2015 Graduation Commencement Address

As the President and Principal of St. Francis, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to our family's celebration of the Class of 2015's graduation.

With invocation and pledge of allegiance done, it is time to celebrate our graduates as they go forth today from our sheltered world in Watsonville to a more complex and challenging world of college and beyond. They graduate from us today as confident, successful and knowledgeable women and men of character and service...and they are ready to lead, serve, and inspire all of us. And for that we are grateful and proud of each one.

Commencement is indeed a fitting name for this occasion. It is the day in which we recall with great pride the achievements our graduates have attained during their time at St. Francis. It is the day of dreams fulfilled, of challenges surmounted, and opportunities rewarded. But Commencement also marks a new beginning for our graduates - or a new chapter, as our Valedictorians Caroline and Cooper will share with you later. Today we confidently send them out into the world to put into practice the Catholic, Salesian ideals of leadership, service, and the promotion of social justice they have learned here both inside and outside the classroom.

With sincere gratitude, I would like us to acknowledge the role that our graduates' parents and families have played in helping them arrive at this day.

We hope that no matter where our graduates' lives may lead them, they will always remember St. Francis High School as their home, their school, their church, and their playground. Class of 2015...You will forever be a St. Francis SHARK. As you have heard me say many times at all-school assemblies and to many of you individually, enjoy being part of a worldwide community of Salesian alumni...then go visit fun and exotic places like India, Africa, Italy, Philippines, and Brazil.

The 20th century spiritual writer Thomas Merton wrote, "The meaning of my life is not to be looked for merely in the sum total of my own achievements. It is seen only in the complete integration of my achievements and failures with the achievements and failures of my own generation, and society, and time. It is seen, above all, in my integration in the mystery of Christ" (Merton xxii). Though all of you are here to celebrate a loved one's individual accomplishments, this accomplishment cannot be measured on its own but rather by the whole class's experiences and only in relation to their integration with Christ. And these experiences have been celebrated through our daily interaction, all-school assemblies, and schoolwide liturgies.

Merton's powerful maxim exemplifies the character and vision of the Class of 2015 and of our patron saint, Don Bosco: it exemplifies a Catholic, Salesian college-prep education; and, it exemplifies the hopes and dreams we have for each of you. Graduates, though you just completed your senior year I can look back at our time together and see how you've grown: you have learned to be reflective, like Merton, to be self-reliant, like Emerson, to be of service, like Mother Theresa, and to recognize that "No man (or woman) is an island, entire of itself," like John Donne so eloquently stated.

From my observations, your class has strong relationships and a tremendous personality: there are great minds, exceptional athletes, brilliant singers and actors, amazingly compassionate hearts, some impressive over-achievers, and perhaps even some underachievers, but above all you are unforgettable and you have left an indelible mark on Saint Francis! We have seen this as we have celebrated your numerous generosities and accomplishments over the graduation events and which culminate, today, with our Graduation Commencement.  

Over the last twelve years as a Principal, I have searched for and included a cornucopia of relevant literature at graduation from The Bible, the contemporary spiritual writer Thomas Merton, TV shows and movies, English poets like Keats and Tennyson, and even our childhood friend, Dr. Seuss. But this year, for your class, I knew you needed something both practical and inspirational, so I have some suggested readings and inspirational words to live by:

My list of 4 summer beach books to read include 2 that are just fun fictional works while the last 2 are more inspirational and meaningful:

• Ask the Dust by John Fante - this work of fiction by an influential master of the twentieth-century American novel is not just great because I did my Master's Thesis on all of his writing. It is a great story about an American-Immigrant trying to find the American Dream in 1930's Los Angeles. It is the story of a young adult moving to a new city, trying to make his mark in the new world. His bumbling relationships, his successes and failures, and the relationship he has with his parents will resonate with all of you.

• The Secret History by Donna Tartt - this first novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author Donna Tartt is about high-pretensions coexisting with human weakness. The narrator goes off to school in Vermont and is both friendless and without family support...so he naturally he reinvents himself this freshman year in college to fit in with his new chic-chic classmates. It is a wonderful piece of fiction that marries absurd behavior and a murder mystery, and it will introduce you to those early pretend adult years in college.

• Fully Alive by Timothy Shriver - a great read recommended by Mr. Doherty. In this gripping memoir, Shriver shares his coming of age through his involvement with the Special Olympics. Naturally he has wonderful anecdotes about the Kennedy's and the Shriver's. The narrator's involvement helps him find a deeper and more meaningful way to see the world. This is the wish Mr. Doherty and I have for you.

• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - Blink, which sold over 2 million copies, explains "what happens during the first two seconds we encounter something, before we actually start to think." All of Gladwell's books focus on singularities: singular events in The Tipping Point, singular people in Outliers, and singular moments in Blink. Yet Gladwell's singularity of focus has a much larger theme: When asked what message he wanted people to take away after reading Blink, Gladwell responded, "I just want people to take rapid cognition seriously...if you did...we would end up with a different and happier world." It sounds a little trite, but there's a powerful truth in that. And all of us here today want you to affect the necessary changes to sustain and grow a different and happier world.

I have read the Gladwell trilogy many times over many years, but it was not until Cooper's and Riley's mom, Mrs. Mindy Scherr suggested it for an all-school read, that I re-discovered the Gladwell value proposition.

He looks at the first 2 seconds of thought, not in the way you do when you are dating and fall instantly in, or out of, love; and, it is not a snap judgment based on the color of someone's skin, the music they listen to, or how much money they have. It looks at thin-slicing - where human beings are capable of making sense of complex situations based on the thinnest slice of experience. Gladwell looks at good-rapid cognition like the decisions ER doctors make, or military leaders made in the Vietnam War, or life-saving decisions made by police and fire personnel. He shows good rapid-cognition against the backdrop of bad rapid-cognition that includes a look at the predilection for hiring tall people as CEO's of America's Fortune 500 Companies...just because they're tall. Not because they are smarter, better leaders, or even good looking...just because they are tall. Gladwell also looks at the world famous J. Paul Getty Museum's inability to admit that it wasted millions of dollars on a fake Greek Statue, called the Kourrous, because no one wanted to admit they were wrong. As a result, they bought and showed a fake classic Greek statue.

At St. Francis, you have been given the skills and content knowledge to master your subjects. But, more importantly, you have been given the tools to be good Christians and honest global citizens. Your Catholic, Salesian thin-slicing ability has been greatly informed to aid you when meeting a new person, or confronting a complex situation, or having to make decisions under severe conditions of stress. You are ready and you are prepared.

Read these books and put their lessons, along with the lessons from mom and dad and from your coaches and teachers at St. Francis to good use...and you will be great women and men of God and great citizens of the world.

For those who did not attend our annual awards ceremony, or musicals, or concert on the green, what is your legacy?

Under your leadership we grew the arts. We actually have a thriving visual and performing arts program, and you grew the Music Ministry program. Thank you Marco, Julian, Cooper, Abby, Karla, Eleri, Sydney, and Katia. You also made a name for yourselves athletically: we won another women's tennis singles title and our second team title in the SCCAL. Thank you: Caroline, Megan, Sydney, Erica, Colette, Jane, Emily, & Izzy. You showed tremendous class and leadership by winning another CCS women's basketball title. Through the ups and downs and drama you pulled together at the right moment. Thank you Caitlan, Megan, Sonja, Izzy, and Jessica. In baseball you won the Bishop Gorman Tournament and the SCCAL. 2 years ago you traveled to Vegas only to get pounded by teams from a host of states other than California. 2 years later you return and go undefeated. Thank you Jacob, Peter, Braxton, Nick, Brian, and Josh. I can say with pride and conviction that you have grown the reputation and brand of St. Francis in the arts and athletics.

Academically, you will soon here about the individual accomplishments, but even more than that you have a lot to be proud of as a class:

The school's first National Merit Finalist.

51% of your class has a 3.5 or better GPA.

31% have a 4.0 or better.

44% of you are CSF and/or NHS members as well.

Most schools are lucky to have 4% not 44% like we have.

20% of your class has a direct leadership role in the school as a class officer or active member of Animas. Nick and Kyle, thank you for your leadership as class officers and your morning announcements; Katie and Brandee, thanks for all of your work on the dances with Battle for the Paddle - your class won at the right time...senior year; Izzy and Cooper, thank you for your leadership and passion for retreats and liturgies.

Graduates, you have completed your senior year and are living your one high school commencement exercise. Enjoy it; take it all in and savor it. For me, this is my 26th high school commencement and my 12th as a Principal. So, for better or worse, I get to leave you with a short piece of wisdom from Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. I know you all enjoyed poetry in Mr. Walker or Mr. Doherty's classes this year as well as the 1st St. Francis Poetry Slam.

"Come, my friends...seek a newer world...[and] sail beyond the sunset...that which we are, we are...One equal temper of heroic hearts...strong in will...To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

Class of 2015, you are one equal temper of heroic hearts. Continue to serve and lead and never yield. You have inspired us; now be the catalyst for positive change in the world. Inspire them! You have earned your diplomas, and I am proud to have been your principal. God bless.