You are the class that ran the Great Race during a solar eclipse. The last class to have lived in Hanover, Clark St., and Wall St. (and you remember the coffeemaker in the lounge and the free breakfasts).

You were there at Fall Retreat when Dr. Thornbury played Bennie and the Jets; you danced on the chairs and played dodgeball and ate s’mores by the bonfire. You attended the RGA at the New York Fire Museum, and you were here to enjoy it when the Chick-fil-A opened on Fulton Street. Biggie the dog became a constant during your time here.

Like many students before you, you pulled all-nighters; you figured out how to make sense of Intro to Politics; you had spontaneous hallway conversations about topics great and small. You heard about each House’s mission and values and had a hand in shaping traditions. You contemplated Compassion, Order and Chaos, Progress, and Reconciliation.

You saw the acronym “P.P.E.” take on a completely different meaning, weathering three semesters in the shadow of a pandemic. When campus closed in March 2020, you decided whether to stay in NYC or go, watched as updates about fall 2020 came in, and stepped into a new way of life—whether you studied remotely or returned to a masked and socially distant campus.

You found ways to make meaning out of loss and change. You put together photo essays, produced Unprecedented Times, wrote scenes for Crashing Into Silence, and worked on planning the future of TKC Athletics, even when you couldn’t play.

In what felt like no time at all, you learned how to run hybrid events and to have Zoom links at the ready. You stayed in touch with friends who were studying from different locations and time zones.

In the middle of all of this, you studied who we are as human beings: what and how we believe, how we live together and govern ourselves, despite our differences, and how money and resources influence human flourishing. You spent these years preparing to join in God’s restoration of the world.

Now, you’re graduating. You’re so close to the finish line! Please stay in touch as you begin your next adventure.

We are cheering for you, we love you, and we will miss you.

—Your faculty and staff