Judge Memorial graduates urged to ‘meet life honestly and courageously’
by Barbara Stinson Lee
Intermountain Catholic
SALT LAKE CITY — With the men in red and the women in white graduation gowns and carrying a dozen roses each, the 82nd annual Commencement Exercises for Judge Memorial Catholic High School began May 28 with 201 graduates processing to their seats on the stage of Abravanel Hall. In his opening comments Principal James F. Hamburge spoke of a class of young people with grateful hearts, joy in living, and a keen understanding of their own responsibility for good stewardship of the earth.
Salutatorian Elizabeth Caravati spoke of the many awards and recognitions she and her classmates had accumulated, but said their learned sense of unity, diversity, tolerance, and compassion for each other and the world means more. Quoting Eleanor Roosevelt, Caravati advised her fellow graduates to "meet life honestly and courageously."
Senior Class President McKendree Joslyn welcomed Diocesan Administrator Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools Holy Cross Sisters Catherine Kamphaus and Genevra Rolf, parents, grandparents, Judge Memorial faculty, friends, and family of the graduates to the ceremony, thanking them for investing in this class.
The Judge Memorial Class of 2006 earned more than $6.41 million in scholarships, renewable grants, and aid, Academic Vice Principal James Yerkovich announced. "They have accumulated 9,252 Christian Service Hours this year alone," he said, "and more than 22,000 in their four years at Judge Memorial.
Hamburge, reflecting on the fact that this class and he arrived at Judge Memorial for the first time four years ago, said they easily passed the stage at which they didn’t know each other, and "you became family." He shared memories of individual students, encouraging each of them to, "take with you the lessons you’ve learned and the friendships you’ve made." He compared the class of 2006 going forth from Judge Memorial with the Apostles going their assigned ways to help establish the Church almost 2,000 years ago.
"May our joy be yours and may your joys be full," he said.
Msgr. Fitzgerald conferred the diplomas on the graduates as Angela Rowland, assistant principal and Dr. Paul Savage, senior class advisor, called each one by name.
In a special, touching ceremony the Class of 2006 presented an honorary diploma, a 2006 copy of the yearbook, The Basilean, and roses to Demis and Carmen Candelaria, parents of Demi Candelaria, who died in her junior year after contracting meningitis. The class gift to the school is a pink stone bench engraved with Demi’s name to be placed in the school garden.
Christopher Tsoufakis’ valedictorian speech compared this graduating class to the pop phenomenon "American Idol," the contestants for which compete with one another, yet grow as close as family, cheering each other on and helping each other when needed.
"Like the ‘American Idol’ contestants, don’t wait for good things to come to you," he told his classmates. "Stand up and challenge the world."
Acknowledging that each of the graduates "is a work in progress," Tsoufakis said, "Criticism isn’t always a bad thing. Accept each criticism and use it to improve yourselves.
"Remember," he added, "Everything you know you learned at Judge Memorial."
The diversity of these graduates is reflected in their plans for the future. These 201 young people have been accepting to colleges and universities from Salt Lake City to the American University of Beirut, and to programs as varied as the Culinary Institute of America, and to the German Civil Service Program. Members of the Class of 2006 of Judge Memorial Catholic High School also have been accepted by some of this country’s most prestigious schools – Vanderbilt University, Sarah Lawrence College, Stanford University, Loyola Marymount University, Lewis and Clark College, California Polytechnic State University, and the Catholic University of America.
Juan Diego graduates 164
by Chris Young
Intermountain Catholic
DRAPER — There were 164 graduates in the Class of 2006 at Juan Diego Catholic High School, the largest graduating class since the school opened in 1999.
The ceremony began May 27 as the Class of 2006 gathered in the school’s grotto to offer a prayer together and place a rose at the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe as a symbol of the life and hope associated with graduating and moving on to new challenges.
Dr. Galey Colosimo, principal of Juan Diego, said among the graduates were three National Merit Scholar Finalists: Anthony Speare, the 2006 Valedictorian, Adam Hughes, and Steven Andrew Rueckert. Tyler Jaramillo, the class Salutatorian, was a National Merit Hispanic Scholar. Brittany Nielsen and Robert Van Cleve were honored as National Merit Scholar Corporate Sponsors. The Class of 2006 accumulated 24,977 service hours throughout their four years at the school. They earned over $5 million in scholarships.
In his valedictorian address, Speare said he realized the importance of all four years of high school in his junior year when the college admission process was beginning. He wondered why this importance is not enforced to all incoming high school freshmen. After giving it some thought, he realized such dedication cannot arise from an external source, but must come from within.
"Whatever your passion, whatever your dream, the important thing is that it is yours," said Speare. "If your heart is not in something, then neither are you. All life beyond high school is a chance to pursue one’s dreams. Do what you love, and find something about which you are passionate. Most importantly, immerse yourself in everything you do, do it well, and do it completely. Without happiness and without fulfillment, life loses its purpose, and in the end isn’t that what we are all seeking? High school, in a sense, is a foundation to the rest of one’s life. The journey has just begun. From here you can do anything and be anything you want. Congratulations on making it this far, and good luck the rest of the way." Speare will attend Harvard University.
"The path to this podium from the first bell to this exact moment has taken three years, nine months, three hours, 41 minutes, and approximately 30 seconds, and thousands upon thousands of dollars in financial expenditures," said Jaramillo, who will attend Notre Dame University. "Together, this class has enjoyed countless experiences, turned the collective hair of our parents just a little bit more gray, and caused the blood pressure of this faculty to rise on too many occasions.
Jaramillo said the class of 2006 is now going on to places and countless universities few of them ever could have dreamed of when they walked through these doors as freshmen. Nothing was guaranteed when they started, none of their parents were sure it would happen, and none of their teachers could ever be certain they could learn, but there was still the strong belief in their potential to become something. All the lessons they learned are not explicitly taught in any class. It is their own job to learn the lessons in life.
"We all have to face our own personal journey, and it is uncertain what we will find," said Jaramillo. "But I guess that is the fun of it. At the very least, regardless of where we find ourselves, we will always have what we learned at Juan Diego with us on that next journey."
St. Joseph graduates reminded ‘what you do is not so important as who you are’
by Christopher Gray
Intermountain Catholic
OGDEN — Amid anxious pew-jockeying and unembarrassed retelling of happy memories from years past, 48 students of St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden filed into St. Joseph Church to complete the 50th annual graduation ceremony, ready to begin a new chapter in their lives
Having received a record combined total of $2,356,850 in scholarships and aid, students in this year’s class will attend colleges and universities around the country. Three will attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., this fall, and one has promised herself to the Missionaries of Charity.
Before receiving their diplomas, class salutatorian Ray Gilbert told his classmates about the nature of heroes and heroics. "Everyone needs a hero to believe in. We all have the capacity for heroics – we simply have to overcome ourselves. Then we can do something meaningful for someone else," he said.
Valedictorian Luis Magaña, native of Michoacán, Mexico, approached the church’s ambo to deliver his address amid shouts of congratulation. Building from the St. Joseph Catholic High School mission statement, he called upon his classmates to have the brightest minds, the strongest bodies, an open heart, and a rich soul. After thanking his family in Spanish for their help, love, and support, Magaña proclaimed to people gathered for the evening ceremony, "We are ready to go out into the world and make the best of our lives."
"You’ll hear ‘congratulations’ for a few days, maybe even weeks," said Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamphaus, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, in her closing remarks. "But then it will stop, because your families and friends will expect something of you. Your high school graduation is a milestone, but it is only one step in your life’s journey.
"Remember: what you do is not so important as who you are," she said.
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