Welcome from President Robert L. Esten `64:

Wayland Academy prepares young people for a successful college experience and a rapidly changing world. Just ask Uzma Samadani, 1988 graduate of the Academy and Resident Physician, Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Samadani was back on campus in May 2004 to deliver the commencement address to the class of 2004. In her remarks, Dr. Samadani described the importance of her Wayland education to her life and career:

"Coming from Wayland, you are at an advantage over many of your college-bound peers because here you have learned valuable life skills that can't be quantified.  No matter which career you choose, or even if you don't have a traditional career at all, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving skills are absolutely essential in every day life. 

I remember learning how to write at Wayland.  Once, as a joke, all twelve of us in our senior English class deliberately left our names off the typed papers that we handed in to Mr. Schantz.  He read and critiqued them and then handed each paper back to the correct author without the slightest hesitation.  He knew us by our writing styles because he had molded them as they evolved.  Most of your college-bound peers will not have had this privilege."

The features of a Wayland education that Samadani highlights are the same features that generations of Wayland students, right up to the present, cite when asked to describe what made their Wayland education special. Our caring and dedicated faculty, a home-like atmosphere, a solid support network, and Wayland's emphasis on acquiring knowledge and building strong character all combine to give our students the edge they deserve.

I invite you to visit this remarkable community -- where we really do prepare our students for success in an ever changing world.