Commencement 2004
June 6, 2004

By Caroline Savello ‘05 Weeks of special events culminated Sunday with the graduation of The Pingry School’s Class of 2004. Graduation ceremonies began with an invocation by Assistant Headmaster and Middle School Director Dr. Robert Macrae ’82, one of two administrators leaving the school to accept headmaster positions at other independent schools. Macrae, a teacher at Pingry for 16 years, will become headmaster of the Cincinnati Country Day School in Cincinnati. His colleague Adam Rohdie is moving to Connecticut to head the Greenwich Country Day School. Rohdie, assistant headmaster and Upper School director has been at Pingry for 15 years. In his speech, the senior class president praised the contributions of Rohdie and Macrae, saying “Both of them are the reason, directly or indirectly, that we got up every morning to come here.” The audience gave the two administrators a standing ovation. Following the class president’s speech, the student body President Robert Zacharias thanked the school’s teachers for “doing what you do so very well.” Valedictorian Susannah Bragg urged her classmates to find the good in change, quoting Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America” by saying, “We are nostalgic for what we’ve left behind and we want to go back, but we are undoubtedly dreaming ahead.” After the 120 senior received their diplomas, the teachers congratulated the new graduates in a procession out of the school. Andrew Schlesinger reflected on the feelings of his fellow graduates, saying, “We’re ready to go to college, but we’re not ready to leave Pingry.” Pre-graduation festivities began May 24 with the presentation of senior awards. June 4 was the annual “Big Blue Bash,” a cruise around Manhattan and an overnight lock-in at the school. © 2004 The Pingry School