Senior Speakers [Oct. 18]

The 2021-2022 Senior Speaker series continued on October 18 and featured 8 members of the Class of 2022: Max Henderson, Frank Roberts, Cormac Sullivan, Alex Chen, Fiona Johnson, Zeina Lee, Izzy Choi, and Hannah Cote.

Max Henderson, a four-year senior from Suffield, Connecticut, spoke about his brother, Jack, who graduated Suffield with the class of 2019 after struggling with depression starting in his sophomore year. Max said, “Jack lives his life openly and is always willing to talk about his mental health struggles to anyone who is interested. His openness and willingness to talk about the rough stuff is one of the reasons why I love and respect him so much.”

Frank Roberts, a four-year senior from East Windsor, Connecticut, recited a passage from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which he had been required to memorize in his freshman English class. Though he doesn’t know exactly what makes certain memories stick with him as strongly as this passage does, he said, “What I do know is that the more things I did, the more memories I made, and the best advice I can give is to be present in everything you do.”

Four-year senior from Suffield, Connecticut Cormac Sullivan touched on the immense impact that his advisor, Mr. Morgan, has had on him over the past few years. He advised, “I encourage all of you to interact with your advisor as much as possible, because at the time you might need them most, they will be there with empathy and kindness.”

Alex Chen, a four-year senior from Wuhan, China, considered whether advice given to him from his father (“Nothing is impossible for a willing heart!”) was going to work for him. He came to the conclusion that, if something isn’t working, “Willingness is certainly useful, but we should open our minds to new possibilities instead of plowing ahead blindly on the same doomed endeavor.”

Four-year senior Fiona Johnson, from Virginia and Texas and most recently Long Island, spoke about what it feels like to belong to multiple different places. “Take time to notice the good moments, the moments that you feel like you’re at home, like you’re in the right place, at least for a little bit, because you're giving yourself a chance to settle into the most genuine version of yourself.”

Zeina Lee, a four-year senior from Seoul, South Korea, spoke about the differences between school in her home country versus the United States. She shared, “In South Korea, school life is focused almost entirely on academics. Here, high school is focused on many other things as well as academics: athletics, having friends, developing other interests, and balancing all of it. My first year was a big adjustment.”

Izzy (Yeon Jeong) Choi, a four-year senior from Seoul, South Korea, played Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata in C Minor, 3rd Movement, for her chapel presentation. She explained, “It is not an overstatement to say that my Suffield career truly began three years ago when I first entered the music center. Because ever since, whenever I’m feeling down, happy, angry, excited, or anxious, I always play this piece.”

From Suffield, Connecticut, two-year senior Hannah Cote shared the story behind the terrible accident her stepfather suffered several years ago, and how far he has come since then. She asked listeners to remember her family’s story when they felt like they were struggling, because “some people go a lifetime DREAMING of taking just one step.”

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