89 Graduate Greenwich Academy [VIDEO]

Mother Nature couldn't didn't dampen the spirits of 89 young women who graduated from Greenwich Academy Thursday.

The heavy downpours abated just long enough for the students to receive their diplomas during the 185 commencement held beneath a massive white tent pitched on the rolling lawns of the North Maple Avenue campus.

Valedictorian Claire Blumenthal introduced the keynote speaker, television journalist Tom Brokaw. Before offering advice to the students, Brokow couldn't resist the opportunity to praise Claire and tweak her father, daughter of US Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

"You're so articulate, so poised, I am sure your father learned from you," Brokow said, prompting laughter from the several hundred gathered in the audience.

The ceremony was steeped in a rich tradition that included the graduates wearing flowing white wedding gowns and the performance of flower songs during which lower school students presented colorful bouquets to the graduates in turn gave the younger ones the long-stemmed yellow roses carried during the processional.

In his speech, Brokow said, "We have given you the opportunity to leave a deep and enduring imprint on the world." (Please see video.)

He added, "You survived junior high school," prompting giggles from the girls. "You'll be astounded how much your life will remind you of junior high school. You'll encounter the same petty jealousies, the juvenile behavior, the egos, the dumb jokes. The uncertainty you encountered there, you'll have he rest of your lives."

However, the award-winning journalist and author advised them to "go out every year and help those for whom your life is simply a fairy tale."

And given the excitement of graduation, if the students don't remember all that Brokaw told them, he gave each an autographed copy of his new book 'The Time of Our Lives A Conversation About America.'

The graduates are:

Emily Laura Abbott

Lucinda Grace Allen

Geofanne Kelcie Anderson

Hayley Harper Arader

Lindsay Love Arader

Sarah Elizabeth Berczuk

Claire Mae Blumenthal

Sarah Elizabeth Brecht

Nicole Michele Calandra

Annabel Osborne Coleman

Emily Brandes Conway

Caroline Blair Cutler

Justine Anne Daum

Julia Frances DeAngelo

Laura Channing Dempsey

Rebecca Lynn Deubler

Rebecca Corell Dobbin

Elizabeth Jean Dolan

Isabelle Mackinnon Dowling

Madeleine Kelley Duff

Mairéad McKenna Dunne

Ellen Stephanie Feeley

Emily Lynn Fenster

Gwendolyn Kelly Fernandez

Elizabeth Sherwood Frank

Elizabeth Christine Gatto

Molly Rose Gendell

Cassidy Erin Gifford

Anne Davey Gilliland

Megan Baker Goldman

Katherine Brady Goldsmith

Martine Elizabeth Gordon

Caroline Blake Granruth

Katherine Stanhope Grant

Sonakshi Deepak Gurnani

Lucy McHugh Hadley

Alyssa Adeline Hagerbrant

Sarah Grace Elizabeth Haig

Morgan Walker Hearne

Isobel Lucy Hepsworth

Ana Isabel Hernandez

Elizabeth Drew Higgins

Mira Rani Hopkins

Kristen Laural Houston

Melissa Karine Jacobs

Arushi Jauhari

Caroline Lindsey Johnson

Dorothy Anne Jones

Savannah Lynn Karmen-Tuohy

Audrey Grace Keller

Alexandra Lexi Kuehner

Sophie Geraldine Lewis

Alexandra Lee Macaluso

Nandita Makam

Philippa Balfour Malloch

Rachel Carly Manaster

Olivia Emily Marcus

Kelly Anne Marie McFall

Margot Eugenie Mejia-Johnston

Elizabeth Tamsin Michler

Elizabeth Grey Morris

Sarah Woodward Munger

Skylar Fagan Murphy

Karna Nangia

Marisa Noto

Christine Padavil

Valeria Lucia Portugal

Pamela Parker Procida

Kruti Nirmala Raman

Francesca Ann Richman

Christina Helena Rokholt

Natalie Ann Rosen

Brooke Charlotte Ruffa

Cameron Elizabeth Ruffa

Lauren Camille Russell

Kira Marina Schott

Nina Keehn Scott

Caroline Emma Seaton

Yuuka Amy Sekiguchi

Tara Kathryne Simonson

Nicole H. Snyder

Kara Elizabeth Sperry

Marissa Allison Sterling

Sarah Adams Stubbs

Olivia Cahill Tapsall

Grace Clare Tormey

Caroline Buttimer Vaughan

Hannah Grace Withiam

Tal Zarmi