Page 21 - Priorities #70

Under the large white tent perched impeccably in the center of the Father Christopher field, parents, family, and friends anxiously awaited the arrival of the Class of 2018. “I hear them now,” announced Director of Strategic Initiatives Al Zappelli, as the crowd silenced to hear the faint sound of bagpipes. The Class of 2018 could be seen marching down the hillside all dressed in traditional black robes and adorned with beautiful orchid leis. The 68 graduates marched through the tent with their cleverly decorated caps. “UC me rollin’” read one, “MOM & DAD 1st GRADUATE” read another. Other notable caps were the Stanford logo that was made with a 3D printer, a cap decorated with grape leaves and pom poms, and a tribute cap to the beloved late faculty member Joe Montero. Each cap told a personal story of either where they were going or where they had been. This class was proud of their past and their future.
As graduates, faculty, staff, and Board members settled into their seats on stage, a buzz of excitement hung in the unusually warm air as members of the esteemed Chamber Singers choir belted out the national anthem.
Student speaker, Elizabeth Duncan, addressed the crowd with a warm open honesty, “I have a confession, I almost didn’t come to Priory,” she said. Duncan expressed the need to embrace discomfort and unfamiliarity in order to grow and discover opportunities that help you become a better person. “As much as Priory has made a point about teaching us our Benedictine values and our learning competencies, it did us good,” she said with certainty. Duncan voiced, “Here, this was and still is the space to find and challenge and nurture and emerge as our most resilient, compassionate selves. Our most human selves.”
Commencement speaker, Father John Fortin from Saint Anselm College and Priory board member, shared his long history with Priory. “Forty-two years ago I started here at Priory; a lot has changed, the student body was well under 200, the pool was just built, and the first bus purchased.” Father John also shared a special memory when he accompanied the entire school to a once in a lifetime field trip to view the King Tutankhamen exhibit in San Francisco. The day was going fine until, “an 8th grader set off the anti-theft alarm when he decided to try on some of the jewelry in the exhibit...the entire exhibit was cleared out and the bus ride home was long and completely silent,” he said with a soft chuckle. Father John closed with a reminder to not only the Class of 2018 but to everyone to “be open to consider respectfully different views and perspectives; and to treat all people with fairness and equality and, indeed, with love.”
The Class of 2018 then crossed the stage one by one to cheers of love and triumph as they received their diplomas. As swiftly as they had marched into the large white tent, the graduates marched out as the newest alumni, Class of 2018.
“Be open to consider respectfully different views and perspectives.”
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Commencement speaker Father John Fortin.
US GRADUATION