That was the day I was shocked to learn that I had been chosen as the most outstanding female athlete for the school. Academics had been my focus throughout my school years, and I only went out for cross country because my guidance counselor told me I had to show some athletic interest right away to be considered for the John Motley Morehead and Caldwell scholarships. I had loathed running at the time but grew to love it and continued with indoor and outdoor track. Running became a lifetime passion for me, and God had given me speed and endurance, but I never expected that award. I did receive the Caldwell scholarship officially that day, so going out for cross country was a triple blessing.
Check out my students' table displays:
My favorite one optimized the display space beautifully, which was like music to this industrial engineer's ears. It even had LED lights shining down on memorabilia placed on each platform.
A few students actually did request a photo with me or have someone available to take pictures of all who visited them at their table. So I came home with pictures of me with two different students. I'd like to share a little information about each of them.
Jason is the smartest numbers guy I have ever known. He is also very mature in his faith. He started the Order of Saint (Somebody - I forget the saint's name), a club for men in which they met together regularly for Bible study and for training in Biblical manhood. Growing in maturity and in such virtues as honesty, integrity, respect, leadership, and so forth were the goals of this group. Seriously, how many teenage boys have their heads on straight much less desire to spend their free time developing such characteristics in their character while sharpening others?
When his mom (who teaches an engineering elective at our school) met me at the first teacher's school-year kick-off meeting and heard about my goals for the class, she asked the administration for an exception for her son allowing him to drop Greek 2 and take two math classes instead of one. Most high performing math students take Calculus, while those with more of a liberal arts bent take a watered down statistics course. They allowed the exception and soon 11 other students followed him into my class, so I had more people wanting college level statistics in the same classroom than the original class who still struggled with basic algebra. Other math teachers told me I had the hardest job in the school teaching two levels of statistics to two sets of students at the same time, and they did not even consider it was my first year teaching (and my first year studying that type of statistics) nor did they understand the discipleship, critical thinking, and real life applications goals I had for the class as well. So Jason is the reason my job got so challenging, but it was worth every minute of extra effort.
Early in the year, I began drawing statistical parallels to Biblical precepts such as "man's purpose in life", "serving others before oneself", spiritual investments vs. temporal worldly attainments, and so forth. This guy listened, and I'm sure he had heard it all before, for he comes from a very strong Christian family.
I'll never forget the first time I saw this tall, lanky, skillful star basketball player (his dad is our men's varsity coach) encounter his mom in the halls and give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead right in front of all the other students. He loves his sister and his parents openly and unashamedly. Wow!
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| Jason shooting hoops after graduation while still in his cap & gown! |
I wrote a personal letter to each of my students and set the letters under the memorabilia on their senior tables, so they would find them when tearing down their tables after graduation, and in those letters I praised them for the Biblical virtues I saw them display, reminded them of warnings I had given that applied to their future plans specifically, and shared a verse I would be praying for them. But after graduation I felt I had more to say about this young man, so I shared the following:
He is humble, ever aware of the dangers of pride, and guards against it. He is very well read, but I suspect he loves the Bible and the US Constitution best as I do. During his articulate valedictorian speech, he spoke the truth in love, and by truth I mean that he refused to use false platitudes that make us feel good but are in error. He proved the folly in "spreading your wings and trying to soar" and challenged his classmates from a heart of sincere love not to waste their lives by living only for themselves. He insisted that the greatest thing anyone can do with his/her life is to pour it out for others as Christ did for us. Live a life of love for others, putting their interests before your own. He understands the true source of joy and meaning in life, and sadly that's something many go to their grave without ever realizing. And if all that wasn't enough to prove that his young man has wisdom, he chose to attend NC State in the fall! Go Pack!
Anyway, I publicly praised her with the following words.
"Since this young lady was kind enough to pose in a picture with me, I get to embarrass her next. I should have gotten her autograph while I was there because her superlative should have been "Most Likely to Earn an Olympic Medal". Her athleticism is unmatched, and while I accepted a pull-up challenge from the guys in her class, I would not dare accept a sports challenge from her. Seeing this sweet young lady smile and show Christlike love to others have been highlights of my first year of teaching."I didn't say anything special or offer any vain flattery. It was such a simple statement of what I had observed. But surprisingly, she replied, "Wow, that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard from a teacher of mine! Thanks for a great year! And thanks for blessing my life in so many ways! I will miss you next year!"
I was touched by her sweet response, but seriously, has no one said anything nicer to her than those simple words? She should have been encouraged way more than that over the years. Oh it breaks my heart to think that's the best she's received. Her mom said the same thing and was so overcome my such simple words that she shared my post. Oh what I would give to have walked with her through those years of schooling whispering God's truth about how valuable she is into her ears day by day.
Here are some pictures from the 2015 graduation ceremony.
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| Preparing to march into the gymnasium |
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| Their diplomas are almost within reach! |
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| Amy processes into the gymnasium. |
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| Garrett, Salutatorian, had us all laughing during his speech. |
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| Jason's amusing, articulate speech began with "Poof!" |
In his eloquent speech, my awesome supervisor, Assistant Principal of Rhetoric, compared what we do at this school to growing trees. He has poured his life into nurturing these students to help them grow in knowledge, wisdom and faith, and they love him for it.
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| Mr. Baker |
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| Amy ("Most Likely to Cure Cancer", for that is her clear ambition) |
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| Sweet Avery overcame MANY battles to get that diploma! |
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| Beatrice |
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| Blaine Gibson |
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| Alyssa |
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| Courtney |
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| Devin |
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| Garrett |
I could tell so many stories about his basketball wonder and the things I've learned about his ministry minded family. They are a really neat family with a powerful testimony. His mom hosts international students for dinners regularly and cooks authentic Indian food like a native. Her oldest son married a gal from El Salvador, so she can cook for her like a local there as well. She spends lots of time serving in women's prison ministry. They are a fabulously fun family who inspire and make me laugh almost daily.
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| Isaac (aka Ike, but his mom calls him "Ginger") |
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| Janelle |
I've already said plenty about Jason, but one more story involves a soccer injury. An opposing team's player kicked him in the eye which sent him immediately to the same children's ER across town we visited that same night for my son's asthma. He had a concussion and a severe eye injury. They were able to repair his eye with surgery, but he could not focus his attention on scholarship applications that were due at the time for more than 15 minutes every few hours during his recovery. So, he wrote all those scholarship essays with less than half his brain capacity, but that's probably more than most of us have in total. He missed several weeks of school, but still maintained over a 100 average in my class.
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| Jason, Valedictorian, Math Genius |
Nick was our star quarterback and one of our best basketball players with several scouts watching him over the years. He gave a presentation on ACL injuries in my class and then tore his MCL, so he did not get to finish the football season and wore calf/shin wraps during basketball season. He also suffered through a concussion and multiple migraines throughout the year. His basketball team won the championship again this year. Nick was very thoughtful, always asking about my family and even offering to sweep my classroom for me. He was so complimentary of his teachers that I called him the "politician". Little did I know that all his kindness was sincere. Since he was just so nice, the joke in class was that he had to marry my daughter. He's fun-loving and encouraged me to keep my kids at the school when I was contemplating homeschooling again because his teachers made such an impact on his life. He's my son's favorite senior because he dressed up like Buddy the Elf one day and passed out candy to second graders. Ever since my son's ER visit, Nick has reached out to him with kind works and always seems to have candy to share in his pockets.
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| Nick |
I thought Jon's favorite subject was math because he did so well in my class, but English literature and history are his passions, so he will either teach in a university or become a politician. We enjoyed lively political conversations after class, and I was his go-to teacher for help with his thesis on how to solve the gay marriage debate (from a secular perspective...that is without using Biblical reasons).
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| Jon |
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| Mackenzie |
Rachel had a really rough year due to medical issues. She was only able to come to class less than half the time. I worked with her much of the afternoon on the day of graduation to help her gain mastery so she could graduate. Just in the nick of time, she passed my last test and got to walk. The smile on her face shows her relief. I must not forget to keep praying for Rachel.
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| Rachel |
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| Ryan is such a wholesome kid who finished strong! |
Sachi's family lives in Uganda. She went to visit them over spring break and contracted malaria while there. Then she tore her ACL playing soccer and had to have major surgery, so she had a difficult last semester. She went to the prom (the school calls it "Protocol") in a wheelchair and then got promoted to crutches the last week of school. She was determined to walk for graduation, and walk she did. She has such a lively personality and wrote me the sweetest notes when she had to miss my class. She's a great student and is headed to UCLA to study biomedical engineering in the fall.
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| Sachi |
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| Singing the final hymn |
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| Moving their tassels |
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| Shouting for joy! |
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| Our Headmaster and the Varsity Basketball Seniors (Consecutive Championship Winners) Update: Jason's Speech 
Poof. It’s over. It’s done. This describes our time at CCS. There is
nothing more for us to do – we are done here. But what if it also
described your life? What if you die tomorrow? If tomorrow you no longer
existed on this earth, what would people remember about you? What
legacy would you leave behind? You all roll your eyes because we’re
young, so there’s no way we could die yet. We have plenty of time to
change. I get it, I’m just as guilty of procrastination as any of you.
I’ll work on my thesis tomorrow, I’ll do physics practice problems
tomorrow, I’ll write my valedictorian speech tomorrow. It also turns
into: I’ll read my Bible tomorrow, I’ll pray tomorrow, I’ll do the right
thing tomorrow. And suddenly a temporary postponement turns into a
lifetime full of unfulfilled promises to yourself. We all put things
off. The question is, will we ever change our ways before it’s too late?
I know this isn’t what you want to hear right now. “We’re graduating,
we’re just starting out into the real world... why do we need to hear
that we should fix our lives before we die?” Part of me feels the same
way. We’re teenagers – so of course we are invincible. We can be lazy
and still get all A’s, we can smoke and not get cancer, we can speed on
the roads and get away without a ticket. So we don’t need to hear
messages of gloom and doom. Jason, we want an uplifting, motivating
speech!
Alright, I’ll give you what you want. “Spread your wings and fly! The
world is there for the taking!” Seniors, we’re like baby birds who have
stayed in the nest and been fed by mama bird all these years. Now we’re
ready to go out and take the world by storm. Let’s look at the example
of Icarus. Icarus’ father Daedalus fashioned some wings so they could
fly away from their ancient tower prison. Icarus spread his wings and
soared into the air. But he got too close to the sun, the wax in the
wings melted, and Icarus plummeted to his death. He probably had a great
time soaring up toward the sun, but he died because he only cared about
following his own immediate desires. So maybe “spread your wings” isn’t
the best advice I can give you.
How about a quote from Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Computer
Company? “As you start your journey, the first thing you should do is
throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own.” That
sounds pretty good, right? We don’t need anyone else to tell us how to
live. This is our time. We can go out into the world and do things our
own way. We’ll be free from the nagging advice and paranoid warnings of
our parents and teachers. They don’t know what it’s like to live in the
21st century, anyway. Times have changed, mom – it’s not the 80s
anymore. But what about Ecclesiastes 1:9: “What has been is what will
be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing
new under the sun.” So maybe things don’t always change that much....
that doesn’t mean that I have to listen to old people to tell me what to
do. But let’s look at some Proverbs: “Cease to hear instruction, my
son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” “The way of a fool
is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” “Where
there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors
there is safety.”
So I guess none of the typical graduation messages is appropriate
tonight. I don’t want you to blindly spread your wings, whatever that’s
supposed to mean. And maybe it’s not the greatest idea to disregard wise
advice in favor of “blazing your own trail.”
These attitudes will only perpetuate a rampant problem in today’s
culture: the life of triviality. “Charting your own course” effectively
means doing what many of us have been doing for the last 18 years: not
much of value or importance. We take and retake selfies, examining them
to make sure they capture our “best side” and hoping to hide our
imperfections so we’ll get more likes. We spend more time retweeting
wise quotes than we spend following their advice. We do stupid,
daredevilish things just so we can show everyone on Snapchat how cool we
are. If we go to college intending to live as we want to, we’ll keep
doing these childlike things because they’re easy.
Tonight, my question for you is this: When does the “stupid” stop?
When will you grow up? When you get right down to it, what are you going
to do to make the world better? Here’s the thing – I can’t tell each of
you precisely what you ought to do with your life. But it all comes
back around to this: die to yourself, and live for someone else. That is
the essence of living a good life. There is no other way. You must
intentionally serve others before you look to your own interests. This
will not happen if you try to “go with the flow.” A selfless life has to
come from a deep commitment to loving God and loving people. In Matthew
16:24, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me.” Seniors, I know it’s tough to
deny yourself. Our sinful nature constantly urges us to gratify
ourselves. That is why we do stupid, immature things – it is easier to
give in than to stand strong. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
As I leave you tonight, and as we depart as the class of 2015, keep
this verse in mind: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends.” Brothers and sisters, I love you more
than you will ever know. Please don’t waste the life God has given you. I
implore you: die to yourself, and live for someone else.
Thank you.
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