The Exeter Athletics Department is excited to announce individual team award winners and those student-athletes who have been honored by the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) for their contributions during the 2023 spring season.

These student-athletes were impact players on their teams throughout the season. They are highly skilled athletes, dedicated leaders, and have proven to be among the best in New England. Below is the list of Exeter team awards and All-NEPSAC honorees.

Class Awards
The Yale Cup, awarded each year by the Aurelian Honor Society of Yale University to that member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in his studies and in athletics.
Nathan Puchalski ‘23

The Ruth and Paul Sadler ’23 Cup, awarded each year to that member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in her studies and in Athletics.
Eden Welch ‘23

Philip Curtis Goodwin ’25 Athletic Award, award to the four-year student who best embodies the qualities of sportsmanship and participation.
Samantha Smith ‘23
Cameron Guthrie ‘23

Baseball
Dana J.P. Wingate Memorial Baseball Trophy, for excellence on the diamond.
Gabriel Marcoux ‘23

All-NESPSAC Honorable Mention
Gabe Marcoux ’23

Boys Crew
Charles M. Swift Coaches’ Trophy, awarded annually to that senior who in spirit and action has done most to enhance the traditions of Boys’ Rowing at Exeter.
Ryan Kim ‘23

The Philip A. Lyster Award, Given annually to that athlete who best exemplify Phil Lyster’s gifts as PEA Boatman to Exeter Rowing: encouragement, humor, enthusiasm and commitment to teamwork.
Haakon Kohler ‘23

Girls Crew
E. Chandler Sanborn Trophy, awarded annually to that senior who in spirit and action has done most to enhance the tradition of Girls’ Rowing at Exeter.
Matilda Damon ‘23

Cycling
Rider of the Year
William Lu ‘24

Golf
J. Eric Shellabarger Memorial Golf Trophy
Morgan Smith ‘23
Michael Nardone ‘24

NEPSAC Girls Golf MVP
Morgan Smith ‘23

All-NEPSAC
Morgan Smith ’23
Angelina Gong ’25
Ananya Ray ‘26

Boys Lacrosse
Joseph T. Gifford Memorial Lacrosse Trophy, Most Valuable Player.
Ryan Nagle ’23
Aidan Olazabal ‘24

Class of 1947 Robert W. Kesler ‘47 (Hon), Boys’ Lacrosse Award, awarded to a deserving player who by his/her daily performance and overall commitment to Exeter Lacrosse best typifies the spirit and dedication for which coach Kesler is remembered.
Aidan Olazabal ‘24

All-NEPSAC
Ryan Nagle ’23
Aidan Olazabal ‘24

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Drew McClutchy ’23
Casey Realini ’23

Girls Lacrosse
Holleran Family Girls’ Lacrosse Most Valuable Player, awarded annually to that player who best embodies leadership, team spirit, and excellence in performance.
Eden Welch ‘23

Class of 1947 Robert W. Kesler ‘47 (Hon), Boys’ Lacrosse Award, awarded to a deserving player who by his/her daily performance and overall commitment to Exeter Lacrosse best typifies the spirit and dedication for which coach Kesler is remembered.
Allie Bell ‘25

All-NEPSAC
Eden Welch ‘23
Allie Bell ’25

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Hannah Hoyt ‘25
Esme Shields ‘24

Softball
Softball Most Valuable Member
Haley Alden ‘24

All-NEPSAC
Haley Alden ‘24

Boys Tennis
Arthur H. Lockett Memorial Tennis Trophy, Most Valuable Player.
Clark Pearson ‘23

Girls Tennis
Girls Tennis Most Valuable Member
Cassia Lee ‘25

Boys Track and Field
Stephen Potter Memorial Outdoor Track Trophy, Leadership, Team Spirit, and Excellence in Performance.
Jaylen Bennett ‘25
Byron Grevious ‘24

NEPSAC Division I MVP
Byron Grevious ‘24

All-NEPSAC
Dylan Almeyda ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – High Jump     
Mateo Bango ’23 – All-NEPSAC – 3000m
Tanner Boulden – ’24 – All-NEPSAC – Javelin
Jaylen Bennett ‘25 – All-NEPSAC – 200m, 400m                  
Oliver Brandes ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 800m                
Owen Dudley ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 800m  
Jackson Giampa ’23 – All-NEPSAC – Long Jump, Triple Jump         
Byron Grevious ‘24 – All-NEPSAC – 1500m, 3000m            
Edward Hawkson ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 100m           
Max Lacombe ‘24 – All-NEPSAC – 1500m               
Maxwell Li ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 300m Hurdles       
Gbemiga Salu ’23 – All-NEPSAC – Discus
Brandon Wong ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 100m

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Tanner Boulden ’24 – Honorable Mention – Shot Put
Charles Clavel ‘25 – Honorable Mention – 400m
Ethan Driscoll ‘23– Honorable Mention – Shot Put
Cordel Epale ’24 – Honorable Mention – High Jump
Carter Johnson ‘26 – Honorable Mention – Javelin            
Maxwell Li ‘23 – Honorable Mention – 110 Hurdles

Girls Track and Field
Girls Track Most Valuable Member
Tenley Nelson ‘24

All-NEPSAC
Tenley Nelson ‘24 – All-NEPSAC – 800m, 1500m
Daria Ivanova ‘24 – All-NEPSAC – 3000m
Annika Finelli ’24 – All-NEPSAC – 3000m
Jannah Maguire ’25 – All-NEPSAC – 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles
Willa Hock ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – 300m Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump
Ina Mason ‘23 – All-NEPSAC – Pole Vault
Sydney Anderson ‘24 – All-NEPSAC – Shot Put

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Sydney Anderson ‘24 – Honorable Mention – Discus

Boys Volleyball
Boys Volleyball Most Valuable Members
Rodrigo Spinola e Castro ‘23
Arhon Strauss ‘23

Girls Water Polo
Most Valuable Member, Girls’ Water Polo Team 
Claire Fu ‘23

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Sophie Phelps ’25

Family, friends and faculty celebrate graduating seniors at Exeter’s 242nd commencement ceremony

Spirits ran high on an unseasonably chilly morning as Exeter held its commencement ceremony for the class of 2023 on the lawn of the Academy Building on Sunday.

The 297 seniors crossed Front Street in a single line to begin the event, with faculty and family members offering congratulations along the way. The processional down the middle of the lawn was a change from prior years, allowing for a more unified entrance.

“Thank you to my wonderful classmates — congratulations on making it here,” said Minseo Kim ’23, president of the senior class, after welcoming parents and expressing gratitude to families as well as Exeter’s faculty and staff.

Kim went on to speak of the various challenges the class of 2023 had weathered together, notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the period of remote instruction that for many began in the spring term of their prep years. She admitted consulting ChatGPT while preparing her commencement speech, asking the artificial intelligence chatbot to give her “the most awe-inspiring motivational grad speech” for the occasion.

“It started off by saying ‘Hello, comrades,’” she recounted, to a laugh from the crowd. “I didn’t read any further. But I did ponder over that word more — comrade. Something in there implies the connections that we have created between one another, and that we have overcome challenges together.”

While she and many of her classmates may have come to Exeter with “various assumptions about each other,” Kim said, the experience of encountering diverse perspectives around the Harkness table enabled them to move beyond existing biases. “I found that the people we’ve met here have given us a chance, taking the values of Harkness into the broader context of our lives beyond this campus,” Kim said.

Near the end of her remarks, Kim spoke of the memorable moments that she and her fellow seniors had been experiencing over the past few weeks. “Everything feels like it went by so fast now that we’ve reached the end,” she said. “[But] what I’ve learned from this school is that sometimes it’s even better to leave a classroom or a space with more questions than answers, and that there are many more things I’d like to learn and do.”

Principal’s farewell

In his farewell remarks, Principal William K. Rawson ’71; P’08 welcomed the class of 2023 into a community of Exeter alumni that spans generations, including his own.

“When I think back on my days as a student, my strongest memories are not about individual or group accomplishments,” Rawson said. “I remember a few triumphs pretty vividly, and I remember a few disappointments, yet the sense of what it meant to be part of this community…and the lifelong friendships that came along with it, are what have had the greatest meaning and most enduring impact for me over the years.”

After honoring the “indomitable spirit” and “resilience” of the graduating class, he reflected on the countless individual stories that together comprise Exeter’s rich history. “It has been a great pleasure for me, for your teachers, and for all the adults on campus, to witness your stories unfolding, individually and as a class, and to observe firsthand your growth and your many contributions to the life and spirit of the school,” Rawson said.

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Recalling the classic country music song “Don’t Get Above Your Raising,” written by Earl Scruggs, Rawson stressed the importance of remembering your “roots,” and not forgetting where you came from. He spoke of his own roots in the small mill town of Harrisville, Rhode Island, where his father grew up, and where Rawson used to visit his grandmother, aunts and uncles while a student at Exeter. “Phillips Exeter Academy might have seemed worlds apart from my relatives who still lived in Harrisville, but in my mind, they stood for the same things: integrity, hard work and respect,” he said.

Looking ahead, Rawson spoke of the graduates’ readiness to take their place in the world and work to confront its many pressing challenges with the abilities, skills, and combination of knowledge and goodness they developed at Exeter.

“You are ready to follow the examples of Exonians who have come before, and write your own non sibi stories,” he said. “Wherever your lives may take you, you will always be Exonians, and you will always belong to each other.”

Honors and awards

Rain began to fall intermittently during the ceremony, prompting the emergence of plastic ponchos among the graduates and colorful umbrellas in the crowd. As she rose to announce an array of scholarships, honors and special awards, Dean of Faculty Eimer Page P’22 remarked that she had been preparing for that moment all her life.

“If there’s ever someone who can talk in the rain, it’s an Irishwoman,” Page said.

Page and Trustee Deidre O’Byrne ’84; P’18, P’20, P’23 went on to present various graduating seniors with this year’s endowed college scholarships, as well as a number of special awards and prizes:

The Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence: Aaron Joy

The Cox Medals: Aaron Joy, Cedric Moecklin, Hannah Rubin, Aubrey Zhang, Chloe Zhu

The Yale Cup: Nate Puchalski

The Ruth and Paul Sadler ’23 Cup: Eden Welch

The Perry Cup: Reggie Harris

The Williams Cup: Yasmin Salerno

The Eskie Clark Award: Brandon Wong

The Thomas H. Cornell Award: Nicholas Rose

The Multicultural Leadership Prize: Kodi Lopez

Ceremony program

A string quartet composed of seniors Aruli Pillai and Bai Xue on violin, senior Jade Pierce on viola and upper Indigo Ogiste on cello played before the ceremony and during the processional.

At the outset of the ceremony, Rawson recognized Alison Hobbie of the Science Department, who retired this year after 22 years of service, and Robert Morris of the Health and Human Development Department, who spent 31 years at the Academy.

After the announcement of the prizes, Music Instructor Kristofer Johnson led a performance of “The Road Home,” composed by Stephen Paulus, by the seniors in Exeter’s Concert Choir, including Stellan Aalto, Charles Knight, Christine Staller, Chloe Becker, Haakon Kohler, Polly Vaillant, Maya Cohen, Delaney Miller, Clark Wu, Madeleine Cron, Lara Muyombwe, Angela Zhang, John Henry Holcomb and Oluwagbemiga Salu.

Seniors Andrea Hernandez, Nina Kellogg, Jack Kugler and Holden Quaresma assisted Rawson in handing out diplomas.

The final day of competition for the spring season — and for the school year — saw championships earned, medals won, records broken, and a spirited day of competition with rival Andover.

Exeter boys tennis enjoyed an exciting cap to their season as Kiran Raval ’24 took home the New England Prep School Invitational Tennis Championship. The top-seed heading into the tournament, Raval marched through the bracket in impressive form before earning a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the championship match over Andover rival Ethan Wong. Clark Pearson ‘23 and David Dai ’26 also enjoyed success on the day, as Pearson climbed through to win the “A” consolation bracket, while Dai earned the “B” singles championship, winning his semifinal match 8-1 and the title match 6-0, 6-0.

Exeter crew brought home some more hardware at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championships. The girls first boat earned a third-place medal, while the girls second boat won a second-place medal. On the boys side, the first boat won the petite final to finish in seventh place overall, while the boys second boat earned a third-place medal. The boys third boat claimed fifth overall.

Back on campus, the rest of Big Red played host to Andover in the annual battle to close out the athletics calendar.

The boys track and field team, fresh off their 2023 New England Championship last weekend, topped the Blue 90-55. Byron Grevious ’24 set an Exeter/Andover meet record in the 1,500 meters with a blistering time of 3:52.50. Jaylen Bennett ’25 added another meet record in the 400, crossing at 48.77. Bennett, Brandon Wong ’23, Jackson Giampa ’23 and Enzo Nakornsri ’23 teamed up for another meet record in the 4×100 with a time of 42.70. Grevious also finished first in the 800 with a time of 1:58.25. The boys also swept the javelin, as Tanner Boulden ’24 (180 feet, 9 inches), Carter Johnson ’26 (161-5), and Will Simpson (150-10) each had monster throws.

The girls team, who finished second at New England’s a week ago, fell to Andover 77-68, but not without fireworks. Willa Hock ’23 broke the school record in the long jump with a leap of 19-1 while also placing first in the triple jump with a distance of 35-5.75. On the track, Hock finished first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.53 and teamed up with Kaylee Bennett ’23, Tenley Nelson ’24 and Jannah Maguire ‘25 for a first-place finish in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:10.13. Nelson also enjoyed a fantastic day, as she took home victories in the 800 (2:20.22) and the 1500 (4:45.99).

On the diamond, Exeter baseball came through with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Andover. Captain Andy Houghton ’23 struck out 11 over six innings before Beau Elson ’24 came in to close the door with three shutout innings of his own as the duo kept the Big Blue offense at bay. Malachi Johns ’23 reached with a single in the seventh inning, stole second, and came home on a double to right field by Dylan Shapiro ’23 to supply the lone run of the game. 

Boys varsity lacrosse also nabbed a big win with a 15-6 decision. Ryan Nagle ’23 (five) and Casey Realini ’23 (four) combined for nine goals to power the Exeter offense, while Aidan Olazabal ’24 was sharp in between the pipes to anchor a solid defensive effort.

Boys JV baseball earned a 6-2 win over the Blue on the back of Jack Dougherty ’26, who pitched a complete game. Boys JV lacrosse rolled to a 15-5 victory, while a goal from Eveland Sherman ‘25 in the final minute earned a 7-7 tie for girls JV lacrosse. Andover softball bested Big Red 9-0, while Big Blue girls varsity lacrosse topped Exeter 13-7 in their annual tilt on Friday night.

The Exeter boys track and field team was crowned 2023 New England Division I champions, and the Big Red girls placed second at the New England Prep School Track Association Championships (NEPSTA) this past Saturday at Andover.

The heavy rains did not slow down Big Red, as they received contributions from sprints, distance and field events to fuel an impressive weekend.

The boys scored 122 points on the day and outpointed second-place Deerfield by a staggering 29 points to secure their first NEPSTA championship since 2015. This mark continues an impressive run of regional success for both the boys and girls teams. This is the fourth title since 2013 for the boys program, who have also three runner-up finishes this decade and finished outside the top-5 just once since 2004.

The girls side has also proven to be a regular at the top of the rankings, finishing second in four of the last five championship meets and — like the boys — have finished outside the top five just once since 2004.  

Byron Grevious ’24 earned 2023 Meet MVP honors following two record-setting performances. Grevious snapped a 39-year-old meet record in the 1,500 meters when he crossed the line with a blistering time of 3:53.95. The previous record was set by Exeter’s Steve O’Hearn ’84 at Interschols in 1984. Later in the day, Grevious returned to break his own meet record from 2022 with a time of 8:32.72 in the 3,000.

“Byron made masterful decisions in both races to secure the win before considering times,” said Exeter head coach Hilary Hall. “With that selfless approach, it was really cool to see Byron get the extra personal reward of fast times and the Meet MVP award.”

Big Red received other big time performances from up and down the lineup. Jaylen Bennett ’25 broke his own school record and finished first overall in the 400 meters with a time of 48.44 and placed first in the 200 meters at 22.23. Bennett also teamed up with Brandon Wong ’23, Jackson Giampa ’23, and Edward Hawkson ’23 to take first in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 42.32 while joining forces with Charles Clavel ’25, Owen Dudley ’23, and Oliver Brandes ’23 to win the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:22.99.

Brandes also claimed a New England title in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.74, more than two seconds faster than the second-place finisher.  Dudley added a third-place finish for Big Red with a time of 1:57.09.

Tanner Boulden ’24 took home first overall in the javelin with a top throw of 164 feet, 9 inches.

On the girls side, Tenley Nelson ’24 claimed the New England title in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:42.67 while also finishing second in the 800 when she crossed at 2:17.44. Nelson was also a part of the 4×400 relay team with Willa Hock ’23, Kaylee Bennett ’23, and Jannah Maguire ’25 who placed second with a time of 4:05.17.

Hock claimed first overall in the long jump with a leap of 18’7.25’’ while also placing second in the triple jump with a best try of 35’1’’.

Daria Ivanova ’24 brought home the New England crown in the 3,000 in dominating fashion, crossing the line at 10:19.33, more than 19 seconds faster than the runner-up. Ina Mason ’23 was the pole vault champion with a successful attempt at 10-6.

“Saturday will go down as one of the worst weather days in decades for this meet,” said Hall. “You would have thought this team had trained in these conditions by the way that they performed. They were unflappable, tough, determined, and most importantly, they had put in the work to set it all up. Every event group contributed, making it a true full team effort.”

The Exeter cycling captured the New England Road Cycling League title, amassing the most overall points throughout the five-race session. This marks the third straight league title for the cycling program.

Leta Griffith ’25 paved the way for Big Red all season long, picking up multiple first-place finishes and totaling a league-best 444 points on the season for the girls side. Ale Murat ’23 and Elle Perry ’25 placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the season-long A standings. The girls A squad placed first in each of the races this season.

On the boys side, it was Williams Lu ’24 who paced Big Red through the A series. Lu finished in second place twice this season and added two other top-five finishes to finish with a cumulative total of 408 points, good enough for second in the league. Avery Baker ’24 finished fifth in the league with a total of 276 points; Duke Garschina ’23 placed eighth overall.

Four student panelists, including two students from the Academy and two from local high schools, spoke from the Assembly Hall stage on Wednesday night about their own activism and how educators in New Hampshire can help foster diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) inside and outside the classroom.

The event was the third iteration of “Educate the Educators” series hosted by the Black Lives Matter Seacoast Youth Division in collaboration with the Portsmouth High School Equity Council, and the first held in person at the Academy. Moderator Kevin Pajaro-Mariñez, the Academy’s assistant director for equity and inclusion, is also co-director for the Racial Equity Educator team at BLM Seacoast and interim director of the organization’s youth division.

“Oftentimes…the perception is that what happens at Phillips Exeter is reflective of what happens down the street,” Pajaro-Mariñez said in his introductory remarks. “From my knowledge and my experience in the community, that tends to not be the case, and part of bridging that gap is to bring people together in conversation over important topics.”

The discussion kicked off with reflections on what youth activism meant to all four of the student panelists. Janaya Springer, a senior at Portsmouth High School, and Saniyah Bolton, a junior at Exeter High School and co-director of the BLM Seacoast Youth Division, spoke of their experiences living in predominantly white communities in seacoast New Hampshire, and how each of them were inspired to join (and start) organizations dedicated to racial justice efforts.

“What youth activism means to me is having conversations and listening fully to everyone’s opinions on issues that are considered or were considered taboo,” said Springer, who co-founded Portsmouth school district’s Equity Council in 2021. “These are real issues and if you just push it under the rug…it becomes even more of a problem for the marginalized communities who have to deal with the sweeping under the rug.”

The panel moved on to discuss the issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice they believed needed to be addressed in the classroom, especially in light of legislation like New Hampshire’s “divisive concepts” law, which effectively limits discussions of race and racism in public school classrooms.

“[Representation] is one of the foundational blocks to make ensuring that everyone in any community is feeling seen and that everyone…has the resources they need to create empathy,” said Rowan Flanagan ’24, who works closely with the Office of Multicultural Affairs through clubs and affinity spaces and as a proctor.

“While lack of representation and DEIJ in schools and our institutions clearly harms people of color and other people with marginalized identities…it also harms those with privileged identities,” said Yasmin Salerno ’23, who is also a co-director of the BLM Seacoast Youth Division. “Because those with privilege growing up in a society that continuously stereotypes them as superior in some way creates a distorted sense of self that becomes a breeding ground for microaggressions…harms the potential for social relationships with marginalized peoples and feeds into a lack of empathy.”  

Bolton suggested that teachers worried about the “divisive concepts” law let their students take the lead in activities and conversations around more controversial subjects. “Creating a more inclusive environment…would open up communication in general between students and teachers,” she said. “Those connections will guide that ability…to have that personal standpoint of not only acknowledging ‘hey, maybe I’m not too educated on this, let’s talk about it,’ but also, ‘I’ve experienced this, let’s talk about it as well.’”

Click here to watch the “Educate the Educators” event. 

Before answering questions from the audience, which included a number of teachers from local public schools, the panelists spoke about how they cared for themselves while doing the difficult work of activism.

“When I first started out…I had this ideology that I was indeed going to save the world and become president of the United States at the same time,” Springer said with a laugh. “Having that mentality is very draining because you put so much pressure on yourself to solve every single issue, every single problem that we as a society face. But I think taking a step back and looking at the little progress you’re making in communities and hosting panels like this — that’s what’s going to change the world, slowly but surely.”

Around 8:15 on a morning in late April, one of Exeter’s distinctive “Red Dragon” minibuses pulls up to Saltonstall Farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, owned and operated by Sophie Saltonstall ’07 and her husband, Kyle. Instructor in English Jason BreMiller hops out of the driver’s seat and 11 seniors, all members of BreMiller’s spring term English class Literature and the Land, file out of the passenger’s side door.

The students assemble in a Harkness-style circle in front of the large white barn. Kyle, clad in a black hoodie and a baseball cap printed with strawberries, asks them what they know about weeds. They’re quiet at first — it’s still early, after all — but the conversation soon picks up.

“[Weeds are] parasitic, in the sense that they steal resources from whatever’s already there,” offers Kate Nixon ’23.

Kyle nods. “Everybody thinks farmers grow plants, [but] we actually kill way more plants than we grow,” he says.

In addition to reading assignments, including Camille Dungy’s poetry and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer, the students taking Literature and the Land spend much of their class time outside, observing and interacting with nature. Today’s Saltonstall Farm visit is one of a series of weekly class field trips; earlier in the term, they left campus at 4 a.m. for a sunrise hike in Pawtuckaway State Park in nearby Nottingham. Lit and the Land students have also explored Hampton Beach in the early morning hours, visited local apple orchards and beekeeping operations and paddled along the Exeter and Squamscott Rivers.

Now, the students file across the road to the strawberry fields, led by Hazel, the farm dog. Because strawberry plants send out long stems, with new plants growing from the ends, it makes mechanical weeding at this stage very difficult, Kyle explains. He kneels in the dirt to point out the main weeds plaguing the crop, including quackgrass (“my nemesis”) and the rosette-shaped yellow rocket.

Sophie hands out trowels and hand shovels as the couple’s nine-month-old son, Willie Nelson, peers out from a carrier on her chest. Kyle proposes a competition: Whoever pulls the most weeds will win a jar of farm-made strawberry jam.

Thus inspired, the students and BreMiller break into teams of two and get down to the work of weeding. As they work, some of the students stay close to Kyle, asking him questions — “How long does it take strawberries to grow?” “Do you guys use fertilizer?” — and chatting. Sheala Iacobucci ’23 mentions she’s taking a biology course in regenerative agriculture. “I think we’re coming here in a week or two on one of our field trips, so I’ll be back,” she says.

“I feel like I’m getting more dirt than plants,” Vibha Udayakumar ’23 says.

Kyle is reassuring. “Sometimes [the weed] doesn’t come out, and if it doesn’t come totally out, we’ll still get it in a death by a thousand cuts because we’re stealing a lot of its resources during its prime growing season,” he says. “So, there might be little bits that will come back, but it won’t be as bad.”

The sun has come out, lending warmth to the air. “You guys are doing great,” Sophie says. “Just another 100 hours or so and you’ll get to the end of the row and we’ll be done!”

A few ambitious students venture farther down the rows, separating themselves from the group. “Mr. Bre!” Jonathan Jeun ’23 cries. He holds up a large clump of weeds, their hair-like roots dangling, for his teacher to admire.

A few minutes later, the students begin wrapping up their work. They lug their buckets over for inspection, before heading back to the barn to wash up and board the Red Dragon back to campus. Kyle smiles as he assesses their haul. “I did not know a competition would work this well.”

Journalism trailblazer and civil rights champion Charlayne Hunter-Gault told an Assembly Hall audience on Tuesday morning that she had come to Exeter armed with “hope” that our country will learn from its history rather than repeat it.

Hunter-Gault, a Peabody- and Emmy-winning TV and radio reporter, is this year’s Strickler Fund speaker, a series that has welcomed journalists such as Nicholas Kristof, Jill Abrahamson and Charles Blow to the Assembly Hall stage. The fund was given to The Exonian by Richard Strickler ’66, a former editor of Exeter’s newspaper.

Hunter-Gault made light of the length of her career, telling the students, “I like to consider my 81-year-old self, dare I say, ‘woke.’ So, let me hasten to quote from LL Cool J, who says ‘Don’t call it a comeback. I’ve been here for years.’”

“I’ve been here for 81 years, so I come here today aware of all of our challenges, but I want to share with you, albeit poetically, this: I cope with the news that is not always good, because I believe in hope”

Hunter-Gault told Exeter’s students that a college professor told her that “history tells us we do not learn from history,” but she emphasized that it was “important to look back to assess how far we’ve come … and to keep from going back.”

Watch Hunter-Gault’s assembly address in its entirety.