The Hun School community celebrated the accomplishments and achievements of the Class of 2022 during the Princeton, N.J., school’s 108th commencement, capping off Her at Hun: Celebrating Fifty Years of Girls and Women at Hun.
“All of us who appreciate the benefits of living today in Hun’s thriving co-educational environment owe those first girls a debt of gratitude,” Head of School Jonathan Brougham said.
But he also acknowledged the challenges this class has faced during their tenure at Hun, including the loss of classmate Arman Roy ’22 during freshman year. Arman’s cousin, Anuj Roy ’22, accepted an honorary diploma in his honor.
The Class of 2022 was in their sophomore year when the pandemic began, launching students into remote learning and then hybrid instruction their junior year.
Valedictorian and Student Body President Gabe Huang ’22 reflected on his high school career, calling it “a series of hills.” During freshman year, he took a public speaking and debate course that challenged him to create and execute debates against sophomores with more experience. His hard work paid off, and he continued working hard through the remainder of his time in the Upper School, especially when according to him, he wasn’t the smartest student in the class.
“I stand at the top of the hill because I am willing to put in the work, to write draft after draft, to practice for hours and hours, to climb that hill until I reach the top. I stand at the top of the hill because no matter how many times I roll my ankle or slip, I will never stop walking up the hill until I get to the top. I simply refuse to be outworked,” Gabe said. He finished by telling his classmates to, “charge up this hill. And then charge up all the other ones.”
Huang, a member of the National Honors Society and Cum Laude Society, will attend Georgetown University in the fall. He also received the school’s most prestigious award – the Faculty Prize.
Salutatorian Cici Liang ’22, editor of the school newspaper and an accomplished STEM scholar, reminded her classmates that uncertainty will always be a part of life, but that they must not let it paralyze them.
“As long as you are moving, no matter if it’s sprinting forward or crawling forward, you will arrive at the place that is right for you. Therefore, don’t be afraid if you don’t know what to do next. Give yourself a chance to stay and explore uncertainty, and the best is yet to come,” she said. Lang will matriculate at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Described by Brougham as a “friend to everyone,” student speaker Kiera Hahn ’22 reminded her classmates about the feelings they had when they first came to Hun. For her, those feelings were anxiousness and nervousness about beginning a new chapter in her life, as a boarding student. But she quickly found her footing at Hun; the dorm parents who baked cookies while she talked, the teachers she would pop in to say hi to, the community she felt at dinner.
“I’m leaving behind memories and people, and life will never be the same as it is here. While this makes me sad, I know that those moments, which become memories, are with me always. They shape who we are, who I am, and remind us of what we can make it through,” Hahn said.
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