Rev. Emily B. Richards
Class of 1987
Commencement Address
June 1, 2007
It
is with honor and joy that I stand before you, the graduating class of
2007. Thank you for allowing me to share in this occasion. Graduating
from The Lexington School is a great accomplishment, an accomplishment
you will come to appreciate even more over time. When Mrs. Foster, a
former teacher of mine, invited me to be your commencement speaker, it
dawned on me that it will be twenty years this very month when I
graduated from TLS. Twenty years may seem like an eternity to all of
you, but I'll tell you it passes in the blink of an eye. I know it may
be hard to believe, but I can remember what it was like on my day of
graduation‐the excitement that the moment had finally arrived, the
pride of my family and teachers, even my own pride in reaching this
point in my life.
Yet minged with the excitement was also a
sense of apprehension and fear, both of which I imagine you are
experiencing this day. For many of you, as it was for me, these
classrooms and teachers are all you've known in your young lives. TLS
has been much more than a school for you; it has been home. Some of you
will be leaving this home and heading off to boarding school in the
fall, while others will be venturing forth to local high schools. All
of you will be embarking on new journeys, seeking your way in a world
that is much larger than you've ever experienced. Today is one of those
moments in your life where you find yourself on the threshold of
something new, stepping out into uncharted territory. In many religious
communities, it is at your very age when the passage from childhood to
adulthood is ritualized‐the Jewish Bar and Bat Mitzvah and the
Christian Confirmation, just to name a few. In this ceremony today you
stand on the threshold of adulthood and together with your families and
your school community, you ritualize this rite of passage in your
lives.
You may be wondering if you are ready to take this step
into the future and discover who it is you are meant to be in this
world. Whether you knew it or not, since you first entered this school
the faculty and staff here having been preparing you for this day, the
day when you would graduate. In her book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee,
child psychologist, Wendy Mogel writes, “Jewish wisdom holds that our
children don't belong to us. They are both a loan and gift from God,
and the gift has strings attached. Our job is to raise our children to
leave us. The children's job is to find their own path in life.” It has
not only been your parents' job, but TLS' job to raise you to leave
them. Now it is your job to find your own path in life. Today is the
culmination of TLS' hard work to prepare you to step out into the world
with courage and confidence.
One of the greatest gifts I
received from this place was a sense of courage and confidence.
The
faculty and staff instilled in me a confidence in my own abilities and
my own giftedness, as well as the courage to believe that anything was
possible. As someone whose childhood was filled with visits to
hospitals and doctor's offices, who spent more time worrying about the
side effects of the medications I was taking than what homework I had
for the night, it was often hard to believe in my future. However,
along with my family, the faculty and staff at TLS believed in me even
when I couldn't believe in myself. It was Mrs. Collier who welcomed me
as a terrified five year old and my even more terrified mother with
open arms and a warm smile to the first day of kindergarten. It was
Mrs. Eames who taught me to find my voice and it was Mr. Noderer who
encouraged me to share it with others. It was Miss Bale who sparked my
imagination and Mr. Brown who cultivated my inquisitiveness. And it was
Miss Cowling who expected nothing less than my best effort. These and
many others at TLS shaped my young life in such profound ways.
I
stand before you as a TLS graduate who is not afraid to go after my
dreams, believing that nothing is impossible because those at TLS first
believed in me. I am in a profession that only thirty years ago was not
open to women. It is in my lifetime that women have been ordained to
the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. I am doing what many of my
forbearers only dreamed of being able to do. I am doing things that at
your age I never dreamed possible. I stand in the pulpit and preach to
hundreds. I teach children and adults. I lead worship. I baptize babies
and marry couples and anoint those who are dying. Thanks to the faculty
and staff at TLS I had the courage to find my path in life.
Know
that as they believed in me; they also believe in each of you. This is
your day to celebrate; your future to behold. Each of you has a story
to tell about TLS, experiences to share of this place which has shaped
you. Thank your teachers, your headmaster and the staff. Thank them for
believing in you, if not today then someday. And thank your parents for
sending you to this school to learn, grow and become the person you
were meant to be in this world.
I have no illusions that
tomorrow or ten years from now any of you will remember what I have
said in this speech. I have participated in too many graduation
ceremonies to think otherwise. In fact, I don't even remember who spoke
at my TLS graduation (my apologies to that individual). What I do hope
you will never forget is that this school has made a huge difference in
your life and in the lives of so many others. Leave here with
hopefulness for your future and gratitude for the experience you had as
a student at The Lexington School. And when you do become discouraged
and unsure of yourself, when your dreams seem out of reach and
everything seems impossible, recall your days here. Recall the moments
in science lab or in the orchestra or on the soccer field. Remember Mr.
Baldecchi, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. MacCarthy and the others. Remember this
place which you once called home, where you were nurtured and
challenged to be the best you could possibly be.
Graduates,
you stand at the threshold between childhood and adulthood. Step out
into the world and take hold of your future with courage and
confidence. Embark on this new journey to find your own path in life
with the assurance that at TLS there will always be people who believe
in you!