Elaine Loft, Staff Writer
The Derryfield School, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, held its annual Grand Friends’ and Founders’ Day assembly on May 9. The event featured remarks from Dorrie Freedman ’68 and Mary Jane Peabody ’68, and the Founders’ Scholar address from Ipeksu Yucel ’25. Also, Head of School Andy Chappell presented the Peter & Ellie Freedman Founders’ Scholar Award, which is given annually to the member of the junior class who best combines academic achievement with personal responsibility, independence, and ethical sense.
After the Upper School Concert Choir performed “Almost Like Falling in Love,” accompanied by Jeffrey Bartlett ‘26 on piano, Ipeksu Yucel spoke about how the ideals of compassion and empathy are attainable if one is willing to work to understand others. Yucel posited that listening to others, the willingness to “surrender your pride and lead with humility,” can begin, as it did for her, at the dinner table. She noted that the concept of students returning to their homes for an evening meal with their families was one of the founding principles of Derryfield.
“While I enjoy academic debates, the dinner table forever remains my favorite forum. Perhaps this is exactly what the founders intended when they created a rigorous academic institution that allowed students to go home to their families for dinner each night. That education should not only prepare us for the world but also bring us closer to the people in it.”
Yucel then discussed the time she spent volunteering in E.S.L. classrooms, where she observed, “for the students, their words fell short (but they) forged a community built not on shared language, but shared compassion.” Instead of feeling isolated, the children led with empathy.
In conclusion, Yucel offered a challenge to the audience.
“So wherever you go from here, I hope you lead with that humanity. I hope you speak with conviction, and listen with humility. And I hope you know that the world does not need your perfection, but your presence. Because in the end, your GPA and list of accolades may be forgotten. But the way that you made others feel, will not. Let your greatest achievement not be your test score, but your character. And let your success not be defined by how far you rise above others, but by how often you reach back to lift them with you.”
After Yucel’s presentation, Milo Linn-Boggs ’26 was announced as the 2025 recipient of the Peter & Ellie Freedman Founders’ Scholar Award.
Next, Newton Kershaw ‘26 performed Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff, before Dorrie Freedman ‘68 and Mary Jane Peabody ‘68 gave the keynote address.
Freedman spoke about her parents, Elenore and Peter Freedman, who were two of the founders of Derryfield, emphasizing how strongly they felt about education.
Peabody reached back for memories of her Derryfield experience.
“Teachers met us where we were, but also expanded our view of ourselves, as well as the world around us—not a bad definition of education.”
She remembered in particular her English teacher, Mr. Coogan.
“He didn’t only teach us grammar and literature, he urged us to speak coherently and write clearly…he also took us seriously. Finally, he taught me an invaluable lesson: to be alert, to observe the world around us.”
Peabody concluded,
“Our teachers took this motley collection of 15 year-olds and treated us as individuals—an incredible benefit of having small classes. And I think we learned to see each other as unique individuals too.”
