Charlotte Latin School Class of 2021 Senior Edition, The Hawk Eye newspaper

Page 1

He sails the wide open seas with great precision and can execute a devastating cradle on the mat. See page 3

Where will the senior flock spend the next four years? See center spread

He sings, he composes, he acts— turn to page 4 to identify this Renaissance man. See page 8

THE HAWK

1

The Student Newspaper of Charlotte Latin School

Vol. 41 No. 3 9502 Providence Road Charlotte, NC 28227 May 2021

She rides like the wind—and has the ribbons to prove it. See page 7

First prom where no girls kicked off their heels to dance. See page 12

EYE

Letters

May 2021

THE SENIOR EDITION 2021 T h e h e r o’s j o u r n e y

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Head of Upper School offers wisdom as graduates take next next steps

By Lawrence E. Wall

It’s been forty years since I was graduated from high school, and comparing my understanding of the world now with what I understood then, I am struck by the truth that for all the things age has taken from me it has given more. This is particularly so in that most important of all fields of human expertise, knowledge of oneself. Further, when I consider the things that fostered most the acquisition of such knowledge, the top

contributor is undoubtedly adversity. I was one of four children, just one of four. I was no one’s special project. We had no money. We had no network of important connections. My parents had not gone to college. My great inheritance was my faith, passed down through a family that wouldn’t have survived without one. So I grew up in the expectation that if I did my part, then God would help with the rest, opening some doors and closing others as He

Class of 2021 gathers outside of Thies for its annual college tee day (seniors removed masks only briefly for the photo). Photo by April Baker

knew best. I was blessed with excellent intelligence, but failing ninth grade Algebra I was a comeuppance I’m glad was sent me early, because it taught me discipline and not to squander my opportunities. It was easy for me to look around my public high school and see where my life would go if I didn’t get serious about my opportunities to learn and distinguish myself. I carried this through all of the challenges of high school, college, graduate school, and a career that started at a tiny Episcopal School that was about to close its doors when I joined its faculty. Until I was 37, it seemed that my incline would always be steep. So I learned early that if anything I wanted was going to happen, I had to make it happen, although you’d be very wrong to take away from that statement the idea that I think I did it alone. Along the way there were always those marvelous people

who’d been placed in my path, and always just in time. So, to the Class of 2021, you who have so admirably led our Upper School students through three semesters of frustrations, scarcities, and uphill climbs, you can see from my own life that I welcome you sincerely to a special club. You’ve been dealt a hand that you would not have chosen, and yet you have dug deep to redeem everything within your power to re-imagine and to re-make. You have amazed us with your innovation, your focus on the needs of others, your unshakeable priority on friendships and on being together as much as you could. In a way, you have made the hero’s journey early in life, and coming up from the abyss, you have the hero’s knowledge of self. You’re smart enough to know that the World will challenge you yet, but life has given you a mirror and

forced you to look into it, and you have not yet blinked. Carry that with you, remembering all of those around you, including your parents and teachers, who also were tested, and remember that you have the fortitude and the excellence, and I hope the faith in something greater than yourselves leading the Universe, to see you through lives that are incomparably richer precisely because of the struggle. Ease seldom produces true leaders.

I WELCOME YOU SINCERELY TO A SPECIAL CLUB. Wall smiles behind his mask at the 2021 convocation exercises in the Student Activity Center. Photo by Lori Davis

The value of opinions and voices StuCo president encourages courage in face of societal pressures

By Johnston Lloyd

From the time I was a little toddler learning to walk and talk, my dad has always told me “to be courageous and to always be you.” And if there is one word to describe the Charlotte Latin Class of 2021, it would be courageous. Whether it’s in the classroom, on the sports field, or on the stage, we have embodied the meaning of true courage as a class. We are fearless competitors who will stop at nothing to succeed in all walks of life, willing to take chances and do whatever it takes to reach the goals we set for ourselves. In all aspects of our school life we dem-

Friends share a brotherhood moment.

onstrate different types of courage, whether that be physical courage on the

sports fields, on the theatrical stage, or intellectual courage in the classroom, we utilize different types of courage in different situations. While courage as a whole (and these specific types of courage) are vitally important abilities in life, the most important type of courage is social courage. Social courage, simply put, is the ability to be yourself and express yourself unapologetically. In this generation, our lives are particularly filled with outside pressures that seek to alter our opinions and shape them into what others want. Whether it be as simple as scrolling through your Instagram feed or watching the news, these days there are constant pressures for us to change our views to better align with others. Do not give into these pressures; do not ever give into these pressures. To speak your mind and to share your opinions are two critically important abilities in life. It takes a certain courage to share your honest opinions with people around you as you don’t always know the reaction it will elicit, but the power of this sharing is

immeasurable. The greatest gift you can give yourself and others is to share your thoughts because the free exchange of different opinions and ideas is the single most important thing in this world. On such a small scale like school this expression of your own ideas may not seem all that important because it’s merely sharing your thoughts on random things such as the French Revolution or the meaning of Margaret Fuller’s essays. However, as we grow up and explore the real world by ourselves, the impact of sharing our opinions grows in exponential magnitude. One day, Class of 2021, we will be passing laws, operating in surgery, building houses, and arguing in court where expressing our opinions becomes evermore important. Right now, it is rather easy to express ourselves and our opinions as they are often on trivial issues, but as our opinions grow in importance, it takes more and more courage to express our views, so the importance of learning social courage now cannot be understated. Social courage is quite difficult, don’t get me wrong, but it is an abil-

White out night in Jamaica during senior spring break trip. Photo by Jewel Grande Monetego Bay Photography

ity that is so vital that we should commit ourselves to it day in and day out. Find your voice. That doesn’t mean that you have to share your opinion or even have an opinion on anything and everything, but find what you’re passionate about and find your voice within that and express it. Most importantly: you always have a voice; as big or little as you think that voice may be, you always have that voice, so use it. Embrace different viewpoints because the free expression of ideas however different those ideas may be will always unite us. While we all go our

separate ways for college in the fall, keep in mind one thing: don’t change, don’t ever change. You are amazing just the way you are and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. We are a special class, Class of 2021; we have made friendships to last a lifetime so cherish them. Stay in touch and don’t be a stranger; high school may be over but our relationships aren’t. The party’s not over; it’s just begun. Letters.................................1,2 Profiles..............2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Features.....................10,11,12 Class Photo...................Center


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