Curiosity, Meaning, and Service

Rachel Squire Munson ’06 Addresses the Class of 2026

Each year, Wakefield welcomes a distinguished alumna or alumnus back to campus to address the graduating class at Commencement.

On Saturday, May 23, 2026, Rachel Squire Munson ’06 returned to the Hill to share her journey with the Class of 2026. Drawing on experiences in public service, consulting, and higher education leadership, Rachel reflected on the values she first developed at Wakefield and encouraged graduates to embrace curiosity, seek meaningful work, and serve their communities.

Read her full Commencement address below.

^{The following remarks were delivered by Rachel Squire Munson ’06 at Wakefield's Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 23, 2026.}

Good morning!

Thank you to Ms. Harper, the Wakefield faculty and administration, the Board of Trustees, and the Class of 2026 and your families for having me here today.

I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it doesn’t feel like so long ago that I was on a stage like this one at my OWN graduation, delivering a co-valedictory speech to the 16 other Wakefield students in my graduating class.

I always thought alumni commencement speeches were reserved for...old people. 20-plus years out of school, mid-career, house, spouse, a couple of kids, and a bedtime of 9:30. Then I realized... that’s me. Right down to the bedtime. 

It was a genuine surprise and a true honor to be asked to speak today, and graduates, I promise I’ll try my best to impart some of the insights I’ve gained since my own time at Wakefield. It may surprise some of you to learn that the first 4 of my 14 years as a Wakefield student were actually spent in... a nursing home. That’s right, before there was this beautiful campus with sparkling new facilities for the arts and athletics, our day was spent down at Marshall Manor.

I know some things have changed since then — larger enrollment, more robust curriculum, and maybe even more relaxed uniforms (I heard about the seniors wearing solid polo shirts – nice work). But it’s clear that some of the traditions and elements I remember most — the parts that make Wakefield unique — have stuck around.

20 years ago, the last time I was up here, I poked a little fun at the special things about Wakefield — what I called the “exasperating quirks.” All school assembly. Senior lounge. Talisman. An entire class period on grammar. Great 100’s. Those are happy memories. Wakefield was — Wakefield is — an incredible place to grow up. And I’m actually so happy to know that some of those things are all still major parts of the Wakefield experience. But I think the small, tight-knit community, along with what you all call the Wakefield Way — what we used to call the courtesies — are the real things that make this place so special.

Whether you know it or not, all of you graduates have internalized a set of guiding principles and a sense of communal responsibility that you’ll take with you wherever you go. That’s something to be immensely proud of. 

And it’s not just the graduates who should be proud, I should add. If you’re a parent, you can be proud knowing that the sacrifice and hard work it took to get your kids here and to keep them here was worth it. If you’re part of the school’s faculty and administration, you have nurtured and cultivated another set of curious, respectful, and service-driven leaders — graduates with virtue and wisdom. 

Two of those dedicated teachers who shaped me are even in this room today! Mr. Genther has been teaching art at Wakefield since I was little, and somehow, he is still here, still everyone’s favorite, still doing it. In his class, we got to play CDs (what you guys now call Spotify), and we got to choose the albums. That sounds like a small thing, but for a middle schooler who was not the most confident picking up a paintbrush, it made the room a lot easier to be in. He always gave you just enough room to stretch into something uncomfortable, but he never made you feel like you were failing at it. And I am sure that his art room is now one of your favorite places to be on campus, too. 

And Mr. Zontine, my senior English teacher, used to quiz us... on rock and roll trivia. As far as I could tell, this had nothing to do with the syllabus – and I think that was kind of the point. He would push our answers as we discussed the great canons, and make us defend what we thought. He taught us some of the zaniest Words of the Day (WODs). One day, he asked us to write down, anonymously, what we thought God was and looked like. There was no right answer – but he just wanted us to have one. In a very “senior English teacher” sort of way, he made us start thinking about who we would want to be in this world.

But back to the graduates in the front row. I was asked to share some advice with you all today — and so I have two of my own WODs for the Class of 2026. One of those words is already core to the Wakefield Way: Curiosity. 

You all are entering college next year – congratulations! You wrote two English thesis papers, you took your APs and DEs, and all of that hard work has paid off. But underneath the grades on your transcript, behind the SAT scores, and putting aside the “outcomes” that sometimes seem most important, Wakefield has taught you to listen and to learn. And next comes the fun part.

You will soon discover the pages and pages of classes to choose from in your college course catalog. It’s overwhelming. Classes across agriculture and architecture, marketing and management, sociology and statistics, and Spanish – you get the picture. The opportunities for curiosity are endless. 

Here’s one piece of concrete advice for you: take some academic chances. Spend some time scrolling through the catalog. Something catch your eye? Pause for a second – be curious. A professor mentions something in a lecture that doesn’t match what you thought you knew? Go find them after class – be curious. That instinct, that small moment of wait, really? That's the thing Wakefield has been building in you.

I'll tell you what happened when I followed that curiosity. I went to college in Philadelphia, and in my second year I signed up for a class that caught MY eye about architecture and the city in the 20th century. It was taught in a department I had never heard of called Urban Studies. I was curious, so I signed up. I wanted to understand this city I'd landed in a little better. I ended up majoring in it. 

Before I knew it, I was interning in the New York City Mayor’s Office. After I graduated, I went back to City Hall as a full-time employee, working my way up the ranks. When Superstorm Sandy struck the City in 2012, I was entrusted to lead a program that helped thousands of homeowners use public funds to rebuild and stay in their homes. My life’s work had become learning more about my city and how to make it a better place — all due to that spark of curiosity.

And that brings me to my second WOD for the Class of 2026: meaning. 

As you open those doors, try new clubs and classes, explore majors and minors, and ultimately look for that first job or two after college, I hope that you find work that truly calls to you — a mission that you believe makes our world, or your city, or your community, a better place. This could look different for each one of you – going to nursing or medical school to help people at their moments of greatest need; Training as a social worker and protecting the rights of the vulnerable; Becoming a teacher and setting a child on a life trajectory they wouldn’t have thought possible. When you find work with meaning, you see the impact of your work right in front of you — in the faces of the people you help, in your community. 

I’m a parent of two daughters now—one is sitting right there (Hi, Dori!), and I feel grateful knowing that my small contributions will outlast me. They will make not only my city, but also her city, better, too. To me, that is what meaning feels like. And public service is the clearest path to meaning that I know.

So that's what I've got. Curiosity, meaning, and public service. From someone who went to elementary school in a nursing home. And somehow ended up here. The residents of Marshall Manor would have loved you all, by the way. And I think that maybe those nursing home residents, with the wisdom of their years, would have told you the same thing I’m telling you now: Be curious, search for work that has meaning, and find a way to be of service to your community.  

Go forth, Class of 2026. You're ready. And when you get to college, call your parents. Trust me, they’ve earned it!

Congratulations!

About the Speaker

Rachel Squire Munson ’06 graduated from Wakefield in 2006 and earned a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

She began her career as an Urban Fellow in the New York City Mayor’s Office and later helped lead post-Hurricane Sandy housing recovery efforts and initiatives to improve services for millions of New Yorkers. She subsequently spent six years at Boston Consulting Group, rising to Principal and advising public- and private-sector leaders on organizational transformation, strategic planning, and COVID-19 recovery.

Rachel currently serves as Vice President for Strategy and Operations at New York Law School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two daughters, Dori and Poppy.

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