the ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS
remarker ACADEMIC SUCCESS
grade THE VALUE OF A
As the last grades get put in to decide the fate of students’ GPA and the announcement of valedictorian looms just around the corner, we take a look at the bigger picture of the role of academics. Just how valuable are grades and being named valedictorian?
T
ugging on the cuff of his white dinner jacket, Robert Musslewhite stepped up to the podium on the Commencement stage in Spencer Gym. The memories of the past 12 years of swim meets and late nights studying flooded into his mind as he started his
speech. Reflecting on the power of curiosity and not settling in life for the next 15 minutes, Robert slowly realized it was all worth it. From student council meetings to concert band to studying that extra hour to keep his grades up, it was all worth it. The sacrifices of missing swim meets to study for his exams. It was all worth it. After worrying about grades since the
first day of high school, he could finally say it: He was valedictorian. STORY CONTINUES, PAGE 5 STORY Sam Ahmed, Sid Vattamreddy, Colin Campbell ARTWORK James Shiao
VOLUME 65, NUMBER 7 MAY 10, 2019
Commencement set for May 24 by Sai Thirunagari inety-four seniors in white tuxedos will take the final step of their time here as they walk across the Commencement stage on the Green Commencement Theater on the Perot Quadrangle at 8 p.m. May 24, . The ceremony will feature speeches from the to-be-announced valedictorian, Senior Class President Joshua Kang and Victor Vescovo ’84, a retired naval officer, renowned undersea explorer and private equity investor, as well as the announcement of the winners of the Headmaster’s Cup, School Flag and Citizenship Cup. “I’m looking forward to sitting there [on the Commencement stage], looking out and seeing all 94 seniors and their families showing up for the rite of passage we’re going through,” Kang said. “I think that’s very symbolic.” Senior Class sponsors Joe Milliet and Amy Pool anticipate the bittersweet moment of seeing the class they’ve worked with for the past two years graduate. “We want the boys to feel when they walk across that stage, there’s a feeling of accomplishment, and they feel good about themselves,” Milliet said. In his speech, Kang hopes to encapsulate the Class of 2019’s experience at 10600 Preston Road, and he predicts he’ll best remember the brotherhood with his classmates after graduating. “I’m going to miss having the connection with these people who are very talented at what they do,” Kang said. Commencement marks the last time seniors will be officially recognized as students of the school, becoming a part of a long list of distinguished alumni the next Saturday morning. But in the week leading up to the ceremony, seniors undertake one of the busiest weeks of their year, filled with the trip to the Dallas Zoo with the first graders and the official Baccalaureate ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 21, in which seniors, their families and faculty will gather one last time in the chapel to hear messages from a faculty member chosen by the seniors, a response from one senior selected by his peers and other readings, hymns and anthems by the choir. After the busy year filled with college applications and months of waiting for one evening, Milliet believes the faculty has endowed the Senior Class with the skills to thrive after graduation. “We hope we’ve provided them with the foundations, both academically and character wise, that they will be successful at the college level,” Milliet said. “We’re delighted they’re graduating, but we’re sad to see them go.”
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