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Hilltop Happenings

Graduation Week - 2024
Tabitha Brewer
Class of 2024

With our Knights now scattered across the globe, bringing the Sarum to their hometowns for the summer, and our faculty taking a well-deserved rest before diving into Professional Development retreats and trainings, the Hilltop is quite serene. Walking across the Quad, one hears echoes of the last week we were all together…What a week it was!

We had perfect weather for our annual Brothers & BBQ. The boys ate their weight in incredible food, enjoyed the Ben & Jerry’s truck (always a welcome sight!), and cooled down with slip-n-slide kickball, all to the tunes of Salisbury’s very own Rock Band on stage!

Our closing chapel on Tuesday was a truly special morning as we “made the journey from arriving here to being here”, one last time with Rev. Dr. Kirk Hall ’90. It has been a tremendous year for the newly renovated Daniel M. Cain Chapel, and we are thankful to have this special place on campus to reflect, share, inspire, and revive together.

Each year, a traditional surf and turf style dinner, the Knight of the Long Table, is held at the Curtis Boathouse for the Sixth Form. Donning their newly pinned blazers, the boys take the long and winding road from the Main campus to the Boathouse, stopping for a class photo at the Chandler Range. Remarks and stories are shared by the boys, reflections and well wishes shared by Faculty, steak and lobster savored, and at the end, each Knight is presented with his Senior tie.

By the time Thursday came, the excitement was palpable. Families began arriving, the annual Faculty vs. 6th Form softball game was fierce, and the Awards Ceremony highlighted true Sarum Pride.

Finally it was Friday, and Salisbury’s 123rd Commencement Ceremony was underway. As the bagpipes faded and all were seated, Rev. Dr. Kirk Hall ’90 welcomed the crowd of nearly 1200 with a prayer. Head of School Will Webb then stepped to the podium, encouraging the graduates to “Live in this moment, be in this moment, and know that it is your hard work, efforts, faith, and grit that have earned you this opportunity…YOU. ARE. HERE.”

And with this, Student Body President Latham Billingsley took stage charismatically and sincerely reflecting on his life-long connection to Salisbury and his journey to becoming a true Salisbury Gentleman. “Being a Salisbury Gentleman means embodying the idea of Esse Quam Videri, “to be rather than to seem to be” every day. It means holding doors for others, picking your opponent up when they fall, asking uncomfortable questions, sacrificing the last cookie at lunch, and constantly focusing on doing the little things right. Being a Salisbury man does not mean always following the book; it sometimes means putting yourself in a position to face scrutiny, to face adversity, in order to help the people around you thrive and succeed. These are the ingredients to life, and now it is our turn to write the recipe, to take what we have become and go out into the world, bringing what we have learned at Salisbury into a world that desperately needs it. Wherever you go, find your Hilltop, and if you don't, pile up some dirt and make one. Never allow this place to leave you. Take a piece of Salisbury with you wherever you go.”

We were honored to welcome Sgt. Matt Eversmann to the Hilltop to deliver the keynote speech. Sgt. Eversmann encouraged the graduates to be mindful of the “three essential ingredients to a man’s character: Selfless Service, Courage, and Duty; putting the needs of others first, doing your job even if you are scared, and always fulfilling your obligations. Make value-based decisions, and remember, as the SEALS say: “the only easy day was yesterday”."

With this, it was time for awards to be distributed, then at long last, diplomas, culminating with the traditional slide down the banister of the Senior Steps. Graduation 2024 was a wrap!

Photographs of Graduation Day are available to view and purchase through professional photographer Brian Wilcox HERE (Gallery password: knights)