The Class of 2026 completed their Pingry journey and received their diplomas during the School’s 165th Commencement Exercises, held in the Bugliari Athletics Center on June 7, in the company of families, Pingry trustees, administrators, faculty and staff, and other friends.
Senior faculty member Miller Bugliari ’52 used his Invocation to caution the graduates about “all of the ethical decisions you will need to make, both academic and life decisions. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.”
Selected unanimously by the class to address them at Commencement, Upper School History Teacher Lisa Longo Johnston spoke about the world’s “magic” (how things work and happen) from the perspective of children and adults. Several years ago, she taught a course called Magical Realism—exemplified by the movie Encanto in which reality and magic exist side by side, and nobody questions it. “One of the lessons of Magical Realism is that the extraordinary and the ordinary occupy the same space. We tend to think that adulthood is the process of losing our belief in the wonder of the world…but what if growing up isn’t the loss of magic? What if adulthood is discovering where the magic was hiding all along?” she said. Ms. Johnston then pointed out that she had been positioning adults as the magic makers, “but the truth: you all are magic to us.”
Student Body President Jayden Battles-Cobb observed that people seem to think that, by virtue of his title, he knows what he is doing, but he said that is not the case. Whenever people have come to him for advice, he was stumped, but then he realized that “nobody was coming to me because I had everything figured out. They were coming to me because nobody has everything figured out.” His advice to his classmates: “Bet on yourself because you’ll stop walking away from your own potential.”
Valedictorian Christian Zhou-Zheng speculated about the future with AI because “some of us in these gowns are wondering whether we just spent our best years getting good at what a computer now does for free, and some of you are wondering whether the world you’re sending us into still has a place for us.” But he is not worried because nobody knows the future and “we still have to go forth and live it.” The only preparation for the challenge, he said, is judgement. “Judgement is what Pingry has spent all these years teaching us…how to take what we know and face what we don’t, how to look at a hard question, think for ourselves, and make the right call.” His advice: “ask what you think first.”
The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals whose outstanding and meritorious contributions have enriched the Pingry community, was presented to two individuals: the late Bobby Wulff, a treasured 15-year member of the Facilities Team and Building Trades Supervisor on the Short Hills Campus (his wife Heather and four sons accepted), and Lois Fitton, who has served the School in numerous volunteer leadership roles, including as PSPA President in 2022-23 when Pingry emerged from the challenges of the pandemic and Tim Lear became Head of School.
Upper School Director Dr. Reid Cottingham paid tribute to the 22 seniors who entered Pingry in Kindergarten and are members of the “13-Year Club,” also known as “Lifers.” She and Mr. Lear then presented Daniel Hall with the Magistri Laudandi Award, for being the student who champions the greater good and cares the most about helping all succeed, and Harrison Hackett with The Class of 1902 Emblem, for having the greatest amount of school spirit.
Addressing the graduates, Board of Trustees Chair Ian Shrank ’71 complemented Mr. Lear’s upcoming comments about the importance of spontaneity. “Spontaneity is the spark behind creativity, adventure, laughter, discovery. When we allow ourselves to think spontaneously, we open the door to ideas that logic alone probably would never produce. And there’s another important benefit, that it instills courage.”
After the presentation of diplomas, Head of School Tim Lear reflected on favorite movie lines that were ad libbed. “They all happened because someone was prepared enough and present enough to respond in the moment.” The highlight of his research was an NPR interview with Harrison Ford about his breakout role in Star Wars, and an improvised line that he strongly believed was more in character. How did Harrison Ford go from being unsure of himself as a younger man to a Hollywood star? The transformation happened when he found other people putting on plays. Mr. Lear related a similar story from talent agent David Bugliari ’97 who recently received Pingry’s Achievement in the Arts Award. “I would argue that the willingness to adapt and improvise, and the habit of listening carefully to what other people have to say, will always be more important that mastering AI, picking the right major, or securing the best internship,” he said. Important questions: “how we can best champion and support one another, how we can most effectively react in the moment…prioritize people, and invest in relationships…as you choose to sometimes follow the script and sometimes leave the script behind, may you always remember that the best stories are rarely written alone.”
Pingry congratulates every member of Pingry’s Class of 2026 on their graduation, and on all of their accomplishments. The School has a richer legacy because of their talents and contributions, and wishes them luck as they begin a new chapter of their lives.
College Matriculations for the Class of 2026
Contact: Greg Waxberg ’96, Assistant Director of Communications, Writer/Editor