--- title: CH-CH Celebrates the Class of 2026 description: Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School's 198th Commencement celebrated the Class of 2026 with inspiring speeches, highlighting the power of listening and personal growth. image: https://blog.chch.org/hubfs/Graduation.png --- - [Login](https://www.chch.org/app) Search - [Parent/Guardian](https://www.chch.org/parentguardian) - [Alumni](https://www.chch.org/page/alumni) - [Summer](https://www.runningbrook.org/) - [Calendar](https://www.chch.org/page/ch-ch-calendar) - [Contact](https://www.chch.org/page/contact) - [Apply](https://www.chch.org/admissions/apply) - [myCH-CH](https://chch.myschoolapp.com/app#login) [![CHCH](https://blog.chch.org/hubfs/ChapelHill_September2018%20Theme/Images/Main-Banner-Logo.png)](https://www.chch.org/Page) - [Admissions](https://www.chch.org/admissions) - [About](https://www.chch.org/page/about) - [Academics](https://www.chch.org/page/academics) - [Student Life](https://www.chch.org/page/student-life) - [Boarding](https://www.chch.org/boarding) - 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[Alumni](https://www.chch.org/page/alumni) - [Alumni](https://www.chch.org/page/alumni) - [The Chronicle Magazine](https://www.chch.org/page/alumni/the-chronicle-magazine) - [Support CH-CH](https://www.chch.org/page/support-ch-ch/ways-to-support/annual-fund) - [Summer](https://www.runningbrook.org/) - [Calendar](https://www.chch.org/page/ch-ch-calendar) - [Contact](https://www.chch.org/page/contact) - [Employment](https://www.chch.org/page/employment) - [Directions](https://www.chch.org/page/directions) - [Contact Us](https://www.chch.org/page/contact-us) # Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School Blog: Take Charge # CH-CH Celebrates the Class of 2026 Posted by [Matt Soule](https://blog.chch.org/author/matt-soule) on 6/3/26 3:56 PM ![Matt Soule](https://blog.chch.org/hubfs/Matt2025.jpeg) Clouds gathered, and a steady rain fell over the Morgan Lawn on the morning of Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School's 198th Commencement, but from students to families to faculty and staff, nobody allowed the rain to dampen their spirits on this joy-filled day. Head of School Dr. Lance Conrad opened the ceremony, welcoming graduates, families, alumni, and a distinguished roster of guests, including Board Chair Charlotte Merrell and commencement speaker Jackie Herrera, Program Coordinator at the Waltham Family School. ![Graduation](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Graduation.png?width=1100&height=600&name=Graduation.png) The ceremony's keynote came from Herrera, an immigrant from El Salvador, a first-generation high school and college graduate, and a tireless advocate for immigrant and multilingual families through the Waltham Family School, a program with deep ties to CH-CH's own community. Herrera centered her remarks around the transformative power of engaging with other people's stories. Herrera recounted her years of work supporting immigrant mothers and their children, describing pivotal moments of genuine connection that reshaped her understanding of empathy and advocacy. She challenged graduates to resist the urge to speak when they should be listening, and to resist the spaces that silence certain voices. ![DSC07974-1](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC07974-1.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC07974-1.jpg) "When we take the time to truly listen to another person's story, without judgment or the urge to interrupt, we allow ourselves to be changed by their truth,” said Herrera. She closed with a direct charge to the graduates: "Be fierce advocates for those whose stories are being silenced. Use the education and the platform you have earned to uplift others. Never underestimate the power of asking someone, 'What is your story?' and then giving them the generous, uninterrupted space to tell it." ![DSC08028-2](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC08028-2.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC08028-2.jpg) Carlos Mario Botero Muñoz, an entrepreneurial student who joined CH-CH from Colombia in his junior year and promptly left his mark through Model UN, on the soccer field, and by founding the Entrepreneurs Club, took the podium as Salutatorian. He reminded his fellow graduates of the impact they have made on one another during their time in school, and the importance of being genuine in all they pursue."Do not live only to look successful," Botero Muñoz urged his classmates. "Live conscientiously. Build real communities. Ask better questions. Take risks. Fail with courage. Win with humility." Jiayue "Iris" Wang, valedictorian, was introduced as a student of rare intellectual depth and creative range, an exquisite writer, a mathematician, and the lead in this year's winter musical, and also as someone whose drive comes not from seeking external validation, but from genuine curiosity and love of community. ![DSC08092-1](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC08092-1.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC08092-1.jpg) Iris spoke about identity, specifically the silent pressure of stereotypes and the courage it takes to listen for your own voice beneath the noise of other people's expectations. She did so through a sequence of stories, both deeply personal and quietly universal. Her volleyball career nearly ended after repeatedly hitting her coaches with the ball, an audition she almost talked herself out of, a belt that staged its own dramatic exit during a school performance, and a musical, Hadestown, that helped her understand why trying is the point, even when the odds are not great. "Growth happens in the friction, in the awkwardness, in the moment you're not sure you can do this, and you do it anyway, badly, imperfectly, and you come out the other side knowing something about yourself you didn't know before," said Wang. ![DSC07730 (1)](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC07730%20(1).jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC07730%20(1).jpg) Speaking directly to her fellow graduates and to the broader community assembled in the tent, Iris dismantled the idea that moving "beyond a stereotype" means rejecting it or being better than it. "It doesn't mean anything except that you are more," she said. "That all of us are more. That every weird interest, every unexpected hobby, every thing you tried and failed at and tried again, every piece of it, together, is what makes you, you." She closed by urging the class to keep listening for the quiet voice: "The one that doesn't have a plan yet. The one that sounds a little ridiculous. The one that feels like yours." ![DSC07956-1](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC07956-1.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC07956-1.jpg) Dr. Conrad returned to the podium for the awarding of diplomas, pausing first to recognize Brooke Fincke as the recipient of this year's Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall Society Prize, given in grateful recognition of devoted service and extraordinary dedication to students. He noted that 28 graduating seniors wore gold-tasseled cords as members of the National Honor Society. In his closing remarks, Conrad echoed a statement attributed to journalist Hodding Carter: "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other, wings." He urged graduates to hold their identities with pride while spreading their wings into the unknown. ![DSC06771](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC06771.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC06771.jpg) ![DSC08424-1](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC08424-1.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC08424-1.jpg) ![DSC07534](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC07534.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC07534.jpg) ![DSC07580-1](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC07580-1.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC07580-1.jpg) ![DSC06875](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC06875.jpg?width=2048&height=1365&name=DSC06875.jpg) See more photos on the [CH-CH Flickr Page](https://www.flickr.com/photos/chapelhill-chauncyhall/collections/72157724137250197/)   ### Congratulations to the Class of 2026: Rest Ifeoluwa Afolabi Eric Emerson Alexander Carlos Mario Botero Muñoz Declan Cavalletto Jousmery Mayerly Chavez Alvarracin Warren Chen Maya Detmold Tucker Dublin Nedalye Dublin-Brown Isaac Duran Castro Cecilia Freedman Simas Gaizauskas Elena Garcia Hirut Gibson Matilda Paola Green Finley Guenther Grace Hann Aneesh Jhangiani Ashley Kendall Luel Larrea Jimenez Cate Liebenberg Xinyan Liu Christopher James Manthei Jordan Martin Romeo Martinez Nicky Mattox Alexander Queenan Morriss William Carlson Noble Isaak Orchowski Avery Spencer Peterson Adam Pinstein Maia Redi Elijah Rhyne Bailey Joseph Richard Ayelet Rothman-Shore NaNa Simpson Haru Solt Jounghwa Song Charlie Stamler Mikey Swift Adrianna Lena Szmigiel John teDuits Milo Tucker Van Duc Nguyen Ken Vo Jiayue Wang Benjamin Warren Ethan Weber Julian Youngblood ### ***Distinguished Scholars*** Diploma in STEM Rest Ifeoluwa Afolabi Jordan Martin William Carlson Noble   Diploma in Art Xinyan Liu Jordan Martin Jounghwa Song   Diploma in World Languages Nedalye Dublin-Brown Cate Liebenberg Rest Ifeoluwa Afolabi   Diploma in Humanities Elena Garcia Matilda Paola Green Ashley Kendall Nicky Mattox Avery Spencer Peterson Elijah Rhyne Ayelet Rothman-Shore Adrianna Lena Szmigiel Jiayue Wang   Topics: [Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall](https://blog.chch.org/tag/chapel-hill-chauncy-hall), [Graduation](https://blog.chch.org/tag/graduation) [![Book Your CH-CH Tour Meet students and teachers, experience how CH-CH students achieve their best!  ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4008772/interactive-184089442460.png)](https://blog.chch.org/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLI4CXiqle5w89woeuJjjvNC94aiUeaNT9LkfooDpnDKVwEHX7qOLoOMKJ%2FgCZQslvmCMEPbCFMvR9N1Jaj8iM1JR1DtkuNBZGfOtrGvMpvVIDjNq7T08CopvcApFgY0uoMVBtlkCJgmnednlB1cy%2BdcxWyRKDnO5SVlr19XNdQDZD0u4v4AuQ%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=184089442460&portalId=4008772) [![Take-Charge-Blog-Logo-WEB](https://blog.chch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/Take-Charge-Blog-Logo-WEB.jpg?width=650&height=474&name=Take-Charge-Blog-Logo-WEB.jpg "Take-Charge-Blog-Logo-WEB")](https://blog.chch.org/) ### Subscribe Here! 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