At Rye Country Day School’s 152^nd Graduation Exercises, they recognized and celebrated the 102 members of the Class of 2021 at an in-person ceremony June 11 at Manhattanville College. The featured speakers were Senior Class President Kyle Mandell, Head of School Scott Nelson, and leading robotics engineer and alumnus Dr. Al Rizzi.

In his remarks, Dr. Rizzi touched on the benefits of the wide range of experiences and perspectives that a Rye Country Day education offers, and he encouraged the graduates to continue to develop their critical thinking skills and challenge themselves to learn and try new things throughout their lives.

After graduating from Rye Country Day School in 1982, he received his Bachelor of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Yale University. Dr. Rizzi is Chief Scientist at Boston Dynamics, a world leader in mobile robot design and engineering. Previously, he was a Senior Staff Roboticist at Google, an Associate Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan.

Head of School Scott Nelson spoke to the graduates’ high academic achievements, as well as their resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic and their inspiring strength of character, a core Rye Country Day value. He remarked, “You have far surpassed the School’s academic standards, and you have acquired the academic skills, a core body of knowledge, and an understanding of others that together will serve you well in the years ahead. You are critical thinkers who are able to unpack complex concepts, make connections across disciplines, and collaborate effectively to achieve incredible results. The world needs thinkers and doers like you.”

MATRICULATION LIST

American University (2)         

Bates College (2)

Boston University

Bowdoin College (2)

Brandeis University

Brown University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University (2)

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University (3)

University of Chicago (2)

Colby College

Colgate University (3)

College of the Holy Cross

Columbia University

Cornell University (3)

Drexel University

Duke University (2)

Emory University (3)

George Washington University

Georgetown University (3)

Georgia Institute of Technology

Harvard University (3)

Howard University

Indiana University Bloomington

Kalamazoo College

Lehigh University (2)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Middlebury College

Muhlenberg College

New York University (2)

Northeastern University (2)

Northwestern University (3)

Pomfret School

Pomona College

Princeton University (2)

Purchase College, SUNY

Purdue University

Rice University

Skidmore College

Southern Methodist University

Stanford University

Tufts University (2)

Union College

University at Buffalo, SUNY

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Santa Barbara (3)

University of Georgia

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Miami (3)

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

University of Notre Dame (2)

University of Pennsylvania (3)

University of Richmond

University of St. Andrews, UK (2)

University of Southern California

University of Virginia

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Vanderbilt University

Wake Forest University (3)

Washington and Lee University

Wellesley College

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Yale University (2)