Editor’s note: What follows is the full transcript of Head of School Eliza McLaren’s remarks delivered during the 2026 graduation ceremony. It includes all opening instructions and transitions to preserve the original context and spirit of the event.
Good morning, and please be seated. Honored guests; members of the Wellington faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees; families, students, alumni, and friends—welcome to the graduation ceremony for the Wellington School Class of 2026.
Today, we gather in joyful celebration of all this remarkable group of students has already accomplished, and all that still lies ahead as they step into bright and promising futures. Let us begin by welcoming eleventh grader Annika Raghunathan to sing our national anthem. Please rise.
Wonderful, Annika. Class of 2026, I'd like to ask that you please remain standing. Everyone else may be seated.
Seniors, I'd like you to turn around and look at the people gathered here today. Look at your families, your parents, grandparents, siblings, mentors, and friends—the people who are here for you. These are the people who have supported you, believed in you, encouraged you, and who love you beyond measure.
To our seniors' families: thank you for giving so much of yourselves and your families to our school. Thank you for trusting us with what matters most to you. It has been an honor for our faculty and staff to partner with you in the journey of raising your children—to watch each of them discover what they love and to witness them becoming more fully themselves has been a true joy.
Class of 2026, please join me in thanking your loved ones with a round of applause.
And now, seniors, please turn and face your faculty and staff. These educators have been partners to your families in raising critical thinkers, engaged citizens, and wonderful human beings. The care, wisdom, and encouragement they have poured into you over the years is extraordinary.
Let us all applaud our truly unparalleled Wellington educators.
Now, I want to take a moment to honor a special educator, who now stands alongside all of you in the Wellington class of 2026. Rishi Raghunathan, your beloved head of upper school, is also graduating to his next chapter and I want to express my deepest thanks and admiration for all that he has given to this school and this community. Rishi, as you pursue your next chapter of leadership, I want you to know that your legacy will forever live on here at Wellington—in the way we truly see and celebrate each student for who they are, in the way we listen deeply and for understanding, and in our sartorial choices that heavily feature jaguar print. Rishi, you are a true jag ... and you know what we say ... once a jag, always a jag. At Wellington, we talk a lot about how we show up and stand up for each other, and nobody shows up and stands up for our students more than Rishi Raghunathan ... so seniors, let's take a moment to stand up and show up for him. Thank you!
Okay seniors, NOW you may be seated.
And, on behalf of all of us at Wellington, it is my distinct honor to congratulate you on the successful completion of your high school years. You. Did. It. Let's hear a round for the class of 2026.
As individuals and as a class, you are remarkable. And to reflect that back to you, I want to go right to a primary source. Your classmate Bella Cios recently shared with the whole student body during the senior run ceremony that when she was younger, in lower school, Wellington's value of "Be Yourself" felt less like guidance and more like a question: Who, exactly, am I? Who am I supposed to be?
Over time, and with the support of this community, she arrived at an answer. She said: Who you are isn't something you find. It's something you build.
When I heard her say that, I thought: That. Is. Wellington.
This is a place where you have actively participated in shaping who you have become, alongside others doing the same. You devoted yourselves to academics, to discovering your passions, and to speaking and acting with purpose. You built yourselves into thoughtful scholars, engaged citizens, talented artists and athletes, and genuinely compassionate people. Your paths forward from here reflect the seriousness, courage, and intention with which you embraced that challenge.
And you have shaped this community. You led with genuine, consistent kindness—because you understand the importance of treating people well. You made kindness part of the culture here, and that culture will endure in the students who learned from you what it means to care for a community. That is a lasting contribution.
As you enter colleges, workplaces, and new communities, as you take on initiative and leadership, you may be tempted to measure success by tangible achievement and noteworthy accomplishment. Yes, those things matter, and you will undoubtedly excel. But the people who are trusted and sought out over time are not simply the most accomplished. They are the ones who listen well, who treat others with dignity, who make people feel seen, and who create the conditions in which others can thrive and do their best work.
Seniors, your humanity is not a soft skill: it is your greatest strength. The world is fortunate to have you because you will approach every future challenge and opportunity with the same dauntless energy you brought to your education here.
As you step into what comes next, hold on to the selves you have been building here: aspire to find your purpose and always strive toward your potential. Be curious. Be yourself. Be ambitious. Be empathetic. Be responsible.
So, Class of 2026: the world does not need you to fit into a single mold, a one-size-fits-all box. It needs you to be fully authentic, fully YOURSELVES—principled, purposeful, and committed to the well-being of others. Perhaps now more than ever, the world needs human complexity and variety.
And I can't help but note: it feels so right to be right here, to say all of this right here, on the Artie Taylor Court, in the Gard Gymnasium—a space that carries the history of this school and the people who built it.
This gymnasium bears the name of founder Julie Gard Wilkins's parents; Julie imbued in the school from the start her fiercely held belief that every child should be known and seen and taught and loved as a whole person. That children should be able to be themselves at school, and that we should all celebrate and embrace their unique talents and perspectives.
And the court beneath your feet carries a related message. At the dedication earlier this year, Artie Taylor shared a line from Erma Bombeck which he encouraged each of us - which he charged each of us - to embody and live by: He said: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, that I could say, 'I've used everything you gave me."'
That is the charge. Leave everything on the court. Use what you've been given—fully and purposefully—in service of others, in pursuit of what is good, and in building a world worthy of the people in it.
Wellington has always understood that success is best when shared, and that we get better together. Now, Class of 2026, you get to carry this message to others. We are going to miss you deeply, and we cherish the time we have shared with you. Wellington will always be a home for you. Your teachers, your mentors, and your entire Wellington community will be cheering you on with admiration, support, and complete confidence in your ability to live lives of meaning and real success—the Wellington way.
Congratulations, Class of 2026. Go, Jags!