As the Head of Crossroads College Preparatory School, I am pleased and proud to welcome you to our 37th graduation ceremony. To the parents, families, and friends of the class of two thousand nineteen, I extend my congratulations and gratitude for all of the ways you have believed in and supported these forty-one students to date. To our faculty and staff, I extend my commendation for your investment of time, attention, and energy into the learning and daily experience of these students.
That these students are graduating is cause for celebration, and I invite all of us to relish in these graduation moments together. In just a few weeks, these graduates will take a further step into the adult world most of us are familiar with. This may cause excitement, anxiety, or trepidation given that we, who have experienced more of what awaits them after the diploma, must let go knowing that we have done our very best to prepare these young people for learning and for life beyond Crossroads.
Each of our graduates this morning possesses qualities that I believe will help them forge great successes in the future. Each of them possess qualities to which many of our younger students can aspire and qualities that inspire those of use who have already graduated.
I would like to take these last moments I have as their head of school to share some of the ways each of them has inspires me.
I am inspired by:
- Jurni Bayoc’s artistry, wonder, and joy
- Tyler Berry’s affability, gentle humor, and willingness to help
- Charles Bethell’s energy, sense of irony, and courage to be exactly himself
- Joey Borrelli’s intellect, creativity, discipline, and attention to detail
- Narchelle Chism‘s fortitude, industriousness, and sense of self
- Thomas Clear’s creativity and his early and continued interest in sharing that with the world
- Davin Do’s kindness, willingness to participate, and flexibility
- Truman Doyle’s opinions, his action orientation, and his commitment to lively and provocative discussion
- Jacob Finer’s charisma, ability to connect with his others, and his helpfulness
- Emanuel Gerbi’s positivity, humor, and ability to see patterns among complexities,
- Faith Gilmore’s convictions and her humility to revise those convictions as she learns and understands more about herself and the world
- Mishelska Gonzalez’s curiosity, kindness, humility, and intellect
- Angelo Gralnick’s ease and his comfort with himself and with others
- Andrew Guest‘s curiosity, perseverance, sense of humor, and loyalty
- Lexi Hanson’s internal strength, sense of self, and consistent work ethic
- Emily Hirshman’s intellect, curiosity, and love of learning, and authenticity
- Eyvind Hovmand Warner‘s curiosity, generosity, intellect, and kindness
- Jude Huck-Reymond’s leadership, watchfulness, and the intention he brings to his work and his friendships
- Maggie Hughes’s joy, intellect, and generosity of spirit
- Ashley King’s consistency, hard work, and dedication to scholarship
- Brian Kishi’s authenticity, humility, and consistency
- Andrew Koller’s steadiness, intellect, and kindness
- Nick McClellan’s passion for exploration and curiosity
- Jude Nejmanowski’s thoughtfulness, optimism, and talent,
- Samantha Nelson’s creativity, individuality, and passion
- George Nichols’s charm, ability to connect with all kinds of people, and affability
- Paige Nolan’s initiative, variety of interests, and strong questions
- Malaika Pedzayi-Ferguson’s wisdom, understanding of the other, and creativity expressed through multiple disciplines
- Adam Raney’s kindness, compassion, and empathy
- Ashley Raskin’s enthusiasm, participation, and consistent joyfulness
- Kyra Ruben’s worldliness and talent and skill across disciplines
- Allison Ryan’s maturity, sense of self, and leadership for topics that are important and that are often not spoken about,
- Malasia Taylor’s determination, affability, steadiness, kindness and joy
- Elena Truman’s sense of self, allyship to her peers, and appreciation of difference
- Lauren Weber’s likeability and good humor and ease
- Elizabeth Faith Webster’s curiosity, sense of self, confidence, leadership
- Blaire Williams’s discipline, trust, optimism, and absolute reliability
- Kayla Williams’s strong sense of self, strength of character, and joy in learning
- Jabari Wimbley’s sense of humor, friendliness, and ability to connect with others
- Arno Yang’s joy, creativity, humility, and friendship
- Gian Zignago’s analytical mind, ability to see connections among disparate things, and his ingenuity.
These are extraordinary young people. They are inspirational, and I believe that the class of 2019’s college and university communities, their friends and developing professional networks, and the cities, towns, and families they choose and join will be different and better as a result of this.
I commend the class of 2019 for their effort, investment, and engagement in their learning and in the life of Crossroads. I thank them for their generosity, curiosity, and candor. And in my last few moments as head, I will say that I have great expectations for their futures. The Class of 2019 that will demonstrate, once again, that you can go anywhere from here.