Head of School, Chris English: In 1980, former Headmaster Joseph Becker began the tradition of honoring an alum with the Distinguished Alumni Award at graduation. As Head of School, I find great joy in meeting alum and hearing their stories of Roycemore. This year’s Distinguished Alum Sam Iosevich is a proud alumnus of Roycemore School, Class of 1991, and a current member of the Board of Trustees. For him, Roycemore is a family tradition — his older brother also attended the high school, and his son, Aaron, is a graduate of the class of 2023.

Sam is an accomplished entrepreneur, having founded and grown companies specializing in business analytics. Over the past three decades, he has developed and implemented advanced analytics platforms for some of the world’s largest retail and consumer packaged goods companies. Throughout his career, Sam has led consulting practices at firms such as SAS Institute, Antuit, and Prognos (which he founded). He is currently the Chief Analytics Officer at the Parker Avery Group. Sam holds master’s degrees in Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics and Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two children.

Please welcome our Distinguished Alum, Sam Iosevich.

Sam Iosevich, '91: Good afternoon everyone — students, parents, teachers, and the Roycemore administration. Thank you for inviting me to speak to the Class of 2025. As a proud multi-generation member of this community, it’s truly an honor to be here with you today.

My family’s journey with Roycemore began over four decades ago. My brother started here in 1982 — barely three years after we arrived in the United States with little more than a couple of suitcases and a few hundred dollars. I followed as a freshman in 1987.

It was only through the generosity of donors who supported financial aid that we were able to join this incredible community. We were offered opportunities that we could have only dreamed about. From studying mathematics through the JST program at UCLA, thanks to Trina Brickman’s efforts, to playing baseball, basketball, and soccer under Mr. White’s coaching — it was all extraordinary.

Looking back, it still amazes me that total strangers would embrace two relatively poor immigrant kids — with funny accents — and offer us so much care and opportunity. That spirit of generosity made it natural for us to want the same experience for our own son. Years later, when Aaron joined Roycemore, he was met with the same kind of extraordinary care and dedication from the faculty and community.

To Mr. Becker — who worked so closely with my family to make this journey possible — I say thank you. Many times over, thank you.

As I reflect on what made my Roycemore experience so meaningful, two things stand out.

First: the genuine concern the faculty had for not just my success, but for my well-being. That care and compassion is what I hope each of you — the Class of 2025 — will carry forward.

This isn’t a grand or overwhelming ask. It’s a simple daily mission: leave every place no worse than you found it, and look for small ways to lift those around you. Help a classmate understand a tough concept. Turn in a lost item. Offer directions to someone who’s confused or new. These small acts, done consistently, add up. Over time, they shape your community. They build trust. And they quietly, powerfully, change the world around you.

Second: the rich diversity of the Roycemore community. My time here exposed me to people from a variety of backgrounds — different socioeconomic tiers, and international students who came to experience America, just as we got to experience a piece of their culture.

That early exposure helped me adapt quickly when I arrived at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. One of my closest friends there had been a student organizer during the Tiananmen Square protests in China. He had to leave Beijing University and continue his education in the U.S. My circle of understanding — and friendship — was expanding.

That curiosity about other cultures took me even further. My wife and I eventually moved to Paris, where I built my first forecasting and optimization system for a TV station. That experience — working, living, and breaking bread with people from a different culture — was not only personally enriching, it sparked a deeper realization: diversity isn’t just good for the soul, it’s good for innovation.

When I founded my first company, we built our team by recruiting brilliant PhD students from across the globe — India, China, Lebanon, Iran, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Burkina Faso. Each person brought a unique way of thinking, of problem-solving, of approaching work. As we shared long hours — and Thanksgiving dinners in our home, far from their own families — we didn’t just create a product. We created lifelong bonds. No tour guide could ever offer the cultural insight we gained from those experiences.

I consider myself incredibly lucky to be a citizen of a country that — detours and imperfections aside — continues to open its doors to people from all walks of life, just as it opened them to me and my family.

So, my second request to the Class of 2025 is this: go out and make the world a smaller place. Open yourselves to others. Lean into difference. Embrace collaboration. The rewards — in perspective, in relationships, and in impact — are immeasurable.

Congratulations, Class of 2025. The world needs your curiosity, your kindness, and your courage. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do. Thank you.