187th Commencement

Suffield Academy’s 187th Commencement celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2020. It was the school’s first-ever virtual graduation.

Led by Head of School Charlie Cahn, the ceremony was filmed on Bell Hill and included remarks by guest speaker Sarah Finnie Robinson and Tyler Sylvester and Sophia Shay. Tyler and Sophia were selected to speak by their classmates.

Sarah Robinson leads WeSpire, an integrated behavior-change platform that corporations use to engage employees to have a positive impact on sustainability, well-being, culture, and social responsibility. She spoke about how the coronavirus has forced us to rethink everything, even the Suffield Commencement ceremony. She helped us further understand how uncertainty can sometimes be helpful in leading us to focus on “what we do know and what we can do.” Sarah highlighted ten areas that are vital to focus on in challenging moments—from understanding facts to embracing community, utilizing leadership skills, courageous decision-making, key questioning, prudent risk-taking, long-term thinking, self-awareness, appreciation, and resilience.

Tyler Sylvester thanked Suffield’s faculty and staff and focused on the many talents of the Class of 2020 and the shared lifelong bonds they will have as Suffield alumni. Sophia Shay’s comments centered on staying optimistic and positive despite the incredible sadness and disruption brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Each member of the graduating class was recognized by faculty member Lori Sych, co-advisor to the Class of 2020 along with Erica Caginalp.

After sharing comments that emphasized core values of Suffield including hard work, kindness, and community, Head of School Charlie Cahn closed the ceremony in an unexpected way. He said, “As we conclude the 2020 Commencement ceremony we have a special surprise. It will be the start of a new and important Suffield tradition. In honor of the incredibly disruptive and unusual experience this senior class had—and in recognition of this deeply sad but certainly historic period of time—we are dedicating the Suffield Bell as the Class of 2020 Suffield Bell.”

The bell is Suffield’s most iconic school symbol, dating back to 1834. Head of School Cahn recounted its long and honorable history by noting that in addition to being used in recognition of important moments like Commencements the bell rang for hours to celebrate Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox and to signal Suffield’s grief when President Lincoln was assassinated in the same year.

Moving forward the Class of 2020 Suffield Bell will ring every year at Commencement and a brass plaque on Bell Hill will refer to the complex historical moment brought on by COVID-19, the 2020 virtual commencement, and Suffield’s affection for this class and its members.