Following the traditional "Then and Now" slideshow, Student Speaker George Porteous '23 spoke about his class's tenacity and grit: "We've learned to be curious and persistent. We take our education and passions seriously, but not always ourselves." He expressed gratitude to his teachers: "Thank you for exciting us about the world, for pushing us because you knew we could go further….you built us up and helped us imagine the people we might become." 

Commencement Speaker Gretchen Rubin, P'17, P'23, who studies happiness and human nature, noted that "the study of happiness is often the study of paradoxes [and]...we grapple with these paradoxes throughout our lives." To help members of the Class of 2023 make sense of their experiences, Gretchen offered "five essential paradoxes" such as "not choosing is a choice" and "accept yourself, and also expect more of yourself" on this day that "celebrates both an ending and a commencing." 

In his first Dalton commencement ceremony as Head of School, José M. De Jesús spoke about the "power of Lab at Dalton." José told members of the Class of 2023 that their "ability to lab may be the superpower [they] take into the world" noting that "Labs benefit students, the person they're 'labbing' with, and society overall." He concluded, "We are so proud of you. Your high school experience had historic challenges, and here you are. Together. United. Strong. Graceful…and ready to engage this wild, bold, and beautiful world, one Lab at a time." 

The Senior Graduation Music Ensemble, led by Music Department Chairs Liz Cruz and Bill Solomon, got the crowd going with a rollicking performance of Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years." 

And after they moved their mortarboard tassels from right to left, sang "The Dalton School Song," and tossed their caps, graduates in the Class of 2023 officially became Dalton Alums.