Tag Archives: Convocation

Reverse Selfies and Acts of Kindness at Williston’s 173rd Convocation

As he stepped to the podium for Williston Northampton School’s 173rd Convocation, Head of School Robert W. Hill III pulled a cell phone from his pocket. With the school community looking forward to a year of new technology, it was only appropriate that Mr. Hill kick off the ceremonial beginning with what he described as a  “reverse selfie.”

Mr. Hill turned his phone toward his audience and took a quick panorama of the assembled students in their formal jackets and dresses. The students waved and smiled.

In thinking about the upcoming year, Mr. Hill said he was reminded of another modern wonder: the Panama Canal.  Mr. Hill said there was a metaphor in the human ingenuity, colossal machines, and transnational cooperation that each canal passage required.

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173rd Convocation at the Williston Northampton School

The Williston Northampton School will ring in its 173rd year with a Convocation ceremony on Monday, September 16 at 5:00 p.m. This year’s distinguished speaker, Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan will address the crowd of honored guests, students, faculty and staff, community members, and friends of the school. Mr. Sullivan is the parent of two Williston graduates.

Mr. Sullivan was elected to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office in November 2010 and began his term in January of the following year. He has been an attorney for more than 25 years, serving 17 years as a trial attorney and advocate. He has handled thousands of criminal and civil cases and tried cases in Superior, District, Juvenile, and Military courts.

In 2008, Mr. Sullivan was one of two Massachusetts lawyers chosen to receive the Massachusetts Bar Foundation’s President’s Award for “extraordinary volunteerism, leadership, and commitment to increasing access to justice in Massachusetts.”

Following Mr. Sullivan’s speech, the student body president, Madeleine Stern ’14, will speak and then lead everyone in the singing of the alma mater, “O Williston.”

The event will be held on the quad in front of Reed Campus Center. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Athletic Center.

Watch the event live at www.williston.com/live.
The annual Senior Dinner will be held after the ceremony in the Birch Dining Commons where guest speaker Sara Delano Collins ’98 will address the senior class and faculty. Ms. Collins graduated from the University of Denver and is now a Senior Product Management Consultant at File & ServeXpress, a division of LexisNexis.

Struggle as Motivation at 172nd Convocation

Whether it was one of time or distance, speakers at The Williston Northampton School’s 172nd Convocation spoke of various journeys, and the bumps they had encountered along the way.

© Matthew Cavanaugh

“For me, being successful means getting from point A to point B no matter what obstacles may be ahead of you,” Class President Matthew Freire ’13 told the assembled Williston community.

“In my opinion, no one can be a success without first encountering obstacles preventing one from achieving his or her success in the first place,” he said.

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Investiture and 170th Convocation

news 4Robert W. Hill III will be installed as The Williston Northampton School’s 19th head of school as part of the school’s annual Convocation Ceremony at 6:00 p.m., September 24, on the campus quadrangle in front of the Reed Campus Center.

Convocation, which marks the official opening of school, will begin with a procession of Williston faculty and special guests. Students, alumni, community members, and friends of the school will attend the event, which will also be webcast at www.williston.com/investiture.

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