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Commencement
In her first Commencement charge as the GPS Head of School, Megan D. Cover addressed the Class of 2022, acknowledging their incredible commitment to their school and GPS sisters through the turmoil and uncertainty of the past few years. “Your shared adversity and your ability to make the most of an unpredictable future has forever bonded your class,” she said. “Throughout all of the plans made and then rescheduled, you never stopped demonstrating empathy and kindness to each other.”
characterized by growth. “I feel confident that regardless of what life throws our way, everything will be all right if we just keep dancing like we’re the Class of ’22. Let’s live our lives in a way that reflects the values we’ve come to honor here. As we go to college and beyond, let’s connect with others in the way we strived so tirelessly to do in the early middle school days. Let’s be resilient in the face of adversity as we’ve been all throughout high school. Let’s find people like our classmates, who will always share in our adventures and make us comfortable to be unashamedly ourselves.”
Emphasizing the importance of remaining in the present, Cover encouraged the graduates to look around, pause, breathe, take a snapshot of the historical day, and feel the love that They did it! surrounded them. She said, “This moment On May 14, 89 seniors culminates your incredible journey at GPS, from the Class of 2022 this time celebrates you.” She concluded her speech by thanking the Class of 2022 graduated in the for their grace, guidance, inspiration, 116th Commencement thoughtfulness, and joy. “Just as the exercises of Girls bridges in Chattanooga connect one side of the river to the other, you will always be Preparatory School. my first connection to this incredible school and the sisterhood that unites each GPS girl.” VALEDICTORY ADDRESS
This year, the Ethel B. Poston Valedictorian honor was awarded to Lauren Thacker, who likened the Class of 2022 to a favorite song of theirs—“22” by Taylor Swift. She used lyrics from the song to remind her classmates about the mixed emotions that came with the first day of sixth grade, the transition to Upper School, learning through a pandemic, and finding friends and passions along the way. Her class, she said, has not been afraid to be authentically themselves through it all, and their time at GPS has been 10
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SENIOR SPEAKER
As is tradition, prior to Commencement, the members of the senior class select one Chapel Talk to be presented during the ceremony. This year, Julia Combs was awarded that honor. In her speech, she likened her time at GPS to a puzzle, acknowledging that she and her classmates are placing their final pieces at GPS as they go on to begin new ones in college. “As I marvel at the almost complete puzzle, I am starting to see that this one is special. We will always continue to grow off of this puzzle each of us have started here at GPS.”
PARTING THOUGHTS
After the student speeches, Clay Watson, Chair of the Board of Trustees, addressed the class. “You may not realize it until you get to college, but one day soon you will look back on your time at 205 Island Avenue and realize that you were part of something really special. That your education and experience has set you up for success in life. No matter what path you choose, what degree or degrees you earn, GPS is an important part of your story, and we are proud to say you are an important part of ours.”
