11 minute read
Class of 2021 Commencement
S T U D E N T S P O T L I G H T: Molly McKenna ‘21
Her Valedictorian speech delivered to Class of 2021
(From June 6, 2021)
Good afternoon, Mrs. Burek, Mrs. Corvo, Sisters of Charity, members of the Board of Trustees, administration, Ms. Deehan, faculty, parents, grandparents and guests.
I don ’t know if any of you have been to an art museum lately, but if you ever have or ever will, I think there ’ s always a certain humanity to the antiquities department. It’ s a very unique experience to stand in a room of sculpted figures from k2000 years ago, and it won ’t take you long tto notice a certain theme of the work—the iGreeks sculpted perfection. What you women, and not much else. The Greeks believed, and I’ m generalizing here for the purpose of brevity, that, somewhere out there, there was such a thing as a perfect human being, that there were mathematical proportions which denoted the ideal figure. This idea of mathematical perfection persisted. You can see it in the works of da Vinci during the Renaissance and, in a way, you can see it today.
Essentially every culture on earth has had their own ideas of perfection. Rococo women painted their faces with leadbased makeup to achieve pale skin. Ancient Mayans used wooden boards to permanently alter a newborn infant’ s soft skull. For a thousand years, aristocratic Chinese women broke and bound the feet of their young daughters to achieve a three-inch foot. In the digital age, it’ s so much easier than ever before to be exposed to our own culture ’ s ideals. We watch makeup tutorials from influencers with thousands of dollars of cosmetic surgery, skincare, cameras, and lighting, and we ask ourselves why our makeup never looks as good as theirs. We see photoshopped bikini pictures from celebrities with personal trainers and private chefs, and ask ourselves why our bodies don ’t look like theirs. We make idols out of people and worship manufactured versions of
them. And then we compare ourselves to a version of reality that doesn ’t even exist.
In the late nineteenth century, there was a sculptor named Auguste Rodin. His most famous work is The Thinker which you might know from Night at the Museum 2. We probably wouldn ’t be able to tell by looking at it, desensitized as we are to modern art, but his work was actually extremely radical for the time. Up until the nineteenth century, art, particularly sculpture, almost exclusively presented perfection. As with the Greeks, you see humankind in its purest, most beautiful form. You see men and women as you might never see them in real life. There were very rigid societal expectations of what constituted aesthetic beauty, what was permissible to show to the public. Even babies could be painted with six-pack abs in medieval times.
Auguste Rodin rejected this. His sculptures were not aesthetically beautiful. To many of his time and today, they looked rough and incomplete, like a sketch before a final product. I think that’ s how a lot of us view ourselves. We look in the mirror and see a before picture like in some awful old weight-loss commercial. We see ourselves as a sketch of what we would like to become—what we could only become, if we looked like her or dressed like her or owned what she owns. And we beat on, boats against the current, living as a series of before pictures, constantly striving towards an after that no one can achieve.
Auguste Rodin is considered one of the greatest sculptors to ever live. His work has been on display in the most famous art museums in the world, in Manhattan, Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Prague, and Barcelona. And you know, some people might look at it and think it’ s ugly and unfinished. They might think it’ s a mockery of what sculpture is meant to be. Others look at it and think it’ s some of the greatest art that’ s ever been made. I think we ’ re all going to run into both kinds of people in our lives, even if the former seems more prevalent. Because there are always going to be people out there who put you down and reduce you to your physical appearance or your academic record or your wardrobe. People who make you feel like the before image in a glow up video. There are also going to be people who look at you and see a work of fine art. All you have to do is decide which of those people you want to listen to. That’ s the beauty of art—a thousand people can look at the same work and think a thousand different things. And I think life is art, at its core. In one of my religion classes, I read of different models of creation and something that really stuck with me is the idea of creation as artistic expression. That God is a sculptor. And not that God needs my approval, but I think he knew what he was doing. I think God purposely left us as unfinished sculptures, and that’ s the point. There ’ s not supposed to be an after. There is no finish line on this side. Do you know what the beauty of an unfinished sculpture is? You can always add more to it.
Molly McKenna Valedictorian, Class of 2021 Academy of Saint Elizabeth
Robin Deehan ‘06
Former student-athlete delivers Commencement address to Class of ‘21
I am honored to be your commencement speaker this year. It' s hard to believe that it' s been 15 years since I sat here on the lawn in my white gown, holding red roses -- in my opinion, it' s truly the most beautiful and unique graduation tradition of any high school in the state.
When asked to join you today, I was flooded with memories of my time here at the Academy of St. Elizabeth. So I thought it might be fun to tell you a quick story -especially because Mr. Yarnall is still here on the faculty. It was 2002, my freshman year, and we had only been here a few weeks, still acclimating to what high school classes were like and how to keep track of a B day versus a C day. So, very early on it' s time for freshman year history with Mr. Yarnall, we walk in prepared to absorb the knowledge of ancient cultures, albeit unenthusiastically. Then all of a sudden, Mr. Yarnall pops in a movie - my classmates and I turn and look at each other thinking " wow, this is so great... we ' re already getting to watch movies in class... this guy is the best. " The movie was about the Mayans... their culture, history, and most importantly their calendar. The narrator proceeds to tell us that it' s one of the most accurate calendars in history... but in a not so comforting twist -- the movie abruptly turns dark and tells us the Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21, 2012 - and it is expected that a series of cataclysmic events could take place, resulting in the end of civilization. With that, the movie ends, Mr. Yarnall turns it off, nothing is said, and class is dismissed. As you can imagine it was quite the shock to a bunch of 14 year old girls getting used to high school life... we just looked at each other, walked out silently, and started mentally preparing for the apocalypse. Of course the world didn 't end, but when December 2012 rolled around, my high school friends and I all checked in with each other -- just to make sure everything was ok...so thanks for that Mr. Yarnall. I know all of you are leaving here today with your own memories, many of them are fond, and some too, are thought-provoking. I believe you will also be leaving here with one of the best educations you could possibly ask for, well-prepared to pursue your studies at college and to navigate your professional lives.
I was a three-sport athlete here at St. E' s and after graduation, I went on to play lacrosse at The College of New Jersey. When I got there I was already ahead of the game when it came to juggling multiple classes, different daily schedules, a demanding academic workload and a college sport on top of it. The small class size and individual attention I received here at St. E' s gave me the confidence to participate in those college courses, to freely express opinions, to look at things from multiple perspectives and to be an all-around successful student-athlete.
But the most important tools St. E' s gave me are faith and confidence - that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. Life can be very challenging, plenty of obstacles are going to be thrown your way that you will have to overcome -- you ' re actually already doing it navigating a pandemic through your high school years. When I was at St. E' s, my father was diagnosed with cancer, despite going through treatment he never missed any of my St. E' s field hockey, basketball or lacrosse games. He died on the first day of lacrosse practice my sophomore year at TCNJ, he never got to see me play a college game... while I wasn 't ready for it, a week later, I was back at practice with the faith in God
that he was ok and the confidence and determination to carry on and make him proud. And by the way, don 't underestimate the value of your parents support, not just in paying the tuition to give you the advantage of a private, faith-based education, but also by showing up to support your efforts and celebrate your successes in all aspects of your life these past eighteen years.
By my senior year at TCNJ, I was captain of the team, and we made a run in the NCAA tournament. But something else happened that season. I was featured as the athlete of the week... they asked me a series of questions, one of which was " what is your dream job?" - I replied, "I want to be on the field when the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl" -- I' m an Eagles fan for the record and I made this what Giants fans might describe as, insane declaration - in 2010, and that article still lives online, -- but I'll come back to this
point in bit.
After my college graduation, I worked a few years in Ad Sales at CNN, but I knew sports media was the passion I wanted to pursue. I applied to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University to get my Master ' s in broadcast and digital journalism. While there, I was able to meet and learn from some of the best broadcasting personalities in the business. I started to have faith that I too could achieve the success I wanted. My first on-air job was a local news reporter and anchor in Lubbock, Texas.. it was not glamorous, but I believed I was on the right path to get to where I wanted to be. Luckily, after nine months, I secured a transfer to Scranton, Pennsylvania where I was able to fulfill my dream of being a sports reporter and anchor. Every couple years, my station, WBRE, would send a reporter to cover the Olympics, to me it sounded like a dream. So, I made it a point to go into my boss ' s office every day to ask him if the station could send me. 't send you to the Olympics, but I have a consolation... we 'll send you to cover this year ' s Super Bowl. Not a bad consolation prize I thought, but it was September 2017, and no one knew which two teams would be playing in the big game that year... but based on my now -- not so insane declaration I made eight years earlier -- I guess you know where this story is going. Despite losing their starting quarterback to a knee injury right before the playoffs -- the Eagles still somehow went to the Super Bowl with a back-up quarterback -- beat Tom Brady and the Patriots -- and I was right there on the field when it happened... I know it was faith and confidence that got me there.
Since then, I' ve covered all major professional sports leagues, interviewed hall of famers and Olympians, won an Emmy award and have finally made it home to News 12 New Jersey, in market number one, working alongside some of those people who used to guest lecture at Syracuse. Working in sports, nine times out of ten I am the only woman in the room - but I thrive on that, because St. E' s gave me the foundation I needed to be confident in that room, to be an independent thinker and doer, to succeed in difficult situations, to embrace and trust that faith will carry me through.
So back to the Mayans and their calendar. As December, 2012 approached, their doomsday prediction was debated by scholars and historians. And some suggested the Mayans were not predicting the apocalypse - rather, the end of an age and a new beginning. How fitting that as you graduate, the pandemic is coming to an end and there are new beginnings for you. As members of the St. E' s sisterhood, you ' ve got the tools to succeed: especially faith and confidence. So find your passion, take chances, set goals and make them happen. Congratulations Class of 2021, I have faith that you are destined for great things and I am confident you will achieve them!
