Senior Speakers [Apr. 11]

Senior Speakers [Apr. 11]

The 2021-2022 Senior Speaker series continued on April 11 and featured seven members of the Class of 2022: Sean Clarke, Paul Fuller, Colby Spencer, Benedikt Vollert, Yugo Lee, Josh Mingo, and Henry Shiftan.

Sean Clarke, a postgraduate from Westport, Connecticut, spoke about his adjustment to Suffield and some of the lessons he learned this year. He said, “This year was a good year for me both personally and athletically. I learned a lot, met some great people, and I can honestly say I’m happy to be at Suffield Academy.”

Paul Fuller, a postgraduate from Larchmont, New York, and Colby Spencer, a postgraduate from Pembroke, Massachusetts, delivered their speech about coming to Suffield for their PG year together. Paul said, “Coming to a new school was hard because we had never been the new kids at school before. The scary transition was immediately made easier when the first day of preseason for football started. It was clear right away that a strong bond was going to be formed with our teammates and the PGs on our team.” Colby echoed, “Suffield had a very welcoming energy, and we also knew students that went here in the past and had a great experience. After talking to those kids and visiting Suffield, it made it clear that this was the right school for us.”

Benedikt Vollert, a three-year senior from Gruenwald, Germany, touched on the fact that nobody is perfect and everyone has flaws, but it’s up to each person to decide how to feel about who they are. He acknowledged, “Embracing who you are can be tough. For most of us, it’s a constant journey, sometimes for our whole lives.”

Yugo Lee, a three-year senior from Osaka, Japan, shared some memorable moments that he had with his roommate this year, which often included procrastinating. He said, “Even though we don’t help each other to be productive with schoolwork, we tend to get everything done on time.”

Josh Mingo, a three-year senior from Copenhagen, Denmark, gave some insight into his home country, including the importance of Hans Christian Andersen’s influence on him. He shared, “As a kid, one of [Andersen’s fairy tales] in particular resonated with me...The Tale of the Ugly Duckling, where Mr. Andersen concludes in his final lines, ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re born in a duck yard, so long as you are hatched from a swan’s egg.’”

Henry Shiftan, a four-year senior from Savannah, Georgia, read Ricky and Buster by Katherine Rawson, a children’s book he found in a puddle after a lacrosse game. Though written for students much younger than himself, Henry’s takeaways were that, “Surrounding yourself with good friends will make you a better person” and that at Suffield, “Every student and every faculty member work together to actively grow as individuals and as a community as a whole.”

The senior speaker series is a valuable Suffield Academy tradition and capstone part of the Leadership Program. It is a weekly highlight in our community.

 

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