The Masters School’s Convocation, held each year during upper school parent weekend, is a tradition begun five years ago to acknowledge, celebrate, and give thanks to and for each part of our dynamic community—parents, faculty, alumnae/i, and, of course, our students. World religions teacher Jane Rechtman, Henry Sloane Coffin Chair in Religion, welcomed the audience of over 800 with an inspiring invocation.

Community government student co-chairs then shared their perspectives on The Masters School. Enoch Johnson ’07 reflected on the role of being a student leader not just when school is in session. “A simple act of kindness or honesty may inspire others to do the same or simply become more conscious of their environment….But what is most important is to create that example, which will, in turn, make you a leader.” Alice McGillicuddy’s ’07 used the familiar story of geese and their “V” formation to note that humans need to develop their basic instincts to create meaningful communities. “Through a higher level of understanding...we can elevate instincts and create incredible things.”

In his remarks, Richard Simon, chair of modern and classical languages, told us why learning language is important and explained the recent decision to offer Mandarin at The Masters School. “If you learn a language, you become able to communicate with an enormous part of humanity. And that is the first step to acknowledging humanity.”

Tracy Tang Limp ’80, a valued member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Development Committee, had the honor of introducing this year’s Convocation guest speaker, her father, Oscar, L. Tang, president and CEO of Reich & Tang, investment managers in New York City.

In his comments, Mr. Tang related a moving story that included the history of Chinese immigrants in America. “This country, or more precisely, its educational communities, took me in. Its schools and colleges educated me and gave me the tools so that I could have the chance to live a rich and fulfilling life…Today, I am particularly honored to be invited to celebrate the educational life of The Masters School, for in this I have much to celebrate…my daughter, Tracy, class of 1980, represents the fourth generation and most immediate beneficiary of an American education.”

Convocation also included a ceremony in which esteemed faculty member David Dunbar, who is CITYterm co-founder and academic dean and Masters School coordinator of teaching and learning, was named to the Joan Smith Hamill ’34 CITYterm Chair. This fully endowed chair at the School was made possible by the second largest gift in the School’s history from the Hamill Family Fund. Daughter Nancy Hamill Winter ’60 was present and in her remarks noted that her mother, Joan, was a lifelong and experiential learner who loved Dobbs. In accepting the chair, David Dunbar quoted Aldous Huxley: "Experience is not what happens to you. Experience is what you do with what happens to you."