“This is your day”

                Outgoing Principal Rawson joins faculty, families and friends in a joyful sendoff to Exeter’s class of 2026.

            

Joy and pride filled the Academy Lawn as family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered on June 7 to celebrate the 326 graduating seniors of the Academy’s 245th school year.

“This is your day,” Principal Bill Rawson ’71; ’65, ’70 (Hon.); P’08, told the class of 2026 as he kicked off the ceremony.

Class President Ethan Benenson began his welcome remarks to families by citing advice given by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about the importance of pain and suffering to building resilience. Huang was speaking to students at Stanford Business School, but Benenson said his words would have been a “non-epiphany” to students at the Academy. “Exeter was established with the purpose of building character, and has been practicing that magic formula since 1781,” he said.

In a speech that combined insight with a generous dose of humor, Benenson said perseverance was the common element that united him and his classmates, as well as all Exonians past and present.

“One day in the future, when we cross paths with a fellow alum, the nod and smile we exchange will carry the ultimate shared knowledge of our survival and the raw resilience that comes with it,” he said. “We will know that we are both part of the same story, the same legend, and share the same sense of deep gratitude.”

On behalf of his classmates, Benenson thanked the many people who supported them during their time on campus, from teachers to custodians to campus safety officers to dining hall staff.

To parents and guardians of the graduating seniors, he offered a teasing congratulations — “Your brave experiment in outsourcing a good portion of our upbringing has worked out remarkably well” — before concluding on a sincere note of gratitude. “Thank you for your foresight, your boundless support, your immense sacrifice, and your bold courage to let us grow independently and write our own stories,” Benenson said.

After Benenson spoke, Rawson, who is retiring this year after eight years as principal, recognized the nine longtime faculty members also retiring this year. Taken together, the nine retiring instructors — Hilary Hall (Physical Education), Duncan Holcomb (English), David Hudson (Physical Education), Bill Jordan (History), Paul Langford (Classical Languages), Chris Matlack (Science), Brad Robinson (Science), Mark Trafton (Modern Languages) and Tanya Waterman (Science) — represent a staggering 308 years of service.

Principal’s remarks

In his final graduation remarks, Rawson reminded the seniors and the assembled crowd of Exeter’s mission as envisioned by the school’s founders, John and Elizabeth Phillips, and carried on by later generations of its leaders: “to unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives.”

“We hold to that belief today,” Rawson said. “We believe that all of you can and will find ways to make a positive difference in the world, on whatever scale you choose, just as you have made a positive difference during your time at Exeter.”

The principal reflected on the core value of non sibi — the Latin expression meaning “not for oneself” — and expressed the hope that students would carry that philosophy into their lives and careers beyond Exeter. “Non sibi is not something that you do after you have been successful in life,” Rawson said. “Non sibi is how you are successful in life.”

He elaborated on how the non sibi ethos would help guide the seniors as they entered leadership roles. “I hope you will always think of your decision-making authority not as power, but as responsibility — responsibility that you hold in trust for the benefit of others,” he said. “If you understand your authority as responsibility rather than power, then you will be more inclined to approach your responsibilities with humility and empathy.”

Rawson spoke of his own formative experiences visiting his hard-working grandmother, aunts and uncles in Harrisville, Rhode Island. “Harrisville is where I developed my approach to life, which can be summed up as — work hard and treat people well,” he said.

In their time on campus, the seniors had enjoyed not only the privilege of an Exeter education but the opportunity to live and learn among peers from all over the world with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, Rawson said. He added that he hoped that deep understanding of common humanity would motivate them throughout their lives.

“At the end of the day, when you look back on your lives, your sense of purpose and fulfillment will not be determined by the wealth that you have accumulated or the accolades you have received,” Rawson continued. “Your sense of purpose and fulfillment will be determined by how you have impacted the lives of others, how you have made a difference in the communities in which you live, and how you have made others feel along the way.”

In concluding his graduation remarks, Rawson said he would always have affection for the Class of 2026 as the last senior class of his tenure as principal.

“Your class has great ability, great character, and great potential to do good work,” he said. “I will be watching with keen interest to see what paths you choose and how you make a positive difference in the world.”

We believe that all of you can and will find ways to make a positive difference in the world, on whatever scale you choose, just as you have made a positive difference during your time at Exeter.

Principal Rawson ’71; ’65, ’70 (Hon.); P’08

Honors and Special Awards

In addition to a number of endowed scholarships, Dean of Faculty Meg Foley, assisted by Trustee Janney Wilson ’83, presented the following honors and special awards during graduation:

The Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence: Sophia Marya, Celine Zhang

The Cox Medals: Sophia Marya, Whitney Pickett, Owen Welch, Forrest Zeng, Celine Zhang

The Yale Cup: Alex Sahinoglu

The Ruth and Paul Sadler ’23 Cup: Mena Boardman

The Perry Cup: Andrew Gould

The Williams Cup: Ezra Segal

The Eskie Clark Award: Maria Gray

The Thomas H. Cornell Award: Kyle Kennedy’s

The Faculty Prize for Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts: Shawna Jiang, Harini Venkatesh

The Multicultural Leadership Prize: Lydia Reimert

Graduation program

Before Rawson’s remarks, seniors in Exeter’s Concert Choir performed “The Road Home,” composed by Stephen Paulus. Led by Music Instructor Kris Johnson, the choral group included Chloe Bosma, Elle Cohen, Lilia Fecteau, Elizabeth Flynn, Lauren Lee, Anushka Noori, Ayana Okuneye, Mary Olasore, Olivia Pierre, Ally Rubin, Mathilde Senter, Emerson Seymour, Nathalie Sherman, Andy Song, Andrew Su, Harini Venkatesh, Karsten Vun, Enya Yu and Albert Zhu.

A string quartet including seniors Martin Yau, Arabella Mariano and Tristan Price and lower Changyu Jeong played during the prelude and processional that began the graduation exercises.

Sam Altman, Robyn Davies, Jinmin Lee and Abi Sagna helped Rawson hand out diplomas — including 18 classical diplomas and 308 English diplomas — to the graduating seniors, while Class Marshals Nate Frary, Collin Moore, Anushka Noori and Harini Venkatesh escorted their fellow members of the Class of 2026 to their seats before the ceremony.

Watch the ceremony

Watch the 2026 graduation ceremony from start to finish.

Read the remarks

Read former Principal Rawson's remarks for the Class of 2026.