Vail Mountain School celebrates its unique culture as it graduates 27 seniors

There weren’t many dry eyes at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater on Friday when the Vail Mountain School kindergarten class gave their senior “buddies” a goodbye hug during the 2025 commencement ceremonies.

The senior/kindergarten buddy program that pairs the school’s youngest students with the oldest at the beginning of each year, getting together every 10 days for a special activity, is one of the institution’s time-honored rituals. It’s one of the many traditions that imbue a unique culture within the school that traces its history to the founding of Vail Mountain in 1962.

At the school’s commencement ceremonies on Friday, many references were made to the various activities and traditions that create that singular culture, from the senior/kindergarten buddy program to the school’s backcountry hut trips.

But very few Vail Mountain School seniors are fortunate enough to have also had the privilege of attending the institution as kindergartners. In fact, only two of this year’s 27 graduating seniors — Charlotte Johnson and Heyden Phillips — could call themselves the “13ers” who attended VMS throughout primary and secondary school.

Nevertheless, the inviting atmosphere for all those who would join the class later was celebrated, as well, with Johnson delivering a narrative-style speech that took listeners through the years, recognizing each student by name as they joined the class. As she shared a bit about her peers, they rose to their feet, and the speech concluded with all students standing, the audience having learned a bit about each individual on the stage.

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Senior Brody Provencher said he had already attended three different schools before he found a home at Vail Mountain School as a fifth grader. He said leaving friends behind during his other school transitions was difficult, but it also taught him to appreciate the friends he made at VMS.

In a message to the children who are now in fifth grade, he offered a piece of advice.

“Cherish your time with your friends, because before you know it, you’ll be on stage together graduating,” he said.

Eighth grader Bella Gill, in a speech reflecting on her middle-school experience, said her first day of school at VMS was nerve-racking, but her anxieties were quickly soothed by the students and teachers.

“I remember thinking that the teachers here didn’t really feel like teachers; the students and teachers here all had strong bonds,” she said.

Gill’s middle-school experience exemplified the unique culture that many spoke of at Vail Mountain School, with the seventh-grade overnight cabin trip being among her fondest memories.

“This was my first hut trip, and I was in awe of all the new opportunities that had opened up to me,” she said. “The skiing up to the hut was definitely very difficult and unpleasant at times, but the memories of playing in the snow with your friends, eating dinner at the single table, exchanging conversations with my friends in the hut, and playing spoons for the first time are all memories I will cherish forever.”

While the outdoor experience described by Gill — suffering up the mountain in mid-winter conditions, sharing a primitive meal around a large wooden table — is representative of the unique culture fostered at Vail Mountain School, a story shared by Charlie Vidal, who was selected to deliver the senior address, best exemplifies the school’s academic-first philosophy.

“Everyone, especially parents, shared a little anxiety when the varsity basketball team was tasked with traveling to La Junta for a basketball tournament the weekend before December exams,” Vidal said. “The coaches, however, were pleasantly surprised when the seniors of the group requested that we locate the local library before we settled into our hotel rooms. While it was great to see the seniors balance their studies with the stress of a looming basketball game, what was truly incredible was the buy-in that came from the rest of the team. That buy-in was inspired by our seniors — they led by example, demonstrating to the younger players what it means to be a student athlete, and making something as unattractive as studying seem relatively appealing. I believe this notion carried far past midterms and inspired younger students to take their academics more seriously for the rest of the semester.”