Mrs. Phinney took the podium with a smile on her face. Overlooking the mass of blazers and ties, she graciously thanked Mr. Schiender for his warm introduction. Then, she turned her attention to the podium, searching for something hidden within its shelves. She then rose back up, now with thick red sunglasses in hand, their lenses reflecting the rays projecting from the spotlights above. Calmly, she placed the glasses on the Podium before her, a symbolic gesture the crowd understood immediately.
To begin her speech, Mrs. Phinney emphasized the importance of teamwork. Reflecting on her emotions during the powerful Chapel held last December in honor of George Phinney, she stated “We are better together.” Then, she shifted her focus to the concept of hard work versus intelligence. To do this, she shared a wolf parable, in which a grandfather tells his grandson that we all have two wolves in our bodies, one which represents darkness and evil, the other light and hope. The winner of this inner conflict will be “whichever one you feed.” Using this analogy, Mrs. Phinney demonstrated how intelligence and outcome feed the bad wolf and, by association, ego, while hard work and a growth mindset feed the good wolf and a thirst for knowledge. With this in mind, she challenged the Chapel to value work ethic over results. She pushed the audience to ask the question “Did you work for it?” every time they accomplished something. According to Mrs. Phinney, only the things you had to work for, truly matter.
Finally, Mrs. Phinney connected the ideas of putting in the work and growing as a person to her own life. As a college senior, eager to make the US women’s hockey team, she had to work incredibly hard to achieve her goal. Then, after being told by the coach of the team that she was “never going to make the Olympic team,” she dedicated her life to reaching her dream. In the end, she made the team and won a bronze in the 2006 Torino Olympic Games. She credited her ability to accomplish this goal to her finding her “edge.” Looking out into the sea of blazers, she invoked the crowd, asking “What is going to bring you to your edge?” Following this, she closed with a quote that she holds near to her heart: “The gifts we have live on the edges, find yours, elevate us.” With that, the crowd erupted into a well-deserved applause.
Cum Laude Chapel Award Winners:
American History Prize (Term Paper): Mark Price ’24 and Noah Farb ’24
Profile Prize: William Walton ’25 and Andrew Waugh ’25
Middle School Academic Achievement Award: Rylan Dean ’26, Eita Fuse ’26, Jaiden Lee ’26, Brandon Li ’26, Eli Norden ’26, and TZ Snail ’26
Cum Laude Society inductees: Alex Behn ’24, Andrew Bittner ’24, Haden Bottiglieri ’24, Brian Lee ’24, Mark Price ’24, Aaron Stanger ’24, Luke Trevisan ’24, and Kevin Weldon ’24.
