Cate’s 104th Commencement

May 28, 2017

The Class of 2017 on the commencement stage for the 104th graduation at Cate School.

Cate held its traditional Commencement exercises on the morning of Sunday, May 28, marking the School’s 104th graduation ceremony. With the assistance of the School’s President of the Board of Trustees Monique Parsons ’84, Head of School Ben Williams conferred diplomas upon the 67 members of the Class of 2017, recognizing the unique talents and contributions of each with a personally rendered citation.

Beneath sunny skies and in the presence of families, friends, faculty, students, alumni, and other members of Cate’s Board of Trustees, the ceremony marked the achievements of students who come to the School from all parts of the state, from across the country, and from around the world to experience a rigorous academic and co-curricular program.

Head of School Ben Williams spoke first, choosing to highlight his own father’s special hobby – collecting and cataloging numerous species of moths – as a metaphor for honoring unsung and unusual heroes.

“I hope and trust not only that you have such people in each of your lives but that you become such models for the many who will surely look to you. Already your peers and those you have mentored this year are watching. A great many more will do the same in the coming years.  What will they see in you? Will they know what you love or why? With all due respect to our present ceremony, maybe the milestones that truly matter are the ones that reveal us in the maelstrom as distinct, different, and worthy of note and memory.”

In her address, English teacher Stephanie Yeung Ph.d., described the particular tests and challenges she faced as a U.S. Air Force navigator pilot before she entered the academic realm. She urged graduating seniors to learn from her journey.

“All of you, at some point, will face a challenge that pushes you to the very limit of your capabilities. And if you have to give it all to get what you want, then take those knocks, scratches, or whatever other marks you earn along the way, and wear them with pride. But remember, the most challenging battle you may encounter, may pose no real ‘difficulty’ at all. When things look good on paper, it’s easy to just keep driving down the road you’re already on. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right road, or even the best road. I could very easily still be flying jets, or doing research but I wouldn’t be nearly as happy, or fulfilled, as I have been here, with you.”

Francesco Duffy-Boscagli ’17 of Santa Barbara was selected by his classmates to deliver the senior address.

Francesco Duffy-Boscagli of Santa Barbara was selected by his classmates to give the student address. In it, Francesco filed the final entry for his feature series for the School newspaper, El Batidor, “Carp Gems” – this time about Cate. Describing everything from the “snug feeling” students experience sitting next to library fireplaces to the School’s classroom and dining tables, which he called “highways over which ideas travel at the speed of sound,” he likened Cate to the “longest-running study-oriented sleepover.” Acts of empathy by people in a beautiful and committed place are the lessons that Francesco advised his classmates to remember and take away with them.

In addition to diplomas, the School’s highest honors to both students and faculty were given out during the ceremony.

Henry Dawson of Washington, D.C. received the William Shepard Biddle Cup, the School’s highest honor. Named for one of Cate’s most distinguished alumni, the award recognizes a senior who best demonstrates the qualities of humanism, idealism, and the desire to achieve that Cate seeks to teach its students. Henry will continue his academic studies at Brown University.

“First Lady of the Mesa” Betty Woodworth received the Servons Award. Woodworth came to Cate in 1948 with her husband Stan, a legendary teacher and administrator the School, where they also raised their family. While her official role on the Mesa was in the library and as the School’s first archivist, she has mothered and mentored countless students, faculty members, and their families during her long tenure at Cate. Fighting back tears, Head of School Williams lauded Woodworth for her many years of service to Cate and demonstrating “poise, conviction, love, and compassion,” as the audience rose to a standing ovation amidst thunderous applause.

The Scholarship Cup, the School’s highest academic recognition, was awarded to Bryce Huerta of Santa Barbara, who will continue his studies at Stanford University. Several other seniors were honored with special awards, to wide and enthusiastic clapping.

The ceremony marked the culmination of a weekend of Commencement festivities, including a Saturday athletic and academic awards ceremony and an evening Baccalaureate service where Athena Jones ‘04, now a CNN correspondent on the White House beat, was the honored speaker.

Cate’s Class of 2017 will matriculate to leading colleges and universities around the country and the world. These include: Bowdoin, Case Western, Harvard, Middlebury, Pomona Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Trinity (Dublin), Tulane, Yale, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as many others.

The following seniors received their diplomas during Sunday’s ceremony: