Florida Catholic | Graduates Look Forward To Success

AMY FERRARA SMITH | FC
Katherine Anne Getty delivers the valedictorian speech to her fellow Pensacola Catholic High School graduating seniors on May 17.

Pensacola Catholic graduates look forward to success

AMY FERRARA SMITH | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Published: 06.06.08

PENSACOLA | After four years of academic advancement and spiritual growth, Pensacola Catholic High School(PCHS) seniors began their graduation celebration with a baccalaureate Mass May 16 at St. Anne Parish in Bellview. The festivities continued May 17 at Olive Baptist Church, where they received their diplomas and good wishes for the future.

Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, celebrated the Mass with the assistance of Father Jack Gray, pastor of St. Anne and chaplain of PCHS; Msgr. Michael Reed, chancellor of the diocese and rector of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart; Father Joseph Fowler, chaplain at PCHS and parochial vicar at St. Paul Parish; and Father Richard Altenbaugh, who retired as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish.

After a Gospel reading from John 15:9-17, Father Gray addressed the 139 graduates. “Tonight I would like to give you one message that I think summarizes everything that I’ve had the opportunity to say to you over these four years. And it’s the one message that I really hope you will take with you. … The one really profound thought that I want you to have this evening is this: You are not God,” he said. “Many of you are going off to college. That’s where you’re going to find a lot of people who will try to convince you that they are God.”

The Mass concluded with a thanksgiving procession of students who carried small objects representative of their four years at Pensacola Catholic High School, including a graphing calculator, a green pompom and a basketball. Dressed in their green gowns and graduation caps, the graduates then filed out of the church to greet guests.

The following afternoon they lined up again, this time to end their lives as students at PCHS. Family and friends gathered with them at Olive Baptist Church May 17 to witness the 67th Pensacola Catholic High School commencement exercises. In years past, Saenger Theater in Pensacola was the site of graduation exercises, but renovations to the theater necessitated a move to a suitably large auditorium.

After a welcome from Bishop Ricard, Martha McLellan, assistant principal of PCHS, introduced salutatorian Shannon Michelle Williams.

“Today, as the sun sets, the land of high school is complete for these graduates; their future of promise awaits them. It is an incredible honor to have the privilege of introducing to you the salutatorian of the class of 2008. This young lady shines with joy of life. She has confidence, integrity and love of God that is evident in her daily life. … She has been a blessing to her class at Catholic High School,” McLellan said.

Williams, who will attend Tulane University, welcomed Bishop Ricard; Susan Mueller, superintendent of Catholic schools; Father Fowler; Apostle of the Sacred Heart Sister Kierstin Martin, principal of PCHS; and family and friends of the graduates. She then focused on her class.

“We have all grown tremendously these past four years as a class, as a family and as a future. To the class of 2008 I say in the words of Dr. Seuss, ‘Congratulations, today is your day, you’re off to great places, you’re off and away.’” She continued, “All of us will carry Pensacola Catholic High School in our hearts no matter what we do or where we go.”

Melanie Christine Day, president of the class of 2008, then addressed her classmates one final time. “It is a true privilege to be able to address you this afternoon while representing my class, the graduating class of 2008,” said Day, who will attend Florida State University. “As we gather together, for perhaps the last time, in celebration of our graduation, we can’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed. … Our class is full of talented people who have changed each other’s lives. … Our class is like that one big CD you never get tired of listening to because you have that perfect amount of everything on it to satisfy yourself forever.”

Two of the “talented people” who stood out among the class were Jonathan Edward Long and Forrest Brian DeMaria. PCHS honored Long with the Chris Gallman Sportsmanship Award, which is bestowed each year, in honor of a PCHS deceased student, to the athlete who exemplifies the ideals of good sportsmanship.

The Pro Deo et Patria Award recognized DeMaria for exemplifying the spirit and principles of Pensacola Catholic High School as expressed in the school’s motto, “For God and Country.”

Following the presentation of awards, all candidates were recognized as Bishop Ricard conferred diplomas on them. He then offered his congratulations.

“I offer prayers that your future be bright and happy, filled with promise and filled with hope. May all your dreams come true, your efforts reach success and your visions be realized. If they don’t, may you have the courage to pick yourself back up each time they don’t and try again, and again and again. … May the road you travel be smooth, the journey you trod be safe and the friends you make be secure. May the glory of God be your ultimate goal and your final destiny.”

Valedictorian Katherine Anne Getty, who will attend the University of Florida, spoke to her classmates just before they flung their caps into the air. Her words were the culmination of an event that recognized the past, present and even the future as accomplishment. “I believe that we, as graduates of Pensacola Catholic High School, are now equipped with the tools needed to go forth and to achieve great success.”

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Pensacola Catholic graduates look forward to success

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