DANVERS — At the St. John’s Preparatory School’s commencement ceremony Saturday morning, 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.”