Valedictorian & Salutatorian Speeches Covington Latin School is pleased to announce this year’s Valedictorian, Mary Lauren Veazey, and Salutatorian, Ella Thornberry. Both of these ladies demonstrate our motto on a daily basis. This year, we were blessed to be able to hear their speeches in person. Mary Lauren spoke at graduation at the Cathedral Basilica and was praised by Bishop Foys for her strong faith. Ella continued the tradition of giving her Salutatorian speech at our graduation luncheon. This class was truly unique and Ella did a phenomenal job of capturing their spirit. Since our graduation had limited attendance, we wanted to share their words with our Latin School community.
MARY LAUREN VEAZEY
Valedictorian
have had to learn in greater abundance throughout our time at CLS. And that is a choice. A choice of whether to be shaped solely by our outwards circumstances or in spite of them.
Welcome to His Excellency Bishop Foys, Father Maher, Father Grady, Mrs. McGuire, Dr. Kennedy, Faculty, Honored Guests, Parents, and Classmates.
I think our unique experiences at Covington Latin these past four, five, even six years have equipped us to be people who lead not only by virtue of what we do but by virtue of who we are, our character. Every failed Latin quiz taught us humility: as much as we think we know, there is always room to learn more. Long-term projects from Ancient Day to Senior Thesis gave us stamina and perseverance. The change in faculty, students, and curriculum that we witnessed made us adaptable. We learned that it is important to work hard in the classroom but also to enjoy ourselves at events like Olympic days, sports games, dances, and mixers. In other words, life requires balance. As we saw the world, our county, and our school community navigate a global pandemic, we realized that we must live fully in the moment, to cherish even the smallest things like simply sitting together in a classroom. We learned that it is all the more important to build bridges and extend grace to others, and we can only do this because God has first loved and extended His grace to us.
First, congratulations seniors! We are now at the culmination of our high school careers, moments away from officially being graduates of Covington Latin School. To begin, I would like everyone to think of someone who inspires you— whether that be a historical figure, a family member, a mentor. Whoever this person is, why do they inspire you? What qualities do they exemplify? As human beings, I think we are naturally drawn to people who exhibit any number of the following characteristics: humility, perseverance, adaptability, balance, and graciousness. In other words, these people lead by example of their character.
Back in November on the last day before we switched to nontraditional instruction for the remainder of the semester, one of my classmates wrote on the whiteboard in the senior lounge: “six weeks until we are home again.” I think this statement accurately describes what CLS has become to us throughout our time here. Like a home, Covington Latin is a place where we have been surrounded by those who have inspired us and helped shape our character. While we may never take another GEMVAC quiz, never go to another JCL or KUNA convention, never walk through the halls as Covington Latin students again, what we will always have are the lessons these experiences taught us and the people who have guided us along the way.
Covington Latin School graduates are known in the community as being leaders— and rightfully so. Our demanding curriculum, extra-curricular activities, and service hour requirements have given us the tools by which we will positively impact our future communities. Yet, I believe this Covington Latin School class has become leaders not only for the previously mentioned reasons, but also for an entirely different one. The past fourteen months, it has been tempting to focus on what we have not gotten, be that the Washington D.C. trip, exchange students, house, full person assemblies, or even seeing the lower half of people’s faces. However, there is one thing in particular that I think we have gotten, or at least
The Leader Summer 2021
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