90th Commencement Exercises
The 90th Commencement Exercises of St. Edmund Preparatory High School were held on May 31, 2024 in Carnesecca Arena at St. John's University.
Download the Commencement Program Here
Salutatory Address - Jenna Grace Lemmon '24
Good evening Mrs. McGinnis, Ms. McEvoy, Mr. Wagner, Ms. Breen, faculty, staff, families and friends of the graduating class, and most importantly, my fellow classmates, the class of 2024. My name is Jenna Lemmon and it is an honor to be a part of and representative of St Edmund Prep’s graduating class of 2024.
Standing up before all of you today to deliver my speech seems surreal. It feels like just yesterday that we were all young little freshmen, afraid to speak up, afraid to be wrong, and afraid to take on a new challenge; at least it does for me. But today is the day that seemed so far away when we were freshmen. Today is the day that we have been preparing for the last 4 years of our lives when we put on our funny-looking caps and gowns and pray that we don’t trip while walking across the stage. The piece of paper that we are going to get is the start of the rest of our lives. Today we go out into the world and we use the lessons that we have learned and the time that we have spent together to grow and to accomplish so many wonderful things. But today wouldn't have been possible if it weren’t for the people that we met along the way, the teachers who believed in us, and our families who supported us through everything.
I want to take a quick moment to acknowledge and thank the people that have gotten me through my four years at St. Edmund Prep; my family. To my dad, thank you for being my rock and my shoulder to lean on and for truly teaching me what it means to be strong. To my mom, thank you for never failing to be there for me, inside school and out. And thank you to my sisters, who are my best friends, my personal tutors, and the reasons I made it through high school. And finally, I would like to thank God, without whom none of us would be here right now or have accomplished what we have.
Starting high school is hard. Starting high school during covid when you can’t look at anyone’s faces or sit next to anyone is even harder. Starting high school during all that AND transferring halfway through the year when all anyone can talk about is what they got on Mr. Romano’s global midterm was even harder for me. But we got through it together. We fought through bio or chem and ran in Mrs Vulpis’ gym class even with no AC (which was brutal). We went on our first walk-a-thon, took our finals, and just like that, freshman year was over. Most of us started forming friend groups and were starting to find our way and ourselves. Sophomore year went like a blur. I honestly don't remember much but I do remember the egg-dropping contest in Mr. G’s physics class. And who can forget about our first AP class, AP Euro, which might have been more brutal than gym class with no AC. But just like that, we were halfway done with high school. Like I said, it went by really fast. In junior year some of us, myself included, began a journey known as full IB (yikes) and we quite literally rallied together and restarted the junior prom. How awesome are we for that? We stayed late after school going to basketball games, school plays, and SAT prep all leading up to senior year. Applying and choosing a college, our 100 nights dinner, more AP and IB tests. In the blink of an eye, we went from experiencing so many firsts to so many lasts. Our last day, our last test, last class, last prom.
But today we get to experience one more first. It's our first real graduation. We really made it. Let that sink in. It's the first time that we step out into the world as adults without anyone holding our hand. It's sad, yes, but it's exciting, and because of our time at St Edmund Prep we know how to take on new challenges, and that's all that this is. We are ready. We aren't the same freshman as four years ago, because now we know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell and that Vector is also a physics term and not just a character in Despicable Me.
Life, however, isn't just about the big firsts and lasts. It's about the little moments in life. These are the ones that we often look over, but these are the ones that we have to savor and cherish the most. Our high school experience is made up of thousands of little moments, like the ones that I mentioned. I hope you all reflect on them and hold them so tight that you never let go. I want to offer one final piece of advice that I believe if any of you were to take anything from this speech, it should be this: don’t rush life. As I've said before, high school went by fast. So now we have to be the ones to genuinely slow down and enjoy more new experiences, new firsts, and new challenges. Life won’t wait around for us, so be grateful, be unapologetically you, and make as many memories as you possibly can.
I want to wish all of you the best in your new firsts and in all of the little things. Thank you for being my friends, my classmates, or teaching me a lesson in life. I know all of you will go on to do amazing things, but it is my sincerest hope that none of you ever forget that you will always have a family at Saint Edmund Preparatory High School on 2474 Ocean Avenue. So, congratulations to the class of 2024, and may each of us achieve our wildest dreams.
Valedictory Address - Giovanni Michael Blaise '24
Good evening Mrs. McGinnis, Ms. McEvoy, Mr. Wagner, Mr. Romano, Ms. Breen, faculty, staff, parents, guardians, and my fellow graduates. My name is Giovanni Blaise, and I am pleased to be standing here before you today as the Valedictorian of the St. Edmund Preparatory High School Class of 2024. I would like to begin by thanking God for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon my life, as without Him, nothing would be possible, and I would not be standing here before you today. Also, I would like to thank my parents for the sacrifices that they have made and continue to make daily, which have allowed me to be in the position that I am in today. Thank you for being patient with me, although I have not always made it easy, and for continuing to believe in me, even when I have lost faith in myself. To my teachers, thank you for continually investing in me every day, and believing in my ability to succeed. I am eternally grateful for your guidance and devotion to our education. Now, to my class, my dear friends, I am grateful for all of the memories that we have made and for the time that we have spent together. Thank you for all of the ways that you have supported and uplifted me over these last four years. This is the day that we have worked toward over the past four years, and it is with awe that I look at the men and women that we have grown to be in our time at St. Edmund Prep.
To be completely honest, I sat at my desk for hours trying to write this speech, not knowing where to begin. As the Valedictorian, I was given the daunting task of sending our class out into the world. I took the time to truly reflect on my time at SEP and think about the final message that I would like to say to you all. Then, while reminiscing, I remembered my daily talks with Mr. Lisboa, whether they took place in homeroom, IB Spanish, or simply at any time that I saw him throughout the day. No matter the topic, and believe me, there were many topics, he always ended our conversations with one final message: “No matter the challenges or failures you may face, always be real.” That is a message that has always stuck with me, and it took me some time to truly understand what this statement meant. I remembered my experiences with Mr. Lisboa over the past four years, where I was able to witness the embodiment of these words. Mr. Lisboa is someone who inspires me to be real through his actions, putting his students’ needs before his own and always telling us what we need to hear. Every day, he showed me what it meant to be real.
To me, being real is behaving in a true and honest manner without caring about the opinions of others. It is being honest with and accepting of who you truly are, and being comfortable with that. However, how can one be real if they do not truly know who they are? For those who may not know, I have been a member of the St. Edmund community since I was three years old, having attended St. Edmund Elementary School as well. Despite this, I remember walking into St. Edmund Prep for the first time as a nervous freshman not knowing who I was or what I wanted to become over the next four years. In order for me to be real, for me to be genuine, I needed to grow as a person based on my own individuality, rather than someone else’s idea of who I should be. At SEP, I was given the opportunity to do this, and in the blink of an eye, those four years turned into four months, which became four weeks, and eventually, we reached the last day of school. Though it took some time, I eventually grew to feel comfortable at SEP.
For me, St. Edmund Prep was more than just a school. It became a second home, and I felt at peace walking through those doors every day. In that time, the community of people at St. Edmund Prep showed me the type of person that I wanted to become. Whether it was making stuffing at Street Corner Gourmet or sitting with my teammates my sophomore year and making sandwiches to prepare for a Midnight Run, I was surrounded by selfless people who made me want to be a better person. Even the little things, like the light-hearted nature of our IB Physics class, or sitting at an overcrowded lunch table in the cafeteria and being able to enjoy the company of friends made it evident to me the type of effect that I wanted my presence to have on others, similarly to how these things affected me. Being able to build close connections with my teachers, who care for us deeply and want to see us succeed, has had a profound effect on who I have grown to be as well. At St. Edmund Prep, we were able to grow and develop into our own people. We were able to decide who we wanted to be. My experiences and the people that I met over these past four years allowed me to understand what it truly means to be real, which allowed me to stay true to myself.
Honestly, I could continue to reminisce endlessly about my fond memories of SEP. However, I believe that it would be of greater significance for me to look forward and share words of wisdom regarding the future, rather than looking backward. When I look back on my time here, I now realize that these memories serve as simple reminders of our preparedness for the road ahead. Now, as we venture out into the real world, it is my hope that you will retain this same mindset because “being real” is such a valuable quality in the world today and is something that many people are afraid to do. I know that the future and entering into the unknown may be scary, as you are leaving behind everything you once knew.
Embrace the journey that lies ahead as you enter into this new chapter, and as you do so, stay true to the people that SEP has helped mold you into. Remember all that you have learned about yourselves over these last four years, and use that to make lasting contributions to the world. The path ahead will be paved with many successes, but also many failures. It would be naive of me to say that the future will be without challenges. The truth is, the world is a cruel and harsh place. However, I have faith in your resilience, and I know that you will accept any setbacks as merely crucial steps toward success. The future holds endless possibilities for you all. You are all unique and talented individuals. Be honest with who you truly are, and use these talents to leave your own mark on the world. Whatever the future holds for each and every one of you, I know that you will continue to inspire others, just as how you have inspired so many in your short time at SEP.
This moment is especially bittersweet for me, as I am parting ways with many people and a community that I have known for essentially my entire life and with which I recall some of my earliest memories. The realization that this is the end of the life that I had grown accustomed to over the last four years truly hit me during our final walkout, and it fills me with sorrow when I think about the end of this chapter. In saying that, I not only mean high school, but childhood as well. As we venture off into the real world, graduation is the ultimate signal that we have grown up. As musical artist Frank Ocean once said in his song “Ivy”, “We’ll never be those kids again.” This is the lyric that comes to my mind whenever I think about graduation and the future. We are no longer those kids that we were when we first walked into 2474 Ocean Ave. Although we will once again be those nervous freshmen in the fall, I know that the men and women that we have grown into will know how to navigate this new environment with confidence and self-assurance.
So, my one final piece of advice to you all is to stay true to yourselves. Remember that worth and success are not determined by GPA, awards, or honors. They are not determined by money or material items. True success is determined by using what you have learned to be a good person and to be the cause of the change that you wish to see in the world. Continue to be the kind, funny, caring people that I have grown with over the last four years. Do not change or limit yourself to others’ beliefs regarding who you should be. Finally, in the words of Mr. Lisboa, continue to be real in all that you do. Once again, congratulations to the St. Edmund Preparatory High School Class of 2024. Thank you, and God bless you all.