Student awards were given during the ceremony, recognized outstanding scholarship, community service, athletic leadership, creativity and more. One member of the faculty and one member of the staff were also recognized by the school for their active commitment to Landon. The list includes:
Fathers Club Citizenship Award: Patrick Yarborough
The Malcolm Coates Student Activities Award: Ashvin Kapur
The Eleanor Ann Johnson Award: Evan Martino
The William Harrison Triplett Award: Matt Morrison
The Carroll Mercer Marbury Award: Spencer Whalen
Upper School Headmaster's Award: Brian Reilly
The Mary Lee and Paul Landon Banfield Award: Steve Sorkin, Upper School mathematics teacher
The Alice F. Cosimano Award: Alice Ellington, executive assistant to the headmaster
Read the 2009 Commencement edition of The Landon News here.
The graduates will continue their studies at 47 different schools in the U.S., including one military academy, one art school, and eight Ivy Leagues schools. The largest number (6) will attend the University of Maryland. Fifteen athletes will go on to play Division I or Division III Athletics. One graduate is attending Beijing Language and Culture University in China.
Valedictorian Vladimir Costescu, who will attend Princeton, addressed his fellow graduates and guests before each student received his diploma.
Headmaster David M. Armstrong delivered the Commencement Address to the graduates on the subject of friendship, which he considered to be Landon's greatest gift to the Class of 2009. He encouraged the new alumni to work hard to maintain those important relationships through loyalty, openness and a hopeful commitment to their fellow Bears. (Click here to read the Headmaster's remarks.)
The ceremony ended with the traditional transference of leadership to the Class of 2010.
Congratulations, Bears!