Last Chapel 2024: ‘Don’t settle’ O’Dwyer tells graduates

Upper School Math Faculty Billy O’Dwyer ‘02, selected by the Class of 2024 to be its faculty speaker at Last Chapel, thanked the class for the tremendous honor before recalling his own school days listening to Upper School World Languages Faculty Aidan Rooney P ‘07, ‘15 deliver similar Last Chapel remarks. 

The year was 2002, O’Dwyer was a senior heading to Boston College, and he believed he had the world pretty much figured out. 

Spoiler alert: he hadn’t. 

O’Dwyer loved Boston College but quickly discovered that he was “taking courses just to take them.” There was no inspiration and no real investment from his true self. He then remembered his time at Thayer when he had found joy in tutoring other students and had even been a student teacher for his Senior Project. The young man soon became an education major, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

“I truly love what I do at Thayer,” he told his Last Chapel audience gathered today (Friday, June 7) in Alumni Gym, “and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” 

Which is why his advice to the Class of 2024 was as sincere as it was to the point. 

“Just don’t settle,” he told the seniors. “Don’t go through the motions when it comes to your life choices.” 

O’Dwyer said the Class of 2024 has a special place in his heart, especially his group of advisees who brought so much togetherness and spirit following the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his three primary roles of teacher, coach, and advisor, he added, he got to directly interact with 75 of the 137 graduates in the senior class. 

And his assessment of the class? “I was blown away,” he said. 

O’Dwyer received a standing ovation for his efforts, one of many given that day at the Academy’s annual celebration of students, faculty, and staff. Perhaps the event’s longest standing ovation went to Upper School History Faculty Larry Carlson P ‘02, ‘05, ‘10, who is retiring after 47 years of service to the Academy. The longest-serving football coach and the longest-serving classroom teacher in Thayer history, Carlson received a surprise gift: the naming of Room 309 in the Upper School in his honor. Another surprise came at the end of the ceremony when Carlson led the Class of 2024 out of Alumni Gym by singing the traditional “Thayer, Thayer Forever,” only to be greeted by members of the Thayer community who were on campus to sing him out that day. 

Another surprise came when Head of School Chris Fortunato P ‘26, ‘26 presented the Matthew Callahan Healey ‘09 Unsung Hero Prize to Head Athletic Trainer Ellen Malloy for her decades of caring treatment of Thayer’s student-athletes. 
 

FACULTY & STAFF SERVICE MILESTONES

For 25 Years of Service:

Upper School Math Faculty Tom Chiari P ‘22, ‘22
Upper School English Faculty Denise King P ‘08, ‘10 
Upper School Math Faculty Maryam Lombardi P ‘07, ‘12 
Upper School Science Faculty Jim MacVarish P ‘11
Upper School English Faculty Joe Pelletier 
Upper School Science Faculty Skip Schneider P ‘20, ‘22 

For 35 Years of Service:

Upper School World Languages Faculty Marc Rando P ‘18, ‘20 

RETIRING FACULTY & STAFF

Upper School History Faculty Larry Carlson P ‘02, ‘05, ‘10
Upper School History Faculty Matt Dunne P ‘27 
Upper School World Languages Faculty Deb Higgins 
Upper School Science Faculty Jim MacVarish P ‘11 
Chief Financial and Operations Officer Julaine McInnis
Upper School Math Faculty Deb Siegel P ‘19, ‘22 

LAST CHAPEL PRIZES 2024

Thayer Academy’s Last Chapel Awards recognize students from all grades who have achieved excellence in particular fields of study or who have demonstrated the qualities of leadership, character, and service that embody the spirit of the Academy.  

DEPARTMENTAL PRIZES

THE BILL HOLBROOK MEMORIAL ARTS PRIZES: Jaden Smith, Painting and Drawing; Razzi Masroor, Pottery; Erin Greene, Graphic Design; Matthew O’Connor, Theater; Evan Schneider, Photography; Clare LaMattina, Dance; John McCarthy, Instrumental Music; Colleen Cloonan, Vocal Music; Merritt Grillo, Tech Theater; and Ryan Noreke, Media Production.

THE NICHOLAS AND ROSE PAPANI PRIZE: Christopher Williams, Instrumental Music; and Abigail Dupie, Vocal Music.

THE FRENCH PRIZES: William Bunn, French II; Ceili Kornhaber, French III; and Emily Bunn, French IV.

THE LATIN PRIZES: Cameron Kerger, Latin II; Tessa Harper, Latin III; and Tony Yin, Latin IV.  

THE SPANISH PRIZES: Emily Salisbury, Spanish II; Vidyuth Sathish, Spanish III; and Meghan Sloan, Spanish IV.

THE MANDARIN CHINESE PRIZES: Jenny Wong, Chinese II; Lindsey Bennet, Chinese III; and Josephine Brown, Chinese IV/V. 

THE RICHARD R. DOWNEY JR. MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WORLD LANGUAGES: Sadie Smith. 

THE MATHEMATICS PRIZES: Michael Sheehan, Algebra I; Isabella Kahn, Algebra II; Alaina Millian, Geometry; Theodore Dowd, PreCalculus; Selina Wu, Calculus; and Computer Science, Julia Gelina. 

THE FRESHMAN SCIENCE AWARD: Connor Cigna

THE SOPHOMORE SCIENCE PRIZE: Claire Harris

THE CHARLES A. PITKIN CHEMISTRY PRIZE: Alexandra Rukstalis

THE RENSSELAER MEDAL: Selina Wu

THE W. LAWRENCE CAHALL JR. PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE STUDY OF SCIENCE: Luke Shahied

THE PETER SCOTT CAHALL SCIENCE PRIZE: Brooke McHugh

THE NAOMI R. AND SAUL B. COHEN SCIENCE AWARD: Tony Yin

THE WILLIAM J. HOLBROOK AMERICAN HISTORY PRIZE: Sidney Schofield and Adrianna Graceffo.

THE UNITED STATES HISTORY PRIZE: Perry Wilson 

THE MERTON L. EMERSON ESSAY AWARD: Aarya Vaghela 

THE SPECIAL HISTORIAN AWARD: Caroline Snyder 

THE ROLAND STANLEY COOPER MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR HISTORY: Compton Jones 

THE MOST IMPROVED FRESHMAN ENGLISH AWARDS: Josephine Skye Chrispin, Cameron Kerger, Brandon Kwok, Sophie Shone, and Katherine Smallcomb. 

THE HARRIET GEMMEL SHORT STORY PRIZE: Cassidy Mullin 

THE JUNIOR ENGLISH ESSAYIST AWARD: Breanna Kunkel  

THE EDITH GILES MITCHELL PRIZE: Caitlin Berardi 

BOOK PRIZES

THE BROWN BOOK AWARD: Theodore Dowd

THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE BOOK AWARD: Brendan Brosnan 

THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE BOOK AWARD: Steven Silvers

THE HARVARD BOOK CLUB PRIZE: Emily Bunn  

THE BRANDEIS BOOK AWARD: Julie Gelina

THE ST. LAWRENCE BOOK AWARD: Luke Driscoll 

THE SOUTH SHORE SMITH CLUB’S BOOK AWARD: Erin Greene

THE TULANE UNIVERSITY BOOK AWARD: Charles Foley

THE SUFFOLK BOOK AWARD: Breanna Kunkel 

THE YALE BOOK AWARD: Isabella Reidy

THE SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE BOOK AWARD: Tyler Monaghan and Kenzie Murphy

THE SAINT ANSELM BOOK AWARD: Alexandra Rukstalis 

THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER GEORGE EASTMAN YOUNG LEADERS AWARD: Ella Choi

THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY AWARD: Renee Martel 

THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER BAUSCH & LOMB HONORARY SCIENCE AWARD: Evan Schneider 

THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER XEROX AWARD FOR INNOVATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Aarya Vaghela

GENERAL AWARDS

THE NANCY DINATALE TAYLOR PRIZE: Cassidy Mullin 

THE THOMAS J. BERRY III PRIZE: Vidyuth Sathish

THE WILLIAM C. GOULD JR. PRIZE: Paige Johnson 

THE COLIN F. MACDONALD III PRIZE: Andrew St. Pierre

THE MAUREEN E. BUCKEN PRIZE: Paige Johnson 

THE LEO R. FLYNN PRIZE: Max Black 

THE THOMAS J. GERAGHTY AWARD: Gabriella Monteiro                                                    

THE FRANK E. REMICK PRIZE: Eliana Soares

THE ADA HELEN GILBERT CLAFF PRIZE: Lyndsay Mingolelli

THE WILLIAM J. HOLBROOK PRIZE: Joana Dako 

THE CLASS OF 1992 COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD: Tessa Harper 

THE WARD S. DONNER PRIZE: Eliana Soares 

THE PATRICE DONOVAN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Luke Driscoll 

THE JULIAN H. CHERUBINI PRIZE FOR SCHOLASTIC EXCELLENCE: Steven Silvers                                              

THE CHERUBINI PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE ARTS: Simone Tempel (Visual Arts) and Renee Martel (Performing Arts). 

THE HARRIOT BOYNTON THOMPSON SCHOLARSHIP FOR HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE COLLEGE: Jackson Henehan 

THE MORRIS AND ERNESTINE LITCHFIELD SCHOLARSHIP FOR HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE COLLEGE: Jackson Henehan 

THE FERNAND LACHANCE AWARD: A.J. Choo

THE MATTHEW CALLAHAN HEALEY ’09 MEMORIAL PRIZE: Eli Lukens and Cat Sheehan

THE KISHA WATTS MEMORIAL AWARD: Yasmin DeBlas 

THE PATRICK C. WALSH MEMORIAL AWARD: Teddy Cohen 

THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL LEAGUE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Brady Erickson, Bella Balducci, Harry Salters, and Colleen Cloonan. 

THE THAYER ACADEMY PARENT ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS: Annelise Reinhard, Clare LaMattina, Teddy Cohen, and Taryn Madsen. 

THE REUBEN AND LIZZIE GROSSMAN AWARDS: Katelyn Sentnor and Eli Lukens.