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Article by Catherine Calamé
Photos by Anne Day and Darryl Gangloff

Under crisp blue skies, Hotchkiss’s Class of 2026 gathered on May 29 to celebrate the memories and milestones that shaped their high school years.

The Commencement ceremony celebrated 178 graduates and honored Head of School Craig W. Bradley during his final graduation before retirement. He was applauded for his decade of leadership as an honorary member of the Class of 2026 and received his own surprise diploma under a sea of floating hats and confetti.

“Today is for you in a very real sense, and for me in a symbolic one, the day we graduate from Hotchkiss!” said Bradley, capturing the day’s energetic mood.

Bradley: Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart

“On an almost daily basis for the past 10 years, I have walked past the panel in the English Wing that poses the question: ‘What are the elements of a good life?’” Craig told the crowd.

He reflected on those who embed good habits. “I have long believed that the formation of good habits is integral to finding joy and success, no matter how one defines success. Good habits matter. Good habits provide support systems we can use as we start out, as we grow, as we excel, and in big moments like this, moments of transition. Good habits anchor us in good ways.” 

Bradley offered several examples of his definition of a good life and reminded students that they are already on that path. “Helping you form good habits is integral to what we do at Hotchkiss. I hope you have formed habits around getting enough sleep, eating well, and getting plenty of exercise,” said Bradley.

“There is another important habit I hope you have begun to form at Hotchkiss, which is the habit of feeling and expressing gratitude regularly,” he continued, noting that most Hotchkiss graduates feel deep gratitude for their teachers and friends.

Quoting a proverb by Jean Massieu, the pioneering deaf educator, Bradley offered, “la gratitude est la memoire du coeur,” which means, “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” He told the Class of 2026 to “cherish the good” they experienced at Hotchkiss and carry forward habits that will enrich their lives.

“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to lead this School over the past decade and to have known you and many of your families,” Bradley concluded. “I will miss you and look forward to cheering you on from afar as you go out and make your mark in this world.” 

All School Co-Presidents Celebrate Their Class

All-School Presidents Dwyer Illick ’26 and Serena Nam ’26 reflected on the friendships that defined the Class of 2026’s time at Hotchkiss.

Dwyer opened with humor, remembering how he once had to convince friends that Hotchkiss was “neither Hogwarts nor a reform school for bad boys” before realizing that “the lives we live today really did start when we first got to campus.”

Both speakers emphasized how quickly their years at Hotchkiss passed. What once felt endless, Serena said, soon became a series of lasts: “the last first day of school, last holiday, another last holiday, last All-School meeting, last night in the dorm, and now, our last graduation.”

Together, they celebrated a class that grew closer through challenges and change. “We’ve always been close-knit, and we’ve only grown closer as our class size has grown bigger each year. The Class of 2026 was the first to experience a full Hotchkiss experience post-COVID,” Dwyer said. “We’ve been here bringing life, joy, and traditions back to this place as Hotchkiss has emerged more vibrant since its difficult quarantine. We were also here for the opening of the incredible new Dining Hall and to celebrate 50 years of coeducation at Hotchkiss.”

Looking back, Dwyer said, “Over the last four years, we’ve held each other up” through difficult classes, homesickness, and college applications.

Serena said, “For many of us, Hotchkiss was the first place we spent a long time away from home. But somewhere along the way, Hotchkiss became home. One of the most important lessons we learned at Hotchkiss was how to seek out the special parts of this place and its people: to stay outside an extra minute to look at the stars, to lean on a friend after a hard day, to spend that extra minute chatting at doorways instead of immediately going back to your room, to say yes to things.”

Both speakers expressed gratitude for the faculty, families, and friends who supported them. “The people you met on your first day here are not the ones you’re graduating with today,” Dwyer said. “Those people have grown, and learned, and changed.”

Serena concluded by celebrating the bonds they built together. “It has been the greatest privilege to know you not just as classmates, but as family.”

Commencement Speaker Abby Fanlo Susk ’12 Shares Rules for Success

Following a sensational musical performance by violinist Yobin Kim ’26 and pianist Emma Liu ’26, the Class of 2026 received inspiring words of wisdom from Commencement Speaker Abby Fanlo Susk ’12, Ph.D.

Susk serves on the Product Policy team at OpenAI, where she helps develop the policies that govern the use of OpenAI’s technology and works closely with product and engineering teams to translate those policies into practice. Previously, she led policy and strategy for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Responsible AI Division, helping craft department-wide policies to ensure the military’s use of AI adhered to high standards of ethics and legality. She began her career in technology policy at Meta, focusing on the global societal and political impacts of online platforms.

Bradley introduced Susk as a leader doing “fascinating work” in artificial intelligence and someone deeply committed to advancing public-interest approaches to emerging technology. “This is a topic that is most timely,” he said.

Drawing on her experiences at Hotchkiss and her work at the forefront of AI, Susk shared thoughtful reflections and enduring advice with members of the graduating class as they prepare to begin their next chapter.

“At Hotchkiss, there were clear expectations—written and unwritten, serious and unserious—that helped me understand how to move through this place and do well,” she began. “But as I stepped into the world beyond Hotchkiss, I wanted someone to hand me that same kind of rulebook and promise that if I followed it, I would be successful in college, and in life after it. I imagine some of you may feel some version of that today. And maybe that feeling is even stronger for you, because you are graduating into a world where definitions of work, expertise, and success are changing fast. But here is the thing: that rulebook does not exist. It never really did. The world has always changed faster than any neat formula for success can keep up with.”

Rather than chasing a moving target, she advised graduates to spend their time focusing on what success means to them and writing their own rules for getting there.

“I do not mean rules that excuse you from responsibility. I mean rules that hold you accountable to your own values,” she said, sharing four rules with the Class of 2026.

Rule 1: Know what matters to you

“If you want to build a life aligned with your own definition of success instead of chasing some ever-changing external marker, you first have to figure out what your own definition is. And that means figuring out what actually matters to you. Sometimes it will be obvious what matters to you. But more often, it reveals itself slowly through the choices that attract you and the moments when something does not feel quite right. Learn what matters to you before someone else’s definition of success gets loud enough to drown it out.”

Rule 2: Do something every day that scares you

“One part of my own definition of success is self-respect—living in a way I can look back on when I'm old and feel proud of. For a long time, I thought I was doing that because other people kept telling me I was. Without fully realizing it, I started to believe I respected the life I was building because other people respected it. I decided I needed a rule, something I could follow each day to build self-respect from the inside out. The rule was simple: do one thing every day that scared me. I chose it because I know that when something makes me nervous, and I do it anyway, I am proud of myself afterward.”

Rule 3: Stick to your values

“This is an important reality in policy work. It is easy to agree to a policy when it is just words on a page. Following it is harder, especially when it means saying no to someone powerful or losing a business opportunity. That is when you learn whether an organization really has a strong north star. Life works the same way. For me, part of success is being the kind of person others can count on. I learned that at Hotchkiss. Ten of my closest Hotchkiss friends are sitting here today, still showing up for me after all these years. Their example shapes the kind of person I want to be. Follow your rules, even when it's hard.”

Rule 4: Keep asking if the rules still fit

“When I first started teaching political science to college seniors, my rule for the students was simple: do all original work. That rule served an important goal: rigorous thinking. But as AI became embedded in how we work and learn, I had to ask whether the old rule still served that goal or was getting in the way of preparing students for the world they will actually inhabit. So now I allow students to use AI as a tool for research and writing. The goal of rigorous thinking has not changed. But the rule needed to. The rules we write for our own lives require the same kind of reflection. Living by your own definition of success is not something you figure out once and then execute perfectly forever. You keep learning. You keep changing. And you keep revising the rules so they continue to serve the life you are trying to build.”

Susk concluded with a message to the Class of 2026: “There they are, four steps to help you become your own kind of successful. In a few moments, you will walk across this stage and into a world that will hand you a thousand definitions of success. Reject the ones that are not yours and go build the life that is. Thank you, and congratulations!”

Hat Toss and Confetti Wish Bradley Adieu

After the members of the Class of 2026 walked across the stage and received their diplomas, Tim Sullivan '81, P'13,'16, president of the board of trustees, offered a surprise homage for the retiring head of school.

“In any other year, my role in today’s proceedings would now be concluded,” said Sullivan. “However, this is not any other year. This is Craig Bradley’s last year as head of school at Hotchkiss, and Hotchkiss is forever indebted to you for the leadership you have brought, the traditions you have nurtured, the changes you have ushered in, and the hundreds and hundreds of students who have been educated and cared for under your watch. Your legacy will last here forever.” 

Sullivan then presented Bradley with a Hotchkiss diploma as an honorary member of the Class of 2026. 

“On the count of three, let’s all toss our caps in honor of Mr. Bradley as we wish him adieu!”

And just then, miniature graduation hats emblazoned with adieu flew into the sky as the graduates cheered and released confetti for their beloved head of school.