CLASS OF 2017 REFLECTIONS COLLECTED BY JAMES SANTOSA, Yearbook Co-Editor
you’ve heard the School’s lessons over and over again: The Golden Rule; The Parable of the Mustard Seed and how influen- tial one seemingly small act of kindness or appreciation can be; Embrace Differences, Celebrate Community; Minds, Hearts, Hands, Voices; Stand up for what is right; Don’t be a bystander in the face of meanness and wrong-doing; Mr. Mundy’s “Don’t be careless;” Ms. Murphy’s “Stop breaking the beakers;” and, of course, Coach Mullen’s “Don’t be that guy.” In fourth grade, you were always reminded of those two things you were in control of-your attitude and your effort. However, I have one more piece of advice. As your peers, parents, mentors, and teachers look upon you, we see the potential for greatness: great ideas, great creativity, great talents, great personalities, great people, great potential. So, my challenge for you is to aim high. Today is a great day and tomorrow brings potential. Tomorrow brings change. When change happens in life, such as changing schools, you should remember that you’re always moving towards something. So aim high. You’re moving towards something, and bringing along with you what you have picked up along the way. You’re not really leaving something behind. Yes, change can be hard: new schools, new experiences, new relationships, new jobs, whatever. Even so, aim high. As Thoreau said, “In the long run, men only hit what they aim at. Therefore, though you should fail immediately, you had
better aim at something high.” However this piece of advice is not what I consider the big take away for my speech. The big take away is that your being here today, as well as your success in the future, is less about the influence of one person, one class, one lesson, or one message. It is the result of an entire community of people who love you and who are here for you. It is not one message, but a collection of messages and, even more importantly, the community of people behind the messages—that Cathedral family that we are and will always be a part of. Throughout all of your time here at Cathedral, you’ve enjoyed victories and successes, and you’ve suffered setbacks and losses. You’ve developed resiliency all along and forged bonds that will last a lifetime. Most of you wrote in the year- book about how important those connections have been to you and what an incredible community this is. Yes, this is an incred- ible community. We are a part of an incredible extended family. Despite the tremendous change in front of us, there is comfort in knowing that Cathedral will always be a home for us. It’s where you grew as students, thinkers, friends, and young men. It’s where I grew as a teacher, a husband, a father, and a friend. A wise group of kids once sang to us and told us that, “Everybody needs a home.” Well, Cathedral is not Paris, Missouri, but it will always be a home for you and you are welcome back, with open arms, any time. Thank you.
EVAN AGENBROAD Through my four years at Cathedral, I’ve learned that you can be anything you want to be. Here, an English teacher is a great knitter, a religion teacher is a great cyclist, a P.E. coach is a discrimination counselor. Everyone at this school has many facets and it has inspired me to have many as well. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – NELSON MANDELA SAM COOPER When asked to describe what I’ve been taught at Cathedral, a million things came to mind. [In short,] Cathedral has been a family and will continue to be [one] long after we graduate. “We are bound by our choices, but we are more than our mistakes.” –KATE BECKETT QUINCY CORSELLO My classmates at Cathedral and the experiences I’ve had with them have heavily influenced the person I am today. The friendships we have built together with our classmates and teachers have been an essential part of our middle school experience, which has been overwhelmingly positive. Things we have done as a class - like service learning - have helped me develop a better [under- standing of those]less fortunate. “No one is beyond hope!” –CHARLIE GORDON
ALEXANDER DINAPOLI Cathedral School for Boys has taught me discipline and religious values. The most important religious values I learned were kindness and understanding. Cathedral encouraged me to respect others and treat them the way I would like to be treated. My service trips to On Lok Senior Center brought this lesson to life. I learned that treating others with dignity and respect causes them to treat you the same way. It’s important to be perceived as a kind person. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” –H. JACKSON BROWN, JR. grade, I had no idea that the next seven years would be among the happiest in my life. From day one, I knew I was in a community of friends. At Cathedral, we look out for one another. People care for each other and no one is excluded. Looking back, being part of something greater than myself has taught me how I can live life to the fullest. You should support others, do what you love, work your hardest, and take every opportunity you are given. “The greatest gift in life is friendship, and I have received it.” –HUBERT H. HUMPHREY TAY FREEMAN When I joined Cathedral in second HOWARD HARDEN Through my time at Cathedral, the most important thing I’ve learned is that being kind to others makes a big difference. Whenever boys says “good morning” or “hello” in the hallway, it immediately
brightened up my day. Now whenever I see classmates in the hallway I greet them. Whether it be a handshake or a smile, I know it makes a difference to them. For everybody younger, I encourage you to do the same. “Even though you’re fed up, you gotta keep your head up.” –TUPAC SHAKUR JACK JACOBSEN Cathedral has taught me many lessons, but one that stands out was during the sixth grade basketball semifinals. We were the undefeated, number one seed and were playing the fourth-seeded team. Since we had beaten this team comfortably earlier, we went in with the attitude that it would be an easy win. In the third quarter, I fouled out. Soon after, another one of our key players fouled out. We lost in overtime, and I felt as if I had let my teammates down because I was undisciplined. “Discipline is the highest form of love. If you really love someone, you have to give them the level of discipline they need.” –TOM IZZO (Michigan State Head Coach)
CATHEDRAL BOYS ARE ALWAYS IN FASHION
You might have noticed a flurry of pink ties at Graduation. Turns out, when the boys were asked to select a color for graduation, the majority of boys selected the color “raspberry.” According to Men’s Vogue , pink accessories for men are this year’s must haves. Nothing like graduating in style.
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FALL 2017 • RED & GOLD | 39
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