04 Jun Class of 2012 graduation
Woodstock School’s Class of 2012 graduated on Saturday (June 2) in an emotional and inspiring ceremony held in the school’s Win Mumby gym.
The Class of 2012, named Sapere Aude (Dare to be Wise), consisted of 89 students, hailing from a total of 16 different nations around the world, including the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Canada, Afghanistan and Australia.
The vast majority of students will be going on to universities and colleges around the world, with around 60 per cent of graduates heading to institutions in North America.
Students have received offers from many prestigious institutions including Yale, Harvard and Stanford in the US, and the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London, in the UK.
During the school’s 83rd annual commencement ceremony graduates were addressed by Adam Grotsky, Executive Director of the United States-India Educational Foundation, which oversees the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship Program.
He urged the graduating students to pursue a “philosophy of regret minimalisation”, to follow their passions and “inner drumbeat” in future life and career choices, taking risks to get out of their comfort zones.
Valedictorian student Priyankar Chand, who is heading to Yale University to read cognitive science and South Asian studies, addressed the ceremony, urging his fellow graduates to combine their thoughts, feelings and actions coherently to create hope and transformation in the world.
Woodstock Principal Dr Jonathan Long said the ceremony was a time of great celebration but also sadness as the students moved on.
He said there were two graduation ceremonies, one which was the public ceremony in front of friends and family, but also there was also a private graduation ceremony, where students chose which types of values they would take forward into their lives and careers.
Sukham Kaur was named Salutatorian student and also addressed the ceremony, as did President of the Board Dr Eleanor Nicholson.
The audience also heard musical performances from graduating students Tashi Lama (guitar), Zac Tanner (violin) and a vocal duet by Atila Jamir and Sangay Bhutia, who performed the song A Whole New World.
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