CENTREVILLE — The Gunston School celebrated its 113th commencement Saturday, June 8, honoring the Class of 2024 with a waterfront ceremony overlooking the Corsica River, as family and friends looked on. The procession began with bagpiper Andrew Jaecks, followed by school faculty and staff, and then graduating seniors. This year’s senior class was accepted to 153 colleges and universities, earning nearly $12 million dollars in merit scholarships.
Head of School John Lewis introduced the commencement speaker, President of Washington College Michael J. Sosulski, Ph.D., who took office in September of 2021. Sosulski has implemented a number of initiatives including a $20 million investment in renovations of residence halls, improved Wi-Fi quality and access, and approved the addition of golf, cross country, and track and field as new sports for men and women. Additionally, he helped steward the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the College—$50 million from the Hodson Trust dedicated to financial support for students.
“You are embarking on the next chapter of your life,” said Sosulski, “One of the most important things you can do is offer your opinions up for scrutiny. Why? For two reasons: first, it is one of the primary ways that you will learn and grow. [...] It is about the pursuit of knowledge. Being exposed to the ways in which others see the world will help you become the person you are meant to be. Some of those perspectives will reinforce your own, while others will flip your thinking on its head. The other reason to offer your opinions for scrutiny is simple—often … we’re just wrong. And the quicker we realize it, the better off we are.”
Lewis and Gunston’s Chair of the Board Joe Janney, P’21 then presented each graduate with their diploma, individually handcrafted by faculty member Michael Kaylor on an antique letterpress.
This year’s valedictorian honor (also called the Samuel A. Middleton Award after one of the school’s founders) was bestowed upon Zoe Buzzelli of Grasonville the day prior at the school’s Green & White Awards Ceremony.
“This year’s winner is a superior student, leader, athlete, community servant and National Honor Society member. She finished with a mathematically perfect 4.0 GPA, having taken the most rigorous course load of her grade, including eight AP courses. Having taught her last year, she is engaged, curious and fun, and above all else, totally thorough. She’s a member of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester [...] she served as sophomore, junior and senior class president and as an athlete, she is a multi-sport and conference champion and has been the captain of four athletic teams: cross country, volleyball, swimming, and triathlon,” said Lewis.
Zoe had this parting wisdom for classmates: “The advice I am trying to leave you with is probably some of the only advice I am qualified to give, for it is not instructions on how to change the world, although I hope you do; it is simply a reminder to make your own world a better place. Find people who lift you up and people who encourage you. People who aren’t afraid to challenge you to make you better. Find people who will work hard with you and strive to achieve collective goals. And most importantly find people who bring you joy. Build your foundation with these people, so that whatever life may throw at you, you are steady because of your strength and the strength of the people around you. And Class of 2024, we are lucky enough to have Gunston as part of our foundation.”
Presented by Assistant Head of School Christie Grabis, the prestigious Gunston Award, which began in 1969, is unique in that it’s chosen by the vote of the entire school community, including students, faculty and staff and is given to the senior who embodies Gunston’s core values on a daily basis. This award was also given to Zoe Buzzelli. “A role model of citizenship and a thoughtful leader, this student makes every person feel important and worthy. The Gunston community has benefitted from her earnest investment in all academic, social, and personal commitments,” said Grabis.
Lewis concluded the awards ceremony with a request of the graduates, made as he held a hand-crafted six-foot wooden social distancing stick aloft. “I carried this around in the first weeks of your ninth grade year, much of which was spent bemasked under a semi-heated tent. As Mrs. Grabis said a few days ago when we were chatting about this, ‘Right, these were the tent kids.’ So when thinking about what I would like to do with this stick [...] I’d actually like each of you to sign it with a sharpie, so I can keep it in my office forever as a symbol of the grit, resilience, and grace of the Class of 2024.”
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