Lynnfield_Grad_2022

JUNE 9, 2022
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880
G29
St. John’s Prep
Members of the senior class gather for a group photo during the Prep’s senior week festivities.
PHOTO | ST. JOHN’S PREP
‘You are hope:’ St. John’s Prep commencement
speakers urge graduates to make a difference
By Charlie MCKenna
DANVERS — At the St.
John’s Preparatory School’s commencement
ceremony on May
21, the Class of 2022 was told to
use the knowledge and skills they
learned over their four years at the
school to “be extraordinary” and
make a difference in the world.
“Over the past five years or so,
your extraordinary abilities have
been crushed into an ordinary
high school student. What cannot
be crushed, though, is your potential,”
Evan Korol, a math teacher
chosen by the class to deliver the
commencement address, told the
crowd of students, decked in navy
blue caps and gowns. “You can
choose to reclaim what it means
to be extraordinary. Right now,
none of you is smart enough to
solve the world’s problems. But
you could be; you can choose to
do something with the knowledge,
the experiences and the
observations that you’ve made
and have been given. You can
choose to make a difference in the
world.”
The ceremony, which ran for
roughly two hours, also featured
speeches from Marc Gaudin, selected
by his peers to speak on
behalf of the class of 2022, and
Charles Kirby, the class valedictorian,
who did not attend
the in-person ceremony, instead
delivering a pre-recorded video
speech.
Gaudin reflected on the rocky
path his class has faced, having to
navigate much of their high school
experience amid the COVID-19
pandemic, and praised his classmates
for making it to the other
side.
“It’s hard to reflect on these
past four years without noting
2020 – this unknown and unprecedented
period. At some point I’m
sure we all felt frightened, confused,
and longed for the future,
for better,” said Gaudin. “But here
we are in 2022, having made it
out — together. The brotherhood
that is the class of 2022 faced this
pandemic head on and suffered
through countless hours of Zoom
and masked classrooms. And now
we sit here under this tent without
masks, without Zoom rooms, and
with each other.”
Gaudin described the 268 graduates
as a group of people who
“experience” — and live — life
to the fullest.
“The Class of 2022 is a class
of people who … step outside of
their comfort zone because discomfort
is growth. Experience,
experience, experience. A life
with voluntary limits is a life
without living,” he said.
Similarly, Kirby, the valedictorian,
said in his pre-recorded remarks
that his class was one that
“moved as one” over the course
of their time at St. John’s.
“Over the past four years, we’ve
learned a lot about ourselves and
I have learned a valuable lesson
on how best to approach challenging
situations,” he said. “I’ve
learned that changing one’s scope
and perspective can bring clarity
and solutions.”
Kirby, a Marblehead resident,
will be attending Duke University
in the fall.
The ceremony concluded with
remarks from the Danvers-based
school’s headmaster, Edward P.
Hardiman, who challenged the
graduates to be a source of hope in
a world that often feels hopeless.
“Class of 2022, it has been an
honor and a privilege to come to
know you, value you and love
you,” Hardiman said. “Remind
yourself always you are not just
graduates of St John’s Prep. You
are hope, you are inspiration. You
are prophetic messages that faith,
hope, and love, and the greatest of
these being love, are ever present
in our world and will always overcome
the challenges we face.”
No one ever said it would be easy.
CONGRATULATIONS,CLASS OF 2022!
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