9 Seniors From Dedham Graduate from Nobles

"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?"

Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" echoed through the auditorium as members of the senior class performed the 1970 hit on stage. The senior celebrated assembly for the last time Friday, but carried their enthusiasm and energy into the school's graduation ceremony. 

School Life Council President Thomas Kelly kicked off the ceremony as he compared the seniors' high school experience to Huckleberry Finn's journey in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Kelly, a Dedham resident, encouraged his classmates to band together as they prepare to face new challenges.

"We hope to prove ourselves as some of the best and brightest Nobles that have ever graduated," Kelly said. 

Kelly received the Davis Cup for sportsmanship and the Nash Medal for executive ability. But the graduating senior recognizes the school's faculty contributed to his success.

"We have been truly blessed," Kelly said. "I feel so fortunate to be taught by these amazing people." 

One faculty member stood out among the rest at the ceremony as David Ulrich earned the school’s Vernon L. Greene Award for Faculty Excellence. Noble and Greenough School graduate David Arnold established the honor nearly 30 years ago to recognize teachers who promote and nurture academic excellence.

The school recognized several students with additional honors, including Dedham resident Kaleigh FitzPatrick as the graduating senior earned the school's Edward L. Bond, Jr. Prize for Improvement.

Students elected school athletic director Alex Gallagher as the featured speaker at the ceremony. Gallagher, a 1990 Nobles graduate, encouraged students to rise to the challenge of being great.

"In those times when you face challenges, please call on this family," Gallagher told students. "Win or lose, Nobles loves you."

The senior class elected Peter Sholley and Rosalind Watson to deliver graduation speeches. Sholley brought cheers and laughs from the audience as he delivered "The Little Engine That Could, but Only Sometimes," a speech in which he emphasized the importance of using his high experience to figure things out.

"Every student has their own engine," Sholley said, "my engine is not what you'd call a finely tuned engine - but it has brought me to where I am today."

Watson compared her graduation experience to the end of the world with "A Cultural Manifesto on the Zombie Apocalypse and a Bunch of Astronauts." The graduating senior acknowledged her classmates are stronger together than they are apart. 

"The end of the world is awesome. Who wants to spend it all alone?" Watson said. "Today is the end of the world. If today's the end of Nobles' bubble, let's end it well."