Welcome, Mrs. Hulse, Trustees, Faculty members, family, friends and students, to Staten Island Academy’s 122nd Commencement celebration, honoring the Class of 2010. The students seated here before you are exemplary, talented and honorable. I am proud to have grown up with them, and am elated to be here with them today. Read more.

The origin of the popular saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is a mystery.  Some people believe the saying originated in an ancient African proverb; others believe it came from a Native American Tribe.  In 1996, Hillary Clinton made the phrase popular by including it as the theme of her book entitled “It Takes A Village.”  Regardless of its origin, the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” is not only relevant, it is true. Read more.

Close your eyes for a minute and visualize the map of the world. When we were young students, we were always presented with maps that showed the United States in the center. In other words, we saw America as the center of everything. Even when we learned about American history, politics, and current events, it seemed as if the United States was the heart of the globe. It was only years later in our high school classes, that we, American students, learned about “world” history, “world” politics and “world” cultures. Europe may be much the same. European students might see their continent as the center of their worlds and it may takes years for them to see what lies beyond. Similarly, African children, may not think of anything but what they know until they are exposed to other cultures or customs that differ from what they have come to know as the epicenter of their world. The same goes for the Class of 2010 here at Staten Island Academy. Read more.