Celebration of Williston Northampton’s 172nd Convocation

The Williston Northampton School will open its 172nd academic year with a Convocation ceremony on Friday, September 14, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.  Our distinguished speaker this year is the President of the Board of Trustees, Elizabeth Manning D’Amour P’00, ’03, ’04, ’07.

Convocation, which marks the official opening of school, will begin with a procession of Williston faculty and special guests.  During the ceremony, which will take place on the quad in front of the Reed Campus Center, Ms. D’Amour will address the gathered students, alumni, faculty and staff, honored guests, community members, and friends of the school.

Watch the event live at www.williston.com/live.

The audience will also hear from the Senior Class President Matthew Freire ’13 of Elizabeth, NJ.  Friere is a member of boys varsity water polo, a captain of the swim team, manager of the girls water polo team, and a dorm proctor for 194 Main and Ford Hall.  In the summer of 2011 he participated in Williston’s China immersion program.

“Matt is outstanding,” said Emily McDowell, his college counseling advisor.  “He is a true scholar, kind, brilliant, and genuine.”

A dinner for the Class of 2013 and faculty will be held after the ceremony at 6:15 p.m. in the Birch Dining Commons.  Tim Murphy ’96 will address the senior class and faculty during the meal.  A graduate of Boston College and Dartmouth, Murphy returned to Williston in 2000 as the assistant director of annual giving and young alumni outreach.  After a year, he transitioned to the admission office where he worked as the assistant director of admission for six years.  In 2007, Murphy moved to The Fessenden School in West Newton, MA where he served as the director of secondary school placement, dean of the ninth grade, and coach of fifth and sixth grade lacrosse.  In the summer, Murphy serves as staff development director at YMCA Camp Becket-in-the-Berkshires.

In addition to the dinner for the Class of 2013 all other upperclassmen will meet, by grade, at 6:15. Ninth graders will meet in the Dodge Room, sophomores will meet in the upper lobby of the athletic center, and juniors will meet in the lower level of the StuBop.

2 thoughts on “Celebration of Williston Northampton’s 172nd Convocation”

  1. Tim Murphy’s speech to seniors, filled with vignettes from his own time as a student, offered one of those rare moments when tomorrow’s graduates see and hear of one person’s gratitude for his teachers. It was a memorable talk and I am sure that the former faculty present were deeply touched.

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