Justin Puno ’26, Sophia Lazar ’26, Will Oh ’26, and Nneka Ezeike ’26 took the stage at last Friday’s All-School Meeting (ASM) to deliver Senior remarks. The four reflected on their experiences and memories at Andover, sharing stories of growth and realization. The ASM featured multiple performances by music ensembles, including the Fidelio Society and Andover Festival Orchestra.
To begin the remarks, Puno shared a letter he wrote in his Upper English class consisting of his goals and ambitions for the year. He explained how his experiences navigating Andover as a new Upper allowed him to begin seeing success as personal development rather than perfection.
“The very first item on that list, right at the top, underlined, said, ‘Maintain a 6.0 GPA.’ I was always someone who cared about my grades… I discovered that I’d accomplished every single one of my goals [this year], except for the one right at the top… I realized that I hadn’t failed. I had just been measuring the wrong things. See, success isn’t a GPA. It’s not a list. Rather, it’s the people you find, the discomfort you push through, and the version of yourself you’re becoming, slowly, imperfectly, one interaction at a time,” said Puno.
To illustrate his realization, Puno cited an immersion program he took in Oviedo, Spain, in the summer before coming to Andover. He emphasized the meaning of belonging even when it requires showing vulnerability.
“I was so focused on not looking incompetent that I was missing every opportunity to make genuine connections. But, over time, something shifted. I started going to the same cafe every morning, not because the coffee was exceptional, but because the more I showed up, the easier it got… None of these moments were dramatic, but each one taught me the same thing. Belonging isn’t something you arrive at. It’s something you build by showing up before you’re ready and by being willing to be a little lost in front of other people,” said Puno.
Lazar spoke next about how her experience of losing her father altered her mindset, causing her to take agency in her decisions instead of relying on the opinions of others.
“I would catch myself thinking about how I would explain my choices to my dad, why this class made sense, why this path was the right one, and how everything added up to some grand plan. Except now, I was explaining it to a ghost. At some point, that got to be exhausting. So I stopped. And for the first time, I started making decisions that felt truly my own. I quit swimming, not in some dramatic, life-altering way. I just realized that I didn’t want to keep forcing myself to do it,” said Lazar.
In an interview with The Phillipian, Lazar described the value of being honest with oneself and seizing the opportunity to act on self-interest.
“I want people to take away that it’s okay to move away from what is sort of expected of you or what others think of you or who they think you are and just try new things, and if something makes you happy to just stick with that and not feel like you have to do something for someone else because at the end of the day, it’s your life,” said Lazar.
Oh shared his experience with facing two different sides of Andover by referring to “dan-jjan-dan-jjan,” a Korean phrase referring to a mixture of sweet and salty.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Andover life tasted like, and somehow, it tastes exactly like that. Dan-jjan-dan-jjan. Sweet, then salty, then sweet again, over and over for three years. Here’s what I’ve come to believe. The best things in life are never just one flavor. We spent so much time trying to make things clean and uncomplicated, wanting to win without the loss, the joy without the awkwardness, the perfect grade without the late night spiral that got us there,” said Oh.
Kayden Robinson ’29 shared his thoughts on this metaphor, appreciating how Oh’s speech captivated the audience through the mention of food. He mentioned how all of the speakers motivated him to open his mind to certain aspects of the Andover experience.
“I thought it was a very interesting hook. It really got people engaged, and it caught everyone off guard that one of the senior remarks would be about food… The speakers definitely emphasized the importance of not solely focusing on academics. That changed the way I was thinking, especially because this past week I’ve had a lot of tests and been focused mainly on academics. Hearing the seniors talk about the fun parts of the school reminded me to pay attention to those experiences too,” said Robinson.
To conclude, Ezeike reflected on a letter left by a Nigerian student in the early 2000s that she found hidden beneath the floorboards under Double Brick House’s recently-removed fireplace. Ezeike explained how the experiences she shared with the student led Ezeike to take inspiration from her legacy.
“It’s weird to think about all the stuff that has happened in the same spot you were in right now. In the same room, we were putting this letter under there, and now you are taking it out. Then they gave us some advice. Don’t be cliquey. Don’t change yourself to be like other people. You are here because you’re special. Don’t doubt yourself and be friendly to everyone. But it wasn’t until I sat down to write this that I understood why her letter mattered so much to me. It was because of the connections it created. The connection between me and her. Between myself and who I hope to become. Between their Double Brick in 2005 and ours in 2023,” said Ezeike.
