Rev. Sarah Swandell

Heidi Segars ’22

On the evening of Thursday, May 21, Ravenscroft faculty, family and friends gathered to honor the Class of 2026 at the school’s annual baccalaureate service. The service was held at The King’s Chapel and provided a pause ahead of the fanfare of commencement and an invitation for this year’s graduates to reflect on what they have accomplished and who they are becoming.

Upper School faculty member Daniel Munns offered the invocation. He invited the graduates to reflect on their time together and all they have accomplished, including the lifelong friendships that have been fostered while at Ravenscroft. “May these graduates carry forward the lessons learned within the walls at Ravenscroft, to lead with honor, to meet complexity with curiosity, to remember that true resilience is born in moments of challenge,” Munns said.

Head of School Derrick Willard welcomed those in attendance and thanked the musical performers and speakers before inviting Ethan Axler ’26 – a member of the school’s Spiritual Task Force – to share a reading from the Book of Proverbs. Following the reading, the Class of 2026 Concert Choir performed a spirited and moving rendition of “Lean on Me.” 

Student Government Association President Luke Henderson ’26  introduced alumni guest speaker Heidi Segars ’22, highlighting her impressive academic career at UNC Chapel Hill. Segars’ address to the Class of 2026 was a poignant and timely message about the value of the human mind in the time of AI. Using the North Carolina state motto – “To be, rather than to seem” – as the framework, she noted that it is becoming increasingly simple to lean on AI tools for advice. “You can now generate the output of a thoughtful self-aware person without doing any of the work of actually becoming one,” Segars said. She encouraged the graduates to pull from their experiences at Ravenscroft in order to stay curious, take risks, and engage deeply with the world around them. Her parting counsel for this year’s graduates was “... to remain the author of your own life, not merely the editor of your image.”

Ethan Axler ’26

Ava Lubsen ’26

Annika Gupta ’26

Following Segars’ remarks, Senior Class President Ava Lubsen ’26 introduced the keynote speaker, the Rev. Sarah Swandell, who serves as the pastor of support for Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh. The Rev. Swandell’s address to the graduates and baccalaureate attendees complemented Segars’ message. She focused on the act of footwashing – a story from the Bible in which Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and calls them to do the same for one another. In reflecting on her own experience with the practice, she was surprised by how quickly the discomfort and awkwardness gave way to something deeply emotional – a gesture of humility at dissolved distance and created genuine connection. 

From that image, the Rev. Swandell drew a message for graduates about teachers – the people who have knelt before us in a sense, throughout our lives. She highlighted that we never stop needing teachers. At every life stage, we are students of someone. The Rev. Swandell invited everyone in attendance to pause for a moment of silence to honor the teachers – formal and informal – who have nurtured each senior along their journey. 

“My prayer for each of us is that we would not let the gifts of these teachers remain only with us, but we would become servant leaders after their example,” the Rev. Swandell said. In her parting words for the Class of 2026, she encouraged the graduates to carry the wisdom and humility of their teachers with them and to use it to make a difference in the world. 

Following the Rev. Swandell’s remarks, Annika Gupta ’26 gave the closing benediction before the Class of 2026 processed out of the church with the anticipation of the next day’s commencement exercises in the air.

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