On September 1, 2025, Mercersburg Academy held its 132nd Convocation, in which Student Body President Thomas Zhu ’26 and Emily Schoenberger ’15, the Director of Civic Engagement and Head of the History Department, addressed the Academy’s community. Head of School Quentin McDowell, P’25, ’27, followed with his opening of term talk four days later. A common thread united their words: the theme of community. Each speaker focused on personal stories of past experiences to convey a larger message about a vision for the future of school culture.
Zhu spoke first, offering a clear message. “I always believe that sometimes we worry too much about what others think about us. And sometimes those doubts limit what we do. Sometimes the things that we know we should do bring fear of judgment from other people. That was always the message that I wanted to talk about.” He continued, “But it connects to a bigger theme of not being afraid to do what you want to do. In the case of this speech, I talked about leaving a legacy. And not being afraid to leave a legacy for Mercersburg. The story of Katie [Lee ‘26] is a really lighthearted example to, you know, draw people in first because the story is very relatable.”
Lee responded to Zhu’s words, saying, “I thought it was fun. I think it's a nice story. It's a story he's mentioned a couple of times since freshman year, and I always think it's funny. I think definitely the most memorable part was the part about me. I think it's definitely important to think about how any little mistakes you make don’t necessarily reflect who you are.”
Convocation speaker Schoenberger spoke next, echoing the themes of community and legacy. Her speech included anecdotes about the Mercersburg magazine, tying her past at Mercersburg to the present community. “It’s impossible for me to think about my relationship to this place without thinking about community,” she said. “A community can’t exist by itself. It has to be an active participation by the members to make it what it is.”
She reflected on the process of composing the address. “I always knew that it was going to be something about the value of giving yourself over to [the] community. I wrote it over the course of two days—one day where I just brain dumped everything, then, after a sleepless night, I went for a walk, and it all kind of came to me.” She also offered her goals for the school year ahead, adding, “I hope the message resonates throughout the year—when things get difficult in the winter and everyone’s ready to leave in the spring, we remember the specialness of this place.”
Several days later, McDowell echoed that theme. “Community is central to society; community is [society’s] membership. There is no community without men. And so the message is often lost when you start using words like community [without intent],” said McDowell. “Schoenberger actually spoke about it: talking about the critical elements of a community, and [for] all members to feel a sense of longing and feel like they matter, they're valued, and that we all treat each other with kindness and respect, and [do so] without judgment. And those to me are for the core elements of a strong, healthy community.”
In a moment of reflection after delivering his speech, McDowell said, “This time, I think that people are appreciative of those core values of kindness and lack of judgment. I do think that there are some kids in our community and others who have, at times, felt like they didn't belong. And it's good to hear your Head of School say these things. And it's also good to hear your Head of School say that I, at times, had felt like I haven't belonged, and that it's a human experience.”