“Now, as some of you may know, I’m pretty into music; I feel like my ears ring whenever I hear anything reminiscent of a string on the violin or a note on the piano. And every day at Prep, there’s one sound that I’ve always been particularly drawn to: the familiar sound of the bell.”
As Evan Nguyen, ’25, the Princeton-bound student speaker for the class of 2025, stood on stage at Keenan Field on June 3, Prep’s newest alumni had already heard that sound, at least officially, for the final time. But here, between the graduates’ last time heeding the bell for class and whatever awaits them next, the bell was once again the starting signal for a journey…though perhaps one less literal than the walk to one’s next class. He continued:
“[F]or those who are wondering—because I know you all are, the bell rings in the C5 pitch at about 45 beats per minute. Such a simple three beats, yet it somehow holds the power—the aura—to control us all. As soon as we hear that piercing C note, we move, stand up, and head out of the classroom, searching for what is next. It’s a movement…a transition…a step into the unknown, as we check our PowerSchool to figure out what class we have next. To me, this is what I posit as ‘the greater perhaps‘—taking that next step, despite not knowing where we’re heading.”
Referencing Prep’s theme for the 2024-25 school year, Evan explored the many challenges that he and his classmates have met, the many bells they have answered period by period, day by day, week by week, for the last four years.
“The first perhaps pushes us to show up at 8:10am every day, even if we don’t know how our day is going to turn out. The second perhaps challenges us to make the most of how we spend our community and free periods, even when no one is watching and guiding us. The third perhaps transcends beyond the solace of Grand and Warren, where there’s no bell to guide us.”
Moving on from Prep means moving on from the familiar tones of the bell. “No longer will its three simple beats dictate where to go next. But even though the familiar bell may be gone, this only means it is our time to make some noise and ring it ourselves.”
This is our fourth “perhaps”—the perhaps that begins when we don’t know what comes next, where we must take the risk and carve the path ourselves, or how we choose to live this fourth when we leave Prep.”
This year’s faculty speaker was Dr. Jeffrey Hartling of the theology department, who was coincidentally completing his 20th year of service at Grand & Warren, during which time he has come to be known as one of Prep’s great storytellers. In his own words, “[W]hat I really do, what all of us in the humanities do, is share stories with our students. A story is a conversation between the narrator and the reader…Every storyteller hopes that readers will open their hearts and give them a part of themselves, so they can be immortal, even for a few minutes. So now I am going to tell you a story.”
Dr. Hartling, in fact, proceeded to relate a number of stories—from his personal, professional, spiritual, and family journeys, as well as several from his interactions with the Class of 2025—before offering some more granular advice for the journeys still to come. His final piece of advice: live authentically, and never be afraid of setbacks.
“Celebrate the occasional journey into averageness or mediocrity, and come out on the other side of your failures. Don’t pursue a life that can be quantified or enumerated; go for a life of quality, one that can only be described with a poem. Be known for what you stand for, and stand for something; find your authentic way of being yourself.”
He continued, “Roosevelt reminds us that the strong man will always stumble and every deed could have been done better, but the very fact that you stumble or fall short means you are in the game, you are in the arena, and when you strive and stumble and know enthusiasm for a worthy cause, they you can say you failed while daring greatly, so dare greatly.”
As the newest Prep alumni begin their next journeys in search of A Greater Perhaps, they carry with them the lessons, the memories, and the people who will keep them connected to Prep forever. These will be the banners that guide them, wherever they go.
Watch the full ceremony below; open in YouTube to access chapter selection.
More from the Class of 2025’s graduation celebration