MESSMER TODAY Sum - Messmer Catholic Schools

VALEDICTORIANAND CO-SALUTATORIANS OF THE CLASS OF 2011Valedictorian Giovanni Rodriguez, center, & Co-Salutatorians Jade Hendricks, left, & Crystal Marmolejo, rightMESSMER HIGH SCHOOL’S 2011 VALEDICTORIAN, GIOVANNI RODRIGUEZ,AND CO-SALUTATORIANS CRYSTAL MARMOLEJO AND JADE HENDRICKS,HAVE EARNED THESE IMPORTANT DISTINCTIONS BY VIRTUE OF THEIRDETERMINATION, HARD WORK AND FOCUS. FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTSFROM THEIR ADDRESSES TO THE CLASS OF 2011.Co-Salutatorian Crystal Marmolejo hasa cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)of 4.033. She has received over $30,000in scholarship offers, and will attendMilwaukee School of Engineering where shewill study Construction Management.“Four years ago we walked through thefront doors of Messmer. Four years agowe met people who would become ourclassmates and friends, the class of 2011.Four years ago we laid the foundation forthis day.The friendships made, the work done,the time spent together, the bonds thathave provided our foundation: Theseare the things upon which we have builtand will continue to build. After our fouryears, we carry that Messmer stamp.We do not know where the future maytake us—what will happen in our liveslater on, or the opportunities we willhave. But I do know Messmer will alwaysremain in our lives.Now that graduation is here, we feelslightly nervous about what mightcome, and excited about the next leg ofour journey—not seniors anymore, butfreshmen once again.”Co-Salutatorian Jade Hendricks has acumulative GPA of 4.020. She has received$412,316 in scholarship offers, and willattend Fisk University in Tennessee whereshe will major in Business Administration.“On the next leg of our journey, wehave already made a great start. We aresitting here, ready to graduate. We arehere for some simple reasons—hardwork, dedication, and persistence. Thosequalities have brought us here, and theywill carry us where we hope to be.We have full lives ahead of us, and withwhat we have learned, we will continueto seek, to strive, and not to yield. Todaybrings us one step closer to our dreams.We need to keep those goals in mindalways, no matter what twists or turnswe meet on our journey. And throughit all, we have had each other; we havehad Messmer to help guide us; and wehave had our families standing behind us,pushing, pulling, making it all possible.So, seniors, in the words of HenryDavid Thoreau, ‘Go confidently in thedirection of your dreams. Live the lifeyou have imagined.’ Congratulations, ourday is finally here.”Giovanni Rodriguez has a cumulative GPAof 4.279. She has received over $177,868in scholarship offers, and will attend theUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison whereshe will major in Biology.“Look around; we are not the samepeople as four years ago. We have changedthrough time, through our work, throughall we have experienced. We have made itthrough high school, we have prevailed.Messmer. A community. A family.Like all families, we continue to growand change. We may not be perfect yet,but we continue to work to completeourselves. We have put down a solidfoundation at Messmer, and on it we willcontinue to build.We have worked to hone the tools andskills for success. Now we need to usethose tools, to continue to grow, and notto be afraid. As Marianne Wiliamson putit so aptly in a poem, ‘Our deepest fear isnot that we are inadequate. Our deepestfear is that we are powerful beyondmeasure. It is our light not our darknessthat most frightens us. We were born tomake manifest the glory of God that iswithin us. It’s not just in some of us; it’sin everyone. And as we let our own lightshine, we help other people to do thesame.’And in the end we owe all we are andall we hope to become to God. Let hislight shine in us, letting the world knowwho we are—the class of 2011.”MESSMER TODAY 5