Brewster Celebrates Class of 2025 Commencement
By Suzanne Morrissey
On Saturday, May 24, the 103 graduates of Brewster Academy’s Class of 2025 and their excited families and friends along with proud faculty and staff celebrated Commencement with all the pomp and circumstance one expects from a tradition more than two centuries old.
With a last-minute shift from Brown Field to the Smith Center for Athletics and Wellness due to a rare spring Nor’easter, the Brewster community looked on from chairs on Radley Court, the bleachers, and even from the second level around the indoor track as graduates processed in behind bagpiper Travis Cote and Class Marshals Luce Colcord and Cole Butcher.
Rev. Dawn Adams from the First Congregational Church of Wolfeboro began the Invocation with, “God of the heavens and the earth and all there within and without, we gather here on this day to celebrate the lives of these students who are graduating today. As we hear of their accomplishments and watch them receive their diplomas, we ask you to bless them.”
Head of School Kristy Kerin welcomed the assemblage with a personal reflection on this particular class: “It’s a joy to celebrate this milestone with the Class of 2025. Your class will always hold a special place for me. Though I had been with Brewster for 10 years before you arrived, we started fresh together in September 2021—you as Lifers, me as a new Head of School. I imagine we walked onto campus that Fall with a similar swirl of emotions…hearts racing, minds full of questions, asking things like, What did I just sign up for? It’s hard to believe how quickly four years went. Today, we’re here to celebrate all you’ve accomplished and all that lies ahead.”
The Head of School then acknowledged special guests who had traveled to Commencement, including Trustee Emeritus David Carlson, Class of 1954, grandfather of the day’s keynote speaker, Chris Carlson ’15. Rounds of applause rang out for faculty (seated on either side of the dais) and the parents and family who supported each of the graduates on their journey. Ms. Kerin then reminded the Class of 2025 of the single-word themes Brewster has had for the past four years: curiosity, uplift, unity, and—the 2025 theme—courage.
She then laid out an incredible tale spanning three generations that led to the day’s celebration. “Earlier this year, I introduced our 2025 theme of courage and told you a story about Chris Carlson, Class of 2015—a story of determination and quiet belief in his own potential,” she said. “We’re so happy to have Chris with us today as our keynote speaker.” She shared that Mr. Carlson came to Brewster at the encouragement of his grandfather. “He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do here…Then he met the crew coach, who encouraged him to try rowing. He did, and he was hooked.” After his graduation a decade ago, Mr. Carlson became a formidable college rower, made six national teams, and narrowly missed qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. But recently, in Paris, he and his mens’ eight team took home bronze for the U.S., and his rowing career is as strong as it had ever been. “When he returned home,” Ms. Kerin continued, “he shared in an interview: ‘I don’t think a 15-year-old me could have imagined something like this.’ Chris, your comment stayed with me and I’ve thought about it a lot as I considered what I wanted to share with our graduates today.”
She then expressed to the graduating class that they do not need to have a life plan, because life is rarely linear. Instead, they can put their minds into small, individual choices building their own path with “every decision you make and every risk you either choose to take or avoid.”
“One oar stroke at a time, Chris found the courage to pursue his sport to its fullest, set huge goals and chase them unabashedly,” she said. “To trust his training, his teammates, and his fortitude to perform his best on the world’s biggest stage. The lesson, I think, is in the progression.”
In a goosebumps moment, Ms. Kerin explained that Chris’s grandfather, David, was part of the first class to hold its Commencement in the Rogers Gymnasium 71 years ago. Little did David know that as an alumni volunteer and later on the Board of Trustees, he was shaping the school that would shape his grandson—including his vote to add crew as a Brewster sport!
Ms. Kerin concluded with thoughts on courage and how it echoes across generations and from one daring choice to the next. “When we see someone do something remarkable,” she said, “we begin to imagine what might be possible for us too. So get in your boats, pull on your oars, keep pulling, and let’s see where you go.”
VALEDICTORY SPEECH
Ms. Kerin presented the Headmaster's Prize to the Valedictorian, Logan Cliche of Alton, N.H. In addition to his demanding academic schedule, Logan, part of Brewster’s Curvey Scholar program, was the editor of the literary magazine, played a number of leading roles in school musicals, performed at Coffee Houses, and participated in numerous clubs and activities. Logan was also lauded for being an enthusiastic teacher and sharing his love of photography, languages, math, civics, literature, and art with his fellow students and friends. Having earned both an Arts and Global Scholar certificate, Logan graduated with a GPA of 4.278, and will attend Columbia University.
At the podium, Logan shared his gratitude and began a speech that wound around the concept of time—how we experience it differently, how it slows and speeds in ways we may not expect, and how the process of our experiences together in the learning and living community of Brewster has shaped everyone’s growth. “We face so much rebirth here, constant reinvention, that the days begin to blur together, shapes and forms barely flickering across the wall of the cave as we turn away from the life outside,” he said, continuing, “We have lived so much here for the future, for the next grade, the next hour, the next decision, the next night, the next weekend, the next break, that we forget what it means to be human in this place.…Today, however, the river of time has run dry, the current has dissipated, and the rebirth has stopped, waiting for you to make the next decision, the next step toward your future. Today, as time pools around your feet and the cloudy future hangs heavy above your head, I ask you to allow yourself a moment of quiet recollection and reflection: Where do you stand?”
Acknowledging that the graduates each have had an opportunity at Brewster that few others have received, Logan noted that they each have the chance to go out into the world, to lead lives of purpose, to be led, “not by the theater of the mind or the cult of personality, but by the truth itself, carried, not by an artificial intelligence, but by our own skills of reason.”
“Never let yourselves forget the minds that each of you has honed, for they will be your strongest weapons, and never let yourselves forget what has happened here,” Logan said. “Each and every one of you is here today because someone, somewhere, whether that be a parent, a friend, a teacher, or, in my case, Mr. Curvey, believed in you. It is up to you what you do with that belief.”
MEMORIAL DAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As as become a powerful tradition, Ms. Kerin next paused the graduation ceremonies to acknowledge that Brewster’s Commencement falls on Memorial Day Weekend, asking the audience to join her in a moment of silence for the country’s military fallen. “And now I’d like to invite any active duty or retired members of our military who are with us here today to stand and be acknowledged,” she said after the solemn moment, thanking them for their service.
RECOGNITION OF AWARD WINNERS
At about the halfway mark of the ceremony, Ms. Kerin called up individual graduates being recognized for their academic achievements or contributions to our community. The following awards were voted on by the Brewster faculty, and carry with them the gratitude and respect of the entire community. The winners of those awards are listed below:
Joey Stephen Schmidt: The Ronald “Buzzy” Dore Memorial Award for the graduate who exemplifies the qualities of our alumnus and friend, showing outstanding leadership in the areas of academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities, and who is a friend to all.
Abdul Manaf Annor: The Faculty Growth Achievement Award for the graduate who has shown the greatest improvement in general record during their junior and senior years at Brewster.
Luce Colcord: The Jill Carlson Memorial Award for the female graduate who exhibits outstanding athletic abilities, determination, drive, and dedication, and displays an inquiring curiosity to learn about and experience life.
Logan Cliche: The Mabel Cate Tarr Award for the graduate whose record is one of outstanding contribution to scholarship and citizenship. (Special note: Zoe is also the Class of 2024 Salutatorian, and spoke at the Ivy Address the afternoon before Commencement. Read more here.)
Fatma Al Hooti: The David Sirchis School Service Award for the student who, in terms of spirit, dedication, and contributions of service, has done the most for the Brewster community.
Abby Brodney and Harry Caracciolo: The two Arthur J. Mason Foundation Awards for graduates displaying good sportsmanship on the playing fields, in the halls, in the classrooms, and among students, faculty, and others.
Lizzie Hall: The Burtis F. Vaughan Award for the graduate who has most successfully combined scholastic and athletic excellence with the personal qualities of sympathy, sincerity, appreciation, and awareness in all his or her associations.
Randall Preston: The Faculty Service Awards for the students who provide the strongest example and make the greatest commitment to community service, who consider such service not as a responsibility or an obligation but rather as something that comes from a driving inner motivation to be of value to others.
Cole Butcher: the inaugural Laura Cooper Lifer Award for the Lifer—a student who attended Brewster for all four years of high school—who embodies kindness and gratitude, consistently showing compassion and empathy for others. They invest time and energy into the betterment of our community and take full advantage of the opportunities provided by Brewster. They can be counted upon to show up for others with unwavering support, welcoming new students who join the community each year. Dedicated to personal growth, their journey of maturity and perseverance uplifts those around them, creating a ripple effect of pride and positivity.
Ayamarie Brown: The Arthur M. Hurlin Award for the graduate who has done the most for the welfare, good name, and progress of Brewster.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALIST CHRIS CARLSON ’15
Chris Carlson ’15 graduated from the University of Washington in 2019 with his degree in political science and has made Bobcat Nation proud for all he has achieved in his chosen sport of rowing. “We were beaming as he earned a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics last year,” Ms. Kerin noted before welcoming the 2024 Brewster Athletics Hall of Fame inductee to the podium.
Mr. Carlson then shared his path from a “lanky 5'10 lacrosse goalie and unremarkable rower” to a student at Marist College, where “actually things began to unravel a bit.” He was still processing the loss of his father, who passed during his senior year at Brewster, and drifting in his first year of college. Then a conversation altered his course: After a tough crew race on the Hudson River, Chris felt like quitting the sport. He called his stepfather who advised him to think more on it, and make sure he wouldn’t regret leaving the crew shell. “To the parents of the Class of 2025 here today: Thank you for answering those kinds of phone calls. You've been a lifeline for your students here at Brewster more times than you know,” he said, receiving nods and meaningful looks from the parents in the audience.
Mr. Carlson then expanded on the concept of quitting, advising, “There’s a difference between quitting because it’s not right for you and quitting because it’s hard.
The trick is learning the difference. The goal: minimize regret.” He then described the turnaround he had at Marist, in his sport, and later moving to the University of Washington to pursue rowing on a higher level. He took the audience through the years of trials and tribulations that tested but still strengthened his resolve, and led him to victories he never could have imagined at the beginning of his journey. He described how joining the U.S. Training Center was a leap forward toward the Tokyo Olympics—then COVID struck. “Training was seriously disrupted and we all had to pivot. Though I’d only learn this in hindsight, one saving grace of COVID was that I was forced to adapt and learn how to row a single scull—a skill completely outside of my comfort zone,” he said.
Not making the Olympic team for Tokyo was a devastating blow, but Mr. Carlson saw the bright side with time: It gave him time as a single rower, and “plenty of time to reflect on my experiences. It's in moments like those that we rely on our communities and on our friendships to keep us on track. And I'm grateful for my family and friends who backed me up during that time.” After seeking out different coaching environments, new input, and feedback. That combined with rowing the single, a boat class that gives immediate feedback, began to pay dividends. Eventually, the pitfalls and disappointments that turned into opportunities taught the one-time Bobcat that “Win or lose, we learn. A love for the sport, willingness to push myself, has always made it possible to get back in the boat.”
He closed his inspiring speech by advising the Class of 25: “Today, as you celebrate your success and look forward to all that lies ahead, do not fear failure. Learn from it. Lean into your goals, lean into failure when it happens and remember courage only grows when you face challenges…. even in the moments when you fail miserably.”
AWARDING OF DIPLOMAS
Each year the students of the graduating class dedicate their yearbook, The Winnipesaukean, to a staff or faculty member of the Brewster community. And as an honor, that person announces the names of the graduates as their diplomas are awarded. This year, the Class of 2025 selected Dean of College Counseling and Boys’ Basketball Coach Tim Cushing. As dean of college counseling, Mr. Cushing has shaped thousands of futures through his wisdom, patience, and genuine care for each student's success…providing clarity and firm guidance, supporting and cheerleading students through each step of the process. Relationship-focused, he stays in touch with many graduates, fostering their connections back to the Academy.
And so the moment arrived and the names were read, and each proud graduate ascended the stage, received their diploma from the Head of School, and returned to their seats. Many craned to see parents waving from their spots, cameras and phones snapping away capturing those ebullient “I did it!” images.
With a final congratulations from their Head of School, and a nod from their Class Marshals to move their tassels, the Class of 2025 tossed their mortarboards to the ceiling! Following the Benediction from Rev. Adams, the graduates recessed out of the Smith Center, most heading to the now-sunny Brown Field for photos before joining their loved ones for a buffet lunch in the Grayson Student Center.
Enjoy the full recording of Commencement 2025 here and check out photos here.
