Class of 2010 'Rokodimus' graduate from Woodstock

It was a day of moving into a different era and leaving the old one behind. A day of tears, smiles, hugs, and handshakes. A day when the boys became men and the girls became women. A day when the students became alumni. Saturday May 29th 2010 will always be remembered by Woodstock's Class of 2010 Rokodimus as the day they were no longer high school children but adults stepping out from Woodstock to become global leaders.

The 81st Annual Commencement, which is the final graduation ceremony, was held for the Class of 2010 for the first time in the Win Mumby Gymnasium. The new venue allowed a larger audience to attend and witness the ceremony and provided a grander stage for this important event.

The members of the graduating class were welcomed to their commencement by Mrs. Sanjaya Mark, the head of Quad School. After opening remarks and greetings by Woodstock Principal Dr. David Laurenson and President of the WS Board of Directors Mr. Thomas Chandy, Senior Thomas Swanson gave the Salutatorian speech.

The graduation address was given by Mr. Kinley Dorji, who currently serves as a Secretary to the Ministry of Information and Communications in the Government of Bhutan. Dorji spoke to the students about the "very serious issue of happiness", and of the importance of finding happiness in service. Dorji and Development Director Mr. Stephen Alter presented the student awards to Swati Goel (Valedictorian), Thomas Swanson (Salutatorian), Aditya Todi (Best All-Round Student), and the Student Government Awards (Aman Khanna and Jetsuen Wangmo).

Finally, one by one, Senior Homeroom Teacher Mrs. Sue Swanson called the 62 members of the graduating class to receive their diplomas from Mr. Thomas Chandy, Dr. David Laurenson, Head of High School Mr. David Anderson, and Registrar Dr. Ron Swanson.

Swati Goel, who had earlier given a vocal Indian classical performance at the event, gave the Valedictorian speech. Senior Su Bin Kim also gave a violin performance as the ceremony came to a close.

After the Principal's closing remarks, the graduates headed down to stand at the High School ramp as staff, family, guests, and fellow students gave them their emotional and tearful goodbyes. Leaving behind years of wonderful memories, another class departs from Woodstock to face the world.

The 2010 Graduation speaker: Mr. Kinley Dorji

Mr. Kinley Dorji has worked in the Information and Communications field for over 30 years, first as a member of the Department of Information in the Royal Government of Bhutan, and later as Managing Director of Kunsel Corporation and Editor in Chief of the newspaper Kunsel. He currently serves as Secretary to the Ministry of Information and Communications in the Bhutan Government. He was educated at Charles Stuart University in Australia, where he was awarded a BA in Communications, and at Columbia University in New York, where he gained a MS in Journalism. In 2007 he was the John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, USA.

To view a small collection of images from graduation click here