Raising the bar
The 40 seniors who became alumni of St. Edmond High School Sunday afternoon at the 62nd commencement are leaving behind some impressive numbers.
School President Mary Gibb listed some of them as she spoke.
“This class has accumulated over 2 million in scholarship offers, accepted over 600,000 and has 452 hours of college credits,” she said.
She’s proud of the class of 2017.
“This class has students, artists, athletes and musicians that will be hard to replace next year,” she said.
She’s also grateful for the support the school has received.
“I thank the people of Holy Trinity Parish who have made this possible.” she said.
She may not miss one thing though: the senior tradition of covering the school, and perhaps the homes of school administrators, with toilet paper.
“White paper,” she said, holding a roll aloft, “Don’t bother coming back next year. I have plenty left.”
Class Speaker Charles Doyle spoke about some of the lessons he’s taking away from his time at St. Edmond.
“Don’t be tardy,” he said. “You never want to be late.”
He also learned something about the difference appearance can make to future success.
“Always tuck in your shirt,” he said. “We’re the best looking class. Always dress to success. All those dress code violations taught us a lot.”
Parking played a part in some life lessons, too.
“We learned to park in our proper parking spot,” he said. “Always stay on the right road.”
Another simple lesson, that will serve him well in the future.
“Always raise your hand,” he said. “So you don’t blurt out anything inappropriate.”
The lesson in that?
“Raise your hand to be part of something, raise your hand to volunteer, raise your hand to getting involved,” he said.
He’s also leaving St. Edmond with a sense of gratitude to the faculty.
“I want to thank the teachers,” he said. “Because you educated us. You taught us more than math and English. You taught us to be young adults.”
He left his classmates with a few parting words.
“I hope you make the best of it,” he said. “I hope you live a life you’re proud of.”
The day of graduation often marks one of the last times an entire class is together. Some, like Jaci Taylor, are moving out of state, in her case, to Ohio for school. Others will study closer to home, perhaps one of Iowa’s universities or Iowa Central Community College.
Regardless of where, and what they will study and pursue, there’s a lot of optimism among them.
“I’m looking forward to the future,” Trent Woodhouse said. “High school has been a good experience. I’m looking forward to college at Iowa State.”