this special ceremony, let me ask you to ponder what the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton said in response to his colleague Robert Hooke's amazement at Newton's incredible discoveries. Newton’s very humble response was this: "If I have seen further than you and Descartes, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." Newton recognized that his discoveries were a direct result of the work of other scientists. This notion of "standing upon the shoulders of giants" rings true for us today, just as it has for every generation. Each of us owes so much of our opportunity and success to those who have gone before us and to those who help and guide us. In recognition of this reality, I'd like to ask the members of this graduating class to join me in a round of applause as just one sign of thanks for your parents, grandparents, other family members, friends, teachers, and mentors and for all they have done by way of their support and love to prepare you for this graduation and all that lies ahead.

... Amidst the excitement and emotion of today's celebration, let me ask you to reflect for a moment on the larger purposes of the kind of education you have been given at Lovett. The liberal arts education that Lovett seeks to provide is inextricably linked to the democratic foundations of our country. Lovett has a fundamental goal of preparing you to live fully, constructively, and ethically in a democracy. The liberal arts describe those skills of critical thinking and engagement that are essential to life in a free society. There is a constant, mutually reinforcing relationship between democratic government and a citizenry that is educated, as well as virtuous. More specifically, our hopes and prayers are--as Princeton President Shirley Tilghman put it--that you leave with the ability, as well as the determination, to see the difference between reason and prejudice, between leadership and demagoguery, between evidence and rumor, between right and wrong. Of course, in partnership with your parents, loved ones, and mentors, we hope we have helped you develop the integrity and character that will give you the strength to stand steadfastly for reason, for leadership, for truth, for justice, and for what is right and good.

Let me also express our fervent hope this afternoon to our graduating seniors that you will use your education to serve others. Indeed, your happiest, most fulfilling moments will come when you direct your talents and your learning toward those challenges most in need of your particular gifts. The theologian, pastor, and writer Frederick Buechner puts this reality best when he reminds us that our calling is found when "our deepest joys and passions meet the world's deepest hunger." When we discover the coming together of our distinctive talents and a pressing need that cries out for our particular talents--that is where our real vocation lies.

William S. Peebles IV
Headmaster