John Macdonald Graduates from The Loomis Chaffee School

2013 Jun 21

The following student was among the 176 graduates from the Loomis Chaffee Class of 2013. The school's 97th Commencement Ceremony was held on June 7. Reflections and sage advice from Commencement Speaker Frank Bruni, Loomis Class of 1982, set the thoughtful and celebratory tone for Commencement. Bruni, the New York Times op-ed columnist and author, compared the world into which he graduated 31 years ago to the world into which members of the Class of 2013 are stepping. "Test yourself," he encouraged. "Experiment. Grow. Life is an adventure only as big and exciting as your willingness to broaden your parameters and stare down your fears." He advised students to say yes before they ever have the opportunity to say no because the self-satisfaction and benefits of doing certain difficult things far exceed the safety of letting fear prevent them from doing anything at all.

John Macdonald of West Hartford, CT, was inducted into the Cum Laude Society, the National Independent School Honor Society, and was one of two Connecticut students selected to participate in the Student Climate & Conservation Congress sponsored by The Green Schools Alliance (GSA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC). He also received Junior and Senior Science Department, History Department, and Mathematics Department honors. John served as a peer counselor, an environmental proctor, the news section editor of the school newspaper, The Log, a member of the Pelicode Committee, and received the Coaches’ Award for the boys varsity cross-country team.

Located in Windsor, Connecticut, The Loomis Chaffee School is a co-educational boarding and day school of 650 students from 30 states and 31 countries. The Loomis Chaffee School was chartered in 1874 by five siblings who had lost all their children and selflessly determined to found a school as a gift to the children of others. Since it opened its doors in 1914, the school has offered educational opportunities for boys and girls regardless of religious or political beliefs, national origin or financial resources. Academically vigorous, the school promotes active learning and close faculty-student bonds within a respectful and civil community.