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2018 Baccalaureate Mass Speeches - Mercedes Spanoudakis

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Mercedes Spanoudakis '18 reflects on the young woman she has become over these past four years and the important lessons learned in leadership, faith, courage, and patience.

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So, this student and I encountered each other for the very first time during the first day of school for the incoming freshman. As a first-year teacher here at St. Edmund Prep, naturally I did not know any of the students roaming the hallways. However, this young lady was one of the first students to make me feel welcomed and greet me. Little did I know, she ended up being one of the five students in my IB Chemistry course. About a month into the school year, she made the claim that I ignored when she greeted me that first day of school. I will assure you this is false! It has been an ongoing debate between us to this very day. With all jokes aside, this is an example of the type of person this young woman is. Throughout this year, I observed nothing but great motivation, hustle, positivity, kindness, and maturity. She is someone who is extremely dedicated to everything she takes part in. She challenges herself with a heavy workload both in and outside of the classroom. In addition to her studies, she was an Emmaus Retreat leader, she took part in campus ministry, and played on the school's lacrosse team, just to name a few. Even with her responsibilities she still managed to do it all with a big bright smile. She has truly proven to be an Uncommon Leader. I am saddened by the fact that I had the privilege to know her for only one year. However, this is her time to really show the world what she is made of. I have every reason to believe that she will make her family, friends, and the St. Edmund Prep Community proud. I cannot wait to see the impact she will make at Adelphi University next fall as she pursues a career computer science. So, with that said, it is my absolute honor to introduce Mercedes Spanoudakis

Good evening, Mrs. McGinnis, Ms. McEvoy, Mr. Raphael, faculty, parents, fellow students, and honored guest. My four years at St. Edmund Prep is not something that can be summed up in a few words. The various opportunities and faculty at St. Edmund Prep have helped me to grow not only as a student but as a person. Speaking with other members of the St. Edmund Prep community I learned that there was opportunities to have an amazing experience and create many memories with my fellow classmates. My freshman year I sat and watched as my friends became involved in creating wonderful relationships and memories by taking part in sports and clubs. Having a desire to to fully become a part of the St. Edmund prep ambience I joined some sports and clubs. I am not the most athletic person, however, joining the lacrosse team is one of the best choices I've ever made. With a push from my friends to join, I learned how to play a sport that I knew absolutely nothing about. It was helpful that my first year joining lacrosse was the first year that St. Edmund Prep offered lacrosse. Going into the lacrosse, I did not think I was going to become a starting player only to learn that three years later I would grow to become a co-captain. Having such a supportive group of girls in the lacrosse team exposed me to different qualities I needed to learn to become a well-rounded woman. From skills like leadership, patience, bravery, joining the team taught me how to become comfortable exploring activities out of my comfort zone.

Social skills were also learned that my time at St. Edmund Prep. Joining the Ambassadors gave me the opportunity to express myself in a new way. Something as simple as giving a tour of St. Edmund to a large group brought out the leadership and confidence needed to share my experience at the school and why I would recommend St. Edmund as a choice when looking for a school. Speaking while entertaining many different people helped me develop my personality and the way I address different settings, leading tours taught me to take ownership of my beliefs in the things that I say.

Not only was I able to learn more about myself but I able to grow in my faith life. Sharing my faith with the St. Edmund Prep community is something that's very special to me. There were always opportunities to lector or be a Eucharistic Minister during mass or even helping Sr. Barbara join campus ministry.

Exploring my faith life more, I made the choice to go on the Emmaus Retreat the beginning of my junior year. This is a big deal for me because I am not the type of person to go to sleepovers and know that I'm not going to sleep for 3 days. Once I came back back from retreat I had such an appreciation for many things in my life and I knew that the was a feeling and journey I wanted to experience again.

Luckily for me I was one of the girls chosen to be a retreat leader. Filling out the application, I didn't realize that it would hold such a great role of responsibility. Learning what goes on to make the retreat run smoothly and preparing the materials Emmaus 63, while also balancing schoolwork, friends, college applications, and the beginning of my lacrosse season taught me how to stay focused and how to organize my priorities. The week leading up to my retreat was extremely stressful because of my schedule. Once we loaded the bus and started making our way of upstate, I saw all the pieces falling together and seeing that all my hard work paid off. There is something so special about the connections you make on retreat and the friendships that are strengthened. On both Emmaus 57 and Emmaus 63, I didn't know many people. This gave me the chance to use my social skills to create a comfortable atmosphere, especially leading it feels like a part of your responsibility to make everyone feel welcome and loved.

My time at St. Edmund has allowed me to become a young lady proud of her faith, the type to take initiative and stand by her beliefs. I will take the skills that I learned at SEP with me throughout my college years and continue to grow and master them. I was given the opportunity to prepare for the next chapter in my life and accept whatever challenges have come my way with the help of the students and faculty I've gotten to know over the past four years. I'd like to thank my fellow classmates the faculty and staff of St. Edmund Prep for molding me into the young lady I am today

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2018 Baccalaureate Mass Speeches - Mercedes Spanoudakis

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