Schools

Congratulations to Avon Old Farms School's '13 Graduates!

Graduates, what does being an 'Avonian' mean to you? Tell us in the comments!

Brian Conroy summed up Avon Old Farms School graduates in one word to the during the 80th annual commencement ceremony Sunday –  "Avonian."   

While Conroy, a 1982 graduate and a member of the AOF Board of Directors, said that the graduates' time in Avon may be ending, their time as "Avonians" is just beginning. 

"I think it's distilled down to two simple concepts," Conroy said, as captured in a video of the ceremony on the school's website. "Being an Avonian is all about being tough mentally and physically. And when you're tough mentally and physically, you never quit. The other important thing about being an Avonian is that of the brotherhood."

The seniors, just over 100 in total, come from as close as Avon and as far as Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Venezuela, Thailand and Bermuda. Avon graduates include Michael Anthony Castellani,  Brendan Thomas Conry Jr., Samuel Thomas Ravech, Ben Samuel Sherbacow and Darren Charles Longbottom.

Conroy spoke of his own experience at AOF and how his father considered pulling him out of the Avon school because of his struggle with asthma. But Conroy stayed and he said that it made him stronger. Sports were a challenge, but his coaches encouraged him to do his best and to run as fast and hard as he could for as long as he could. He ended up being named football captain.

"I was able to grow as a person for the simple reason that my brothers embraced me," Conroy. "Had I been at another institution, I would have been called wheezer. I would have been left out to the side.... That wasn't the case in Avon."

Every year the Board of Directors surveys seniors on their experience and asks them what they would change about AOF to make it better. Conroy said that a senior raised his hand and said he was drawn to the school as a West Hartford eighth-grader because of the "feeling of inclusion and brotherhood." His friends told him that AOF was a "jock school" that they didn't think he'd fit in as a "country club athlete" who swam, golfed and played tennis. But he came despite their discouragement and told the board that he not only fit in, but he also gained "400 brothers."

"You see, that's the magic of this place," Conroy said. "And that's the magic of success in life. Work hard, always play with your heart, and never quit."

The school's Latin motto translates to "aspiration and perseverance," which is what its Winged Beaver mascot represents. 

Each grade level was led into commencement with a symbol. For the seniors, it was an elephant, representative of "memory" and "longevity."

As is tradition, the ceremony closed with the "Men of Avon" school hymn:

"Strike the drumhead, fly the banner! Youth leaps forward like a wave, Sweeping all that’s bad before it, Build the future for the brave. Thwart the foolish, Guard the prudent, Strike out boldly for the right: Keep this land the home of freedom Where all men may take delight.
"Make our school and make our nation Into places where, secure, Lawfulness will find a haven And where peace will long endure. Now we gather, Men of Avon Men of honor, men of will: Set our hearts upon the mountains, And our destiny fulfill."

And with that, the graduates, forever Avonians, tossed their caps in the air. 

To see more of Avon Old Farms Schools' graduation photos, click on the link provided to the school's website. What does it mean to you to be an Avonian? Do you know one of the graduates? Tell us in the comments? 


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