Graduation at CRSM is always a highlight of the school year – a reminder of what we are all about… what gets us up each morning. There is nothing more satisfying for educators than to see students we’ve known for four years walk across the stage to receive their well-earned diplomas. We persevered through ups and downs with them, bore witness to their growing confidence and competence, and we steadily accompanied them from their waning, awkward days as adolescents into their present young adulthood. In one brief graduation, you come to realize that students, teachers, counselors, work-study staffers, business partners, school administrators, and benefactors are truly a single, cohesive community of people who care and support one another.
Graduation is also a family affair. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and extended family members come to celebrate their graduates’ accomplishment. Remember, the overwhelming majority of CRSM students are first-generation in their families to go to college. It’s a big moment!
At CRSM, the baccalaureate mass and commencement ceremony happen together. There are only three speakers: the priest gives a homily, and the Salutatorian and Valedictorian give their addresses. We don’t call a meeting or ask them to compare notes. They have the freedom to say what is important from their perspectives. During this year’s celebration, our Principal pointed out that each speaker independently chose the very same theme: overcoming fear.
The Provincial for the Viatorians, Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, was our celebrant and spoke to the gospel reading from Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life… Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? …seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.”
Fr. Mark encouraged the students to put their faith in God and not to sweat the small stuff.
After mass ended, our Salutatorian, Gisela, addressed her peers saying:
“Whether that is college counselors, teachers, friends, supervisors, and mentors, I hold all of you in my heart and know that I am immensely grateful for the support and opportunities that have been given to me by all of you.
We are all community made. Anything is possible. Now that we are going go our separate ways and head off to college, everything is going to be new. There is going to be infinite number of opportunities for us to succeed and fail. And that’s okay. Starting over is okay as long as you open yourself up to the opportunities presented to you.
Without fear there is no courage. There is no lesson to be learned. So, as we begin our new journey… Push. Through. Everyone in this school is rooting for us. Our parents or parent are rooting for us. Our siblings and friends are rooting for us. And I am rooting for all of you. We are all capable of success. And I can’t wait to see all of you achieve great things.”
Just a few minutes later, Alan, our Valedictorian, shared his own thoughts:
“It wasn’t until I started to reflect on my time at CRSM that something stood out to me: fear. I’ve always felt like I’ve been held back by fear, always spinning scenarios in my head of what could happen and therefore creating a barrier for myself. Throughout my time at CRSM I came to the realization that fear and success are omnipresent, I always had the idea that stress and fear would one day go away but they will always be here. I realized that If I wanted to achieve what I had wanted for so long I would have to be delusional. As Fr. John Foley states in the Cristo Rey Creed, ‘May we have faith in a dream so ambitious as to border on the delusional with a healthy disregard for conventional thinking. May our hope be so outrageously bold that we are afraid people will laugh at us if they knew what we hoped for!’
From taking College level courses to running for student council I learned that it is inevitable to face things you most fear in order to achieve your goals. What I am trying to say from all of this is that fear in reality is a motivation for much of what we do. We all have fear before we do something new, but this is eventually what gives us that push to do it. It doesn’t matter if we’re doing something big or small, we can always find motivation from this. We may fear rejection or making mistakes but rather than staying in your comfort zone and creating those scenarios in your head; go for it and find out what is true in reality.”
It’s remarkable that each, independently, centered their talk around the same theme but it shouldn’t be all that surprising. At CRSM, we value our families and view them as partners in our mission to help their students find success. We also work hard as educators to create an environment at school where students are known and know they are cared for. Lastly, we encourage our students to explore their beliefs and try to put those beliefs into actions. So, it’s no wonder really when they choose to talk about taking chances and overcoming fear. Our students know they are loved by their families, that they belong to a supportive community, and that they have faith in God who calls them to greater things. With love, belonging, and faith – fear doesn’t stand a chance. That’s the biggest gift we could ever hope for our students.
¡Viva Cristo Rey!