Darnell Heywood, Joan Young and Jen Fitzpatrick receive this year’s Caravel’s dedication. (Andrew Barren’22/Media editor)

Delivered by Sidney Derzon, Marcus Grewal, Molly Milbourne, Aiyana Taylor, and Aden Weiser

The following transcript is the Caravel co-editors’ tribute to the 2019 recipients of Academy’s yearbook dedication. Beginning with Aden Weiser, each co-editor commended the College Counseling team of Darnell Heywood (Director), Jen Fitzpatrick (Associate Director) and Joan Young (Administrative Assistant).

Good morning, Vikings! Along with Yani Taylor, Molly Milbourne, Marcus Grewal, and Sidney Derzon, I have served this year as a co-editor of Academy’s yearbook, the Caravel. 

It has been a tremendous pleasure creating a massive, 304-page book full of memories that will last us forever. Each year, we dedicate the yearbook to someone who has made a significant impact on the Academy community. These recipients are honored with a two-page spread in the book, but their impact means much more than that to us. 

Those to whom the Caravel is dedicated are keystones in the Academy community. Without their presence, Academy wouldn’t be the same wonderful place that it is today. Their commitment to fostering growth in their students and those around them embodies Academy’s vision of creating “thoughtful, responsible, capable and confident citizens eager to engage in a pluralistic and ever-changing world.”

This year the 2019 Caravel staff chose to dedicate the yearbook to 3 Academy faculty members who constantly encourage and devote their time to helping the students at Academy. These individuals truly embody the Academy motto, “In quest of the best” and push us students to do our best every day. 

Without their knowledge of testing, applications, financial aid, and higher education as a whole, many of us would be lost during the college decision process. They have dedicated their time at Academy to guiding students through a notoriously turbulent life change. The 2019 yearbook is dedicated to the College Counseling staff.

The class of 2019 would like to thank Mrs. FitzPatrick, Mrs. Heywood, and Mrs. Young for all their help in making senior year filled with wonderful memories. 

Our two college counselors have put so much time into connecting with each individual student, spending countless hours revising essays, writing recommendation letters, and helping us make our final decisions about where we want to spend the next 4 years. 

They are our biggest cheerleaders, celebrating all of the good with us, and providing a shoulder to cry on during the bad, always with a smile on their faces. 

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Mrs. Young is the backbone of the college counseling office, helping to fill out and process the seemingly endless amounts of paperwork that it takes to go to college.

This yearbook represents the end of an era, a collection of all our best memories and events, but the beginning of the next chapter. 

Thanks to Mrs. FitzPatrick, Mrs. Heywood, and Mrs. Young, we all got to partake in that journey together, to welcome something new. 

They were instrumental in making our senior year full of fun and excitement rather than stress and worry. 

In the past 2 years, these individuals have both welcomed me, and everyone else with open arms, instilling confidence in our abilities and perfecting every detail on our Common App to make us the best versions of ourselves. 

Thanks for taking us on this wild ride and helping us come out the other side eager for our next journey, but full of positive memories from our final year at Academy.