Valedictorian/ Salutatorian Speeches

Russell Raymund Toney Attending: University of Cincinnati

KEES Scholarship, University of Cincinnati Retirement Benefit Scholarship

Levi Alexander Weatherford Attending: Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University; Academic Merit Scholarship; University of Cincinnati; Cincinnatus Century Scholarship; KEES Scholarship

Ella Marie Weaver Attending: University of Dayton

University of Dayton; Federal SEOG Grant; Federal Pell Grant; Forever Flyer Grant; Commitment to Catholic Education Award; Community Grant; Trustees’ Merit Scholarship; Western Kentucky University; Academic Merit Scholarship; University of Kentucky; Provost Scholarship; KY Future Scholarship; Federal Pell Grant; KY CAP Grant; Butler University; Butler Grant; Federal Pell Grant; Butler Award; Academic Scholarship; Xavier University; Presidential Scholarship; University of Louisville; Trustees’ Scholarship Award; KEES Scholarship

Adam Wolff Weckman Attending: Hunter College

University of Cincinnati; Cincinnatus Scholarship; KEES Scholarship

Rowan Keats Weckman Attending: Hunter College

University of Cincinnati; Cincinnatus Scholarship; KEES Scholarship

Welcome to his excellency Bishop Foys, Father Maher, Father Stenger, Mr. Clines, Mr. Gressock, faculty, honored guests, parents and classmates. It is an honor and a dream come true to be standing here as your salutatorian. To begin my speech, I want everyone to imagine the scenario I’m about to present to you. It’s March of the year 2020. You just found out that you won’t be going back to school for the next few weeks due to a world-wide pandemic. Some people are calling it a “Coronacation.” That’s pretty much what it is, right? A vacation; some time where you don’t have to go to school, but you still have to keep up with your online schoolwork. You think, “I’ve been waiting all of my life to hear that my school wants me to stay home.” You’re scrolling on Instagram and you see some memes about the class of 2020 having to graduate over video chat. You think it’s funny because you know it would never happen. After a week or so, you find out that you will be going back to school a little later than originally predicted. No big deal. Things are getting a little boring, but you would rather be bored than overwhelmed with the end-of-year mayhem from school. Another week goes by, and suddenly you can’t see any of your friends, your family members are all on each others’ last nerves, prom is hanging on by a thread, and guess what. You really are going to graduate over video chat. Well, that escalated quickly.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you had told any graduating senior at the beginning of this year that this was going

Welcome to His Excellency Bishop Foys, Father Maher, Father Stenger, Mr. Clines, Mr. Gressock, Faculty, Honored Guests, Parents, and Classmates.

First off, congratulations to all of you. Seniors, you made it. Your hard work has paid off, and you’re here at the finish line. Teachers and parents, thank you for helping us along the way. We certainly would not be here if it were not for you all and your support.

Of course, this is not the graduation any of us were expecting, but it is a graduation nonetheless, and that is cause for celebration. Let us celebrate each other today and let us reflect on our time here at CLS. What do you remember? Where did we start? Looking back at our beginnings in freshman year, for some of us prep year, I can imagine we were all a little nervous to begin. Everything was very sensitive at that time because we were trying to find our identities, which were very fragile. For most of us we can probably remember the first grade we got that we were really proud of, for most of us we can also remember the not-so-good grade we got that upset us. But if I asked you now to recall the worst grade you got freshman year on that test you did really poorly on, could you tell me the exact number? What about the best grade you got on a math test, what percentage was that? If you’re like me, the answer is no, you cannot remember these things, in fact, they seem a little irrelevant now. Not like the first sting of pride or embarrassment we felt when we got them way back then. But, what if, instead, I asked you to remember the first friends you made? Or the first person you took to a (continued on page 23) Welcome to His Excellency Bishop Foys, Father Maher, Father Stenger, Mr. Clines, Mr Gressock, Faculty, Honored Guests, Parents, and Classmates. Four years. Four years (some of us five years). It’s almost unfathomable: roughly 700 school days, 5600 classes, 48 exams, a DC trip, 4 retreats, 2 winter formals, 4 homecomings, and who knows how many mixers. It’s an amazing accomplishment. Take some time and tally it up, it’s quite the class resume. Although these numbers may have been the same for everyone, our trials certainly were not. Through four years, we’ve had the blessing to watch each other truly grow in goodness, discipline, and knowledge. In each respect, we’ve all seen our classmates carve out their own unique path through equal parts interest and dedication.

Senior year is the culmination of it all, and a culmination it certainly has been. Senior year, as with every year, we get the opportunity to approach trials new and old with resolve honed by past experiences. However, for classes, dances, conventions, assemblies: these are our last as Covington Latin Students. This may certainly come off as sad at first, but really it should be a triumph. The efforts we have put into all our endeavours have reflected in the grace with which we’ve approached the challenges of senior year. What daunted us as freshmen, be it Latin tests, study skills, or even *cough* public speaking, we’ve learned to take in stride. Just as we take pride in our accomplishments, so we should take equal pride in the manner through which we confront them.

(continued on page 24)