BACCALAUREATE ADDRESS: JENNA PIMENTA

Jenna Pimenta, a graduate of Winston Churchill Middle School, was a member of the Retreat Team, a member of the Swim Team, and a co-captain of the Speech Team. Her gift of hospitality as well as her skills in public speaking were demonstrated in her on campus activities and made her a natural fit for the Baccalaureate welcome. Her genuine curiosity and passion for making the world a more just and compassionate place will serve her well as she studies Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a special interest in Neurolaw research. The following is Jenna’s address given at the Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2021.

Class of 2021, please be seated. Greetings to Parents, Grandparents, Family, Faculty, Staff, Friends, and Students! It’s an honor to welcome you to St. Francis High School’s Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2021. This is our fourth and final Family Mass as students of St. Francis.

Four short years ago, we were all gathered together to celebrate the Freshman Family Mass. We were filled with high hopes and expectations for what the next four years would bring and with the excitement of getting to know more than three hundred new faces. We had no idea what lay ahead of us.

The journey we went on was full of highs, lows, unexpected twists and turns - and with the complications of COVID, we maybe got a little more than we bargained for - but we made it. And honestly, I can’t believe it.

It feels like only yesterday we were struggling through our first round of finals, or scrambling to put together our Homecoming float, or eating too much cotton candy at what we didn’t know would be our last traditional St. Francis Day. We’ve arrived at the end of our story together, and are about to begin 279 brand new ones.

But it doesn’t feel right to say goodbye without saying thank you first, so here we are - at Baccalaureate, a mass of Thanksgiving. Because as much as it seems like it, this celebration isn’t all about us - it’s also about celebrating the people that made our journey possible; our teachers, our staffulty, our family, and our friends.

We’re here to celebrate the gifts we’ve been given, gifts that are not only represented by the physical symbols at the foot of our altar, but also by the values we’ve been taught to hold. Faith, excellence, leadership, and service. The kinds of lessons we’ll carry with us far beyond our high school experience.

Simbas, our journey through St. Francis has been one like no other, and I can confidently say there is no one else I would rather have experienced it with. Most of all, I want to thank you - for your support, for your leadership, for your friendship - and for the memories.