DEERFIELD — Commencement ceremonies typically encourage graduates to mobilize their education toward making the world a better place. Deerfield Academy’s 224th annual ceremony, however, also provided the Class of 2023 with a considerable head start.

The 184 graduating seniors and their loved ones erupted into a standing ovation when keynote speaker and billionaire philanthropist Rob Hale announced he would be donating $1,000 to each member of the class. He asked that each student choose a nonprofit to donate the money to by June 30.

“Give a little more than you get in your life and your life will be better for it,” Hale, who graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1984, advised the graduates. “I learned philanthropy here. As your final lesson here in Deerfield, I’d love for you to learn philanthropy here today.”

Hale, whose professional positions include President of Quincy-based Granite Telecommunications and co-owner of the Boston Celtics, has contributed more than $52.5 million to local organizations in 2022, according to a biography published by Deerfield Academy. Last Thursday, Hale made headlines for similarly donating $1,000 to UMass Boston graduates, prompting each of them to give half of the money to a person or organization in need.

Other speakers at the ceremony made clear that such acts of good will are integral to what it means to be a Deerfield Academy student. In her welcome address, Board of Trustees President Leila Govi said the graduates “have vibrantly embodied Deerfield’s values and their contributions to this community are as many as they are meaningful.” Subsequently, Head of School John Austin, who was absent due to attending his daughter’s commencement, said in a pre-recorded speech that he hopes each graduate “will take the goodness of this school and spread it far and wide wherever [they] go and whatever [they] do.”

Later, student speakers Simisola Lawal and Songa Rwamucyo each shared anecdotes about how their negative perceptions of boarding school prior to attending Deerfield Academy were defied by their experience at the school.

“The point is I saw myself being included in the Deerfield Community with open arms and a support system ready for me,” Lawal expressed. “Deerfield’s door, which at first looked ajar due to my fear of taking such a huge jump, was an opportunity I took to open, knowing there was uncertainty and possibly many times I had to get out of my comfort zone, but I was willing to turn that knob and step through that threshold.”

“Deerfield [Academy] taught me how to live with other people,” said Rwamucyo, who noted that much of his upbringing was defined by inconsistency as his family moved from country to country, “and I mean truly live with other people.”

Deerfield Academy 2023 Franklin and Hampshire County Graduates

Eve Andon, Amherst; Madeline Bialek, South Deerfield; Brendan Butz, Deerfield; Pierre de Beauport, Greenfield; Matthew Dillon, Greenfield; Fiona Howes, Whately; Ella Hynds, Deerfield; Gavin Mariani, Montague; Robert Provost Jr., Leyden; Sally Rolland, Easthampton; Georgia Sackrey, Sunderland; William Sussbauer, Ashfield; Sophia Wolbach, Turners Falls.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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