On May 29, Tabor Academy celebrated its 139th Commencement Exercises. Tabor welcomed the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert S. Mueller III, as their commencement speaker and a member of the Tabor community.
Gathered on Tabor’s waterfront campus, 133 students, hailing from across the United States and ten foreign nations, received their diplomas surrounded by over 2,000 members of the school community – friends, family, faculty, and staff – who came together to celebrate this milestone in these young students’ lives.
With 30 cum laude inductees and 70% of the class going to a most- or highly-competitive school according to Barron’s Guide, including Brown, CAL Berkeley, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Middlebury, MIT, Oberlin Conservatory, U.S. Naval Academy, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and Williams College, the Class of 2017 is certainly an accomplished group.
Robert S. Mueller III, recently appointed special counsel by the Department of Justice and Tabor’s 2017 Commencement Speaker, told graduates to keep in mind four important principles as they begin their next steps: service, integrity, patience, and humility.
“We were honored to have Mr. Mueller as our commencement speaker this year,” said Tabor Academy Headmaster John Quirk. “His commendable career as a public servant sets a wonderful example for our seniors as we wish them well on their next adventures. The Class of 2017 is an incredible group of bright, young men and women, and I have the utmost confidence that they will make meaningful contributions in any path they so choose.”
Mueller was introduced by his granddaughter, a graduating cum laude senior. Director Mueller’s roots in Massachusetts reach back to his time in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he served as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1986 to 1987.
Mueller served as Director of the FBI from September 2001 to September 2013, under both Presidents Bush and Obama. He is the second longest serving FBI Director in history, after Director J. Edgar Hoover. In May, Director Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as special counsel, charged with leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and other related matters.