RE Log - Fall 2022

30 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2022 On Meg Daly ’78 urges Class of 2022 to dream big A Return to Campus for Commencement A fter a virtual graduation in 2020 and a socially distanced one at the University of Miami in 2021, Ransom Everglades returned to the upper school for the 119th commencement on May 20, 2022. Members of the Class of 2022 enjoyed one final morning together in the place they had attended weekly assemblies for the previous four years, and crossed the stage at the Lewis Family Auditorium to receive their diplomas. The graduates left amid a flurry of balloons released from the building rafters and carrying inspiration and encouragement from commencement speaker Meg Daly ’78. The founder and CEO of The Underline, Daly offered a powerful address, describing herself as an average student in high school who battled an eating disorder and didn’t find her purpose and passion until much later in life. “Here’s my message to you today. You are not defined by who you are now,” Daly said. “Each of you has your own journey. Take the time to know who you are and what is important to you. And, if you don’t know who you are, or you don’t like yourself like I did, there are people who want to help and can help. Find them. “If you are lucky, and you have good fortune, pay it forward,” she also said. “… Have a problem? Seek help. You believe in justice? Fight for it. You believe in equity? Live it.” Daly, who for a decade has been the volunteer leader of The Underline, a collaborative effort to create a 10-mile linear park and trails in the heart of Miami, received the Founders’ Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. “She has truly lived out Paul Ransom’s mission of leaving the world better than we find it, as well as the Everglades Creed ‘to achieve recognition – not in loud words but in worthy deeds,’” Head of School Penny Townsend said. Valedictorian Victoria Porto ’22 (pictured above) also spoke, sharing reminiscences and urging her peers “to persevere even if others doubt us.” “Even when things get tough,” she said, “let’s never allow one opinion to completely crush us or make us give up. Every single one of us sitting here after four years of hard work is capable and talented.” Campus