Graduation is always an exciting time, but it’s even more meaningful when the students walking across the stage have a strong sense of self and an entire community invested in their success. 

At Abington Friends School, their graduating seniors have a plan, solid self-perception, and a feeling of accomplishment to lead lives of purpose. 

AFS students fully immerse themselves in academics, athletics, and the arts. At AFS, the teachers and staff prepare their students for outstanding college careers, but they also help them to envision their places in the world. 

Ninth graders start Upper School knowing they are now in an expanded world of ideas and opportunities, where their minds can grow in a variety of classes and experiences. 

The staff and older students skillfully guide younger students in their first year to find places of meaningful connection at AFS.

Devyn Costello Henderson, a senior at AFS, began attending the school in 9^th grade. She credits the teachers at the Quaker school for her success.

“Teachers go out of their way to make students feel supported. We can ask teachers to start a club or lend support, or start a conversation,” she explains. “Everyone is so personable. We can call our teachers by their first names, they are equals.”

Devyn has been involved with the creative arts at AFS and during her years at the school, her painting has evolved to include acting and singing as part of its award-winning programs and ensembles. She has even had the opportunity to perform as part of a local Shakespeare competition and to travel to see the American Shakespeare Center in Virginia. Devon is headed to study theater at New York University in the Fall. 

At AFS, students get an education that leads them to lead lives of purpose.

Sophie Peterson just graduated, as she is a ‘lifer,’ someone who has attended Abington Friends School since the early years of elementary school. 

“I don’t know what [I would have done] without this community the last 12 years,” she exclaims. “I started to deeply appreciate my education here as I entered high school. There’s a class in 10^th grade where we learn a lot about Quaker education and diversity. It was then I realized how much this school had prepared me to collaborate with all kinds of people,  I couldn’t have gotten [that] anywhere else.”

“Having the opportunity to meet for worship was important, as well, to  connect with yourself and the community and to help teach the other students here why it’s so important,” she says. “When we meet, we have silent reflection on the community. If you are religious, some would be reflecting on the light of God inside you, which is the Quaker way. Students feel motivated to share, stand up and speak on what they have been thinking about in that time. We are able to connect with the people around you.” 

Sophie also says that it makes her feel very grateful to have the last months of the school year in person, where you could tell everyone was genuinely happy to see each other in person as well as virtually.

Sophie has always known she wanted to be a doctor, and the MedX classes at AFS only served to sharpen her focus. Students are able to take immersive classes and visit hospitals, visit local medical schools, even see surgery performed at a local hospital. Sophie is headed to study medicine at Colby College in the Fall. 

I feel AFS has prepared me for the next step in my career, the new graduate says. 

Parent Jamina C. has three children who attend AFS, and she believes education should fuel a child’s desire to learn. “AFS students are exposed to learning experiences that encourage authentic learning and curiosity,” she notes. “The sense of community encourages students to grow in a safe child-centered environment.”

At Abington Friends School, students are prepared to take on the world after graduation and lead lives of purpose. 

Want more info on how your child can live a life of purpose at school, and in their everyday life? Find more information here.