The class of 2015 celebrated commencement with speeches from Salutatorian JJ Woronoff ’15 and Valedictorian Amelia Miller ’15. Covi Brannan ’15 was honored with the Veritas award and Garrett Robinson ’15 was awarded the Bishop’s Medal June 5 on Ted Slavin Field. Woronoff encouraged audience members to not take themselves too seriously while Miller argued that Harvard-Westlake has prepared the senior class to live a successful life.
The graduation began with the the procession of the faculty, clad in academic regalia. The senior class followed them dressed in black robes for the boys and white robes for the girls, and filing into bleachers flanking the stage at the north end of the field.
After the invocation from Chaplain J. Young, President Rick Commons stepped to the microphone to introduce Woronoff, the salutatorian.
Woronoff used humor to reinforce his message of not taking one’s self too seriously. He comedically insulted various members of the senior class and the administration to the cheers of his classmates, and he also included a video highlighting the top 10 personalities in the class of 2015. The list was capped off with Ryan Shelly’s ’15 intensity with school rivalries at number three, Marc Shkurovich’s ’15 kindness at number two and Woronoff’s self-proclaimed humor at number one.
Next, Commons presented the Veritas Award to Brannan, who he said is an egoless actress with an unblemished 4.0 unweighted grade point average. Robinson received the Bishop’s Medal, the Veritas Award counterpart for a boy in the senior class, for his commitment to the football team and BLACC club among other accolades.
Miller’s valedictory addressed the hard work students accustom themselves to at Harvard-Westlake as a means to justify the success she knows the senior class is prepared for after graduating. In her speech, she thanked parents for their hard work and concluded with the topic of elite education. After mentioning several quotes about its downfalls, Miller ultimately revealed her positive view of the school as she announced that members of her class will make a difference in the world because Harvard-Westlake taught them to.
Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts read each name in the graduating class as Commons shook hands with and presented diplomas to each graduate. Seniors with parents or relatives that are faculty members or on the board of trustees were presented their diplomas by these relatives on stage.
The prefects received their diplomas last and the seniors tossed their hats in the air to signify the end of their high school careers.
The ceremony was broadcast by HWTV for the second year in a row.
More pictures from the commencement can be found here:
https://www.hwchronicle.com/photo/class-of-2015-graduates/
