Matt Echohawk-Hayashi, Board Chair 2022-Present

September 2024

Dear SAAS Community,

I’ve had the immense privilege of attending the past three Seattle Academy commencements. Each has been full of dazzling performances and beautifully delivered speeches as the graduating class showcases the talent and artistry they’ve developed at SAAS. It’s showstopper after showstopper of heart-filled representations of how our students embrace the Culture of Performance.

To be clear, every performance has been striking. However, for me, the experience that rises to the top is the ever-present feeling of an exciting beginning and not merely the celebration of the end.

You see, in my previous experience, commencements have always felt like a capstone on the prior four years, acknowledging the completion of a long journey and celebrating graduates finally earning their cap and gown.

What fills me with pride as a member of this community, and gratitude as a SAAS parent, is that while celebrating the past is certainly a theme of SAAS commencements, it is not the central focus. For me, the magic of these events lies in the clear readiness of our graduates as they embark on new journeys of growth, impact, and exploration. Every time I leave McCaw Hall, I’m deeply excited for the future they will shape and experience.

At the start of a new school year, I’m mindful of the privilege of watching our faculty and staff, along with the entire community of students, siblings, grandparents, and parents, work together to continue to prepare future SAAS graduates to embrace and flourish as they launch into adulthood and beyond. I’m also mindful of the responsibility we all have as well, to continue to hold tight to the things that make SAAS special and to reach forward into those places that will allow us to keep pace with a changing world.

We are doing some wonderful reaching this year. The new Home of the Upper School is steadily emerging on the block. Our leadership structure is more secure than ever, with Rob extending his commitment to 2030 and Giselle agreeing to step into the Co-Head of School role (you can read more about that here). 

I’m feeling really good about the many, many commencements to come. I hope you are, too. Happy new school year.

Sincerely,
Matt EchoHawk-Hayashi