Highlights - Front Page - Christ Church Episcopal School

Opportunities for Students and Alumni
attracts the nation’s top recent college
graduates. You can decide to become a
kindergarten teacher or matriculate in medical
school and conduct ground-breaking research
in the field of pediatric cancer. You can enroll
in a graduate program in art history at the
Sorbonne in Paris or teach finger painting at
a school you helped build in Nairobi. All are
valuable and honorable pursuits, and the point
of academic success is that it enables you to
choose to do what brings a sense of happiness
and fulfillment to your life.
Recently I had a conversation with Page and
Emily Bridges’ father. Some of you may
not remember Page but probably remember
Emily, who graduated from CCES last year.
Both of these young women chose to attend
Furman, and Page is now enrolled in a joint
M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of
North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Page Bridges
is giving herself options. My understanding
is that Emily Bridges, with her strong history
of academic success, will continue to work
hard to ensure that she too has the option to
become whatever she puts her mind to.
Success, to me, is being able to spend your
life doing what makes you happy. Life is
more fun when you are in the driver’s seat…
when you are able to do what is it you want
to do, where you want to do it. Too many
people in this world do not have the luxury
of that choice.
Congratulations to those of you who are
being honored today. My wish for you is
that as you navigate the next several years of
your life, you will stay focused, work hard,
and understand that the time and energy
you dedicate to your studies now will yield
important benefits later in life. Now is the
time to create a foundation for future success,
Continued
and CCES is an ideal community to support
you in that preparation. So make excellence
in your life a habit; you will certainly thank
yourself for it later. ■
Courtney Tollison ’95 is Assistant Professor
of History at Furman University and Museum
Historian at the Upcountry History Museum.
She earned undergraduate degrees in history and
women’s studies from Furman University and her
master’s and Ph.D. in history from the University
of South Carolina. In 2006 she was honored
by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce as
“Young Professional of the Year” and by the
Association for Women in Communications as
“Communicator of the Year.”
Courtney Tollison ’95
addresses Upper School
students during the
Cum Laude Assembly in
February.
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