The 112-member Class of 2016 faced stormy weather on Sunday, June 5, for the Founders Day exercises that marked the end of their time as Gilman students. The threat of thunderstorms led to a decision to move the exercises indoors, which, despite the swelter inside the Redmond C.S. Finney Arena, provided wise as rain pelted the ceiling about 40 minutes into the ceremony. The nimble move seems apt for the Class of 2016, characterized by its valedictorian, Luigi Nicholas Mangione, as inventive, with “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.”
In the valedictory, Luigi Mangione credited his classmates for their “inventive, pioneering mentality that accompanies a strong commitment to Gilman tradition.”
Along with Mangione, Gilman families, friends, faculty members, and the graduating class heard addresses by Headmaster Henry P.A. Smyth and Board of Trustees President Scott Wieler.
In his remarks, Headmaster Smyth referenced a quote from Arnold Toynbee, a British professor and historian, who, in his mid-20th Century work, “A Study in History,” wrote: “The distance between our capacious knowledge and the moral wisdom to use it constructively, may have become so great that we have passed the point of no return in closing the gap.”
Smyth reminded the boys that “book smarts” alone are not enough to make the world a better place, and he suggested that the Class of 2016 might offer an alternative narrative by using knowledge constructively and cultivating moral wisdom to compliment intelligence. “Be smart and knowledgeable. More importantly, be wise and moral. Continue to cultivate your whole selves in mind, body, and spirit. In other words, gentlemen, be Gilman men,” he told the graduates.
The Headmaster also announced the creation of a new faculty chair at Gilman, established by Mr. and Mrs. J. Richard Thomas ’43, to support the School’s outreach and development effort. The chair will support an exemplary Gilman faculty or staff member who embodies Gilman’s values. He named Athletic Director Timothy Holley, Jr. ’77 as the first recipient of the J. Richard and Mary McC. Thomas Development Chair.
Thanks to the generosity of the Culver family, a second John K. and Robert F. M. Culver Chair, given to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in the teaching of humanities or the arts, was awarded during the ceremony. Smyth announced that Upper School English Department Chair Patrick Hastings will join Middle School Language Arts teacher Matt Tully as the second Culver Chair.
Board of Trustees President Scott Wieler spoke to the graduates about “being Gilman,” their future role in the community, and their responsibility to reach their fullest potential. “I am asking you, as Gilman graduates and future leaders, to do what generations of your predecessors have done: Cut through the noise, accept new challenges, find your frontier, disrupt the status quo, and change the world.”
Before the graduates received their diplomas, the following students won awards for scholarship, athletic performance, and community service.
2016 Student Awards
William S. Thomas Scholarship Prizes
9th Grade: William Carrington Dowling
10th Grade: Matthew Z. Mu
11th Grade: James Clayton Hebert
12th Grade: Luigi Nicholas Mangione
William Cabell Bruce, Jr. Athletic Prize: Dorian Wayne Maddox
Daniel Baker, Jr. Memorial Award: Basil Paul Melissanos Apostolo
Edward Fenimore Award: Antonio Daniel Dupree Jr.
Peter Parrott Blanchard Award: Stephen Joseph Spanellis
Redmond C. S. Finney Award: Alexander Jarrell Stephens
William A. Fisher Medallion: Leonard Joseph Shapiro
The Class of 2016
Elijah Ismael Abass
Basil Paul M. Apostolo
Bryan Cole Applefeld
Joshua Darryl Askew
Ethan Robert Avotins
Andrew Charles Blomquist
William Derek Prin Blomquist
Jeremy Noah Booth*
Isaiah Raymond Braxton
Alexander Aidan Brocato
Bryce Jeffery Butler
Patrick Ryan Byerly
Hogan Byun*
Tabb Carneal
Andrew Thomas Chan
Brian Kenjin Chirikjian*
Stewart Junhyun Cho
Jack Harkins Churchill*
Alexander Stephen Edward Cohill
Derrick Jordan Covington
Asher Philip Cox
Aaron Joseph Cranston
Claiborne Cartwright Crozier
William Buck Davies
William Benjamin Davison*
Frank Augustus DeCosta IV
Daniel Jeffery DeSmit
Thomas Richard Diehl
Jack Alexander Bradley Doriss
Kevin Hurite Doyle
Wolfgang Charles Drake
Antonio Daniel Dupree Jr.
Jay Merritt Eastman
Justin Martin Edwards
Emmanuel Ani Engermann*
Julian Stewart Finney
John Carroll Fitzgerald
Hunter Luis Flaks
Mitchell Frederick Ford Jr.*
Jacob Parker Gavilow
William Walter Gettinger
Jacob Alexander Goodwin
Luke Ireland Granger
Adam Cameron Gray
A’mon Kevin Griffin
Bennett Mays Gushue
Devery Bernard Hamilton Jr.
John Thomas Harvey*
Michael Elijah Li Holmes*
Ethan Walsh Houley
Thomas John Huber Jr.
Bryce Williamson Jones
Riggs Patrick Jones
Ellison Omari Jordan
Stewart Garrett Keehner
Minjun Kim
Parker Collins Knott*
Peter Gibson Kohler*
Nicholas Alexander Kuchar*
Frederick Paul Leatherbury
Robert Jinmyeong Lee
Blake James Leonard
Haohan Lin
James Patrick Lotz
Dorian Wayne Maddox
Daniel Dmitriy Makarevich*
Luigi Nicholas Mangione*
Brennan James McAdams
Wesley Matthews Mehl
August Robert Meny*
Toshihiko Mori
Casey Mac Nelan
Tobias Ernst Niebur
Edward Joseph Obrecht
Kyle John Ogden
Charles Henry Orlinsky*
Tyler Attwood Pantle
Yixuan Pei*
Matthew Aaron Pomerantz
Richard Miller Roebuck, Jr.
Robert Bromwell Russell V
Joseph Henry Sakai
Drew Michael Saltzman
James Peyton Sandberg
Race Scott Saunders
Alexander Reynolds Shafer
Shamar Andre Shanks
Leonard Joseph Shapiro
Nikita Sharshakov
Andrew Kyubae Shim
Jack Chaimson Sibel
Charles Graham Siegel*
Matthew Porter King Siems
Christopher J. Song*
Stephen Joseph Spanellis*
Alexander Jarrell Stephens
Korey Makai Stevens
Maxwell Benjamin Strome*
David Matthew Sturtz
Tze-E Tan*
Thomas Curtis Troy
Wen Kai Wang
Zain Wasi
John William Thompson Webb
Max David Wendell
Corey Dylan Wey
Christopher McClellan Williams
Everett Juwan Winchester
Charles Schroeder Wittich
Christopher Alderman Wolfe*
Jacob Andrew Young
Charles Edward Young II
*Cum Laude
