Guests began arriving on campus early for Colorado Academy’s Commencement on June 1, and their collective good cheer and celebratory spirits seemed to clear the cloudy skies just in time for the Class of 2023 to make their way through the doors of the historic Welborn House and down the sunny west lawn. There, the graduating Seniors had a view of the Front Range as they processed down the center aisle between their friends and family members, accompanied by the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” performed by the Boulder Brass.
Watch the complete video of the 2023 Commencement.
View Commencement processional photos.
View Commencement candid photos.
View Commencement stage photos.
View Commencement diploma photos.
View Commencement Eve Reception photos.
The Class of 2023, with 104 graduates, is one of the largest in CA’s history, and the audience’s proud cheers were just as big, as Head of School Dr. Mike Davis offered personal tributes to each student on stage.
Erika Hollis, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, welcomed the students and their families to the ceremony. Speaking about the graduates’ success throughout their career, she evoked the character Ted Lasso, who, as a fictional television soccer coach, believes, “Success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these players be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.”
The sentiment is much like CA’s mission, Hollis said: creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders.
Hollis continued with three pieces of advice, again drawn from the wisdom of Ted Lasso. “Connect with the people around you, but never stop being yourself. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing; while it may not be easy, it is essential in caring for others and, more importantly, in caring for your own self respect. And finally, believe. We all have a front row seat to our personal failures throughout life, and it is easy to focus on the mistakes. But with hard work and an openness to learning, you can believe in your dreams today, and the dreams you will have tomorrow.”
Next, Dr. Davis took the stage to address the graduates. “Congratulations on your many accomplishments in the classroom, on the playing fields, in the art studios, and on the stage. Seniors, you have made your families very proud. And you have served as important role models for other CA students by engaging wholeheartedly in all your activities. You have played an essential role in sustaining all that is unique and special about our school.”
Dr. Davis used the Rolling Stones’ 1971 song “Wild Horses” as the centerpiece of his Commencement remarks, in which he compared the song’s concerns about the loss of a relationship with fears students might have about being “dragged away by wild horses” from the safety and friendships of high school.
“College and life will drag you away from CA,” he said, “but that’s actually the point. We’ve prepared you for that; life is about weathering the challenges. I hope you can maintain a sense of independence and freedom throughout your life, knowing that only you can define your own happiness.” Read Dr. Davis’s entire address.
Upper School Principal Max Delgado had a story to share with the graduates about one of his own high school teachers, who once told him, “Max, everything you do is just good enough. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you try to be truly excellent at something.” He wasn’t wrong, Delgado said, but what was surprising was that the same teacher advised another student to let himself be good enough more often.
“To become healthy adults,” he said, “we need to engage in the art of balance—that’s what that teacher knew. Through your CA career, you’ve been surrounded by a building full of teachers like this, who reached out to you, supported you in different ways informed by all your different temperaments. You have been well known and well loved, each in your own way. You stirred the emotions and the dreams of this community as we absorbed your work. We are thrilled for you and for the world you will shape.” Read Delgado’s entire address.
When Elected Student Speaker Noah Sohn next took the stage, he echoed others’ thanks for CA faculty, family, and friends, and went on to ponder the question of what was next for him and his fellow graduates. “I’m afraid that I don’t plan to stand up here and pretend to have the answer,” he said.
But reflecting on the advice of his uncle, Sohn acknowledged, he realized, “Even though some of us think that we already know our future—what we want to be, the legacy we want to leave behind, maybe even our purpose in life—the truth is that none of us is anything more than a blank canvas.”
Sohn continued, “The empty canvas is the freedom to do whatever you want. It’s also terrifying.” As an artist himself, he said, he knows well the fear of making a mistake. Still, “The artist’s duty, first and foremost, is to defeat the blank canvas, and turn it into something alluring—to take the bold step by making that first uncertain brush stroke and grow it into something with unique purpose, meaning, and beauty.”
He spoke to his friends and classmates when he concluded, “The truth is, you are your own artists, and the hardest part of creating your masterpiece, your magnum opus, yourself, lies just ahead of you: that daunting first stroke of the brush. Take that brush and make something with it—a line, a swirl, a dash, anything. The important thing is this: Don’t let your canvas stay empty. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being your classmate, it is that you all are going to make something beautiful.” Read Sohn’s entire address.
Finally, it was time for each graduate to be recognized as they received their diploma from Dr. Davis. Read the tributes.
CA’s Chanteurs, led by Vocal Music Director Dr. Kevin Padworski, performed Stephen Sondheim’s “No One Is Alone,” whose lyrics express a mix of apprehension, confidence, and hope that was perfectly suited to the day:
Sometimes people leave you
Halfway through the wood
Others may deceive you
You decide what’s good
You decide alone
But no one is alone
After students recessed at the end of the ceremony, they joined their families and friends to celebrate their graduation, proving that, though they may go forward on their own, they will never truly leave any of this behind—they’ll always have their CA experience to hold them up and hold them together as the Class of 2023.
