Graduates: As you go forth, remember to 'put others first'
June 18, 2024 at 11:22 a.m.
A Message from Dr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Over the four years of high school, you have faced many opportunities. Some positive, some not. You have had to make choices. These choices have made you the wonderful young women and men that sit here today. Some have had the high school career of legends. Some of you skated by with no worries. Some of you might have struggled to even make it to today’s ceremony. All of you, being here today, can claim accomplishment and success with your graduation from a Catholic high school in the Diocese of Trenton.
At my age, I would have a hard time telling you what tomorrow looks like, much less what four years down the road might look like. So, to say you were able in eighth grade to predict EXACTLY what your high school journey would look like is probably a stretch. The vision of what high school will, or could be, is especially difficult as a very young person of 13-14 years old. Perhaps some of you didn’t even think about the journey of high school in eighth grade, but if you did, I am sure it turned out differently than you imagined.
But that is the beauty of growing up, exploring and finding out who you really are, and that is what I want to remind you of today.
You have four years of Catholic education to draw upon as you leave us today. Whether you are a Catholic student or not, you have had rich opportunities for personal growth. As such, you have been to countless Masses and prayer services. You had completed service projects and volunteer experiences. You have been held to a standard that is faith based and ethically driven. You are witness to this standard by which the faith and goodness will continue to grow in yourself and others.
With your next opportunity on the horizon, be it college, the workforce, the military or some other option, you have a significant choice to make for yourselves. These are choices that will be how you are viewed, not only by your friends and family, but others around you – people that are casual or professional acquaintances, even people that you cross paths with on a subway, online or in a grocery store.
The opportunity begs the important question: “Do you put others first?”
It’s only human nature to be self-protecting in the moment. But it is exactly this fact that I ask you to review. I am speaking about your daily interactions with others. When facing a choice to reveal yourself, your real beliefs and identity – what you believe in and believe to be right in business, in a classroom, with a date, with your family, online, or wherever the opportunity presents itself – do you put others first?
Here is the paradox of this “others first” philosophy. It is not like buying groceries or a pizza. With a purchase like that, you have a set amount to spend. But rather, when you give of yourself, you actually have more to give, and you therefore ultimately feel better about yourself.
This philosophy is very much like a candle. A candle is but one light standing alone. It lights what is around it to a certain level. However, when a candle is used to light another, and another the light grows exponentially brighter – but the original candle never fades.
Father James Keller reminds us that, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”
This is my challenge for you. Be the light which allows others to shine. Be the light in a world that desperately needs your gifts. Instead of drawing you down, you will be lifted up in a manner that seems paradoxical on paper, but it is true in practice. Be women and men for others and you will shine and be the person that draws others, and success, to yourself. You will be a difference maker and someone that can truly impact the world in ways you could never expect.
Congratulations and Godspeed as you go forth.
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A Message from Dr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Over the four years of high school, you have faced many opportunities. Some positive, some not. You have had to make choices. These choices have made you the wonderful young women and men that sit here today. Some have had the high school career of legends. Some of you skated by with no worries. Some of you might have struggled to even make it to today’s ceremony. All of you, being here today, can claim accomplishment and success with your graduation from a Catholic high school in the Diocese of Trenton.
At my age, I would have a hard time telling you what tomorrow looks like, much less what four years down the road might look like. So, to say you were able in eighth grade to predict EXACTLY what your high school journey would look like is probably a stretch. The vision of what high school will, or could be, is especially difficult as a very young person of 13-14 years old. Perhaps some of you didn’t even think about the journey of high school in eighth grade, but if you did, I am sure it turned out differently than you imagined.
But that is the beauty of growing up, exploring and finding out who you really are, and that is what I want to remind you of today.
You have four years of Catholic education to draw upon as you leave us today. Whether you are a Catholic student or not, you have had rich opportunities for personal growth. As such, you have been to countless Masses and prayer services. You had completed service projects and volunteer experiences. You have been held to a standard that is faith based and ethically driven. You are witness to this standard by which the faith and goodness will continue to grow in yourself and others.
With your next opportunity on the horizon, be it college, the workforce, the military or some other option, you have a significant choice to make for yourselves. These are choices that will be how you are viewed, not only by your friends and family, but others around you – people that are casual or professional acquaintances, even people that you cross paths with on a subway, online or in a grocery store.
The opportunity begs the important question: “Do you put others first?”
It’s only human nature to be self-protecting in the moment. But it is exactly this fact that I ask you to review. I am speaking about your daily interactions with others. When facing a choice to reveal yourself, your real beliefs and identity – what you believe in and believe to be right in business, in a classroom, with a date, with your family, online, or wherever the opportunity presents itself – do you put others first?
Here is the paradox of this “others first” philosophy. It is not like buying groceries or a pizza. With a purchase like that, you have a set amount to spend. But rather, when you give of yourself, you actually have more to give, and you therefore ultimately feel better about yourself.
This philosophy is very much like a candle. A candle is but one light standing alone. It lights what is around it to a certain level. However, when a candle is used to light another, and another the light grows exponentially brighter – but the original candle never fades.
Father James Keller reminds us that, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”
This is my challenge for you. Be the light which allows others to shine. Be the light in a world that desperately needs your gifts. Instead of drawing you down, you will be lifted up in a manner that seems paradoxical on paper, but it is true in practice. Be women and men for others and you will shine and be the person that draws others, and success, to yourself. You will be a difference maker and someone that can truly impact the world in ways you could never expect.
Congratulations and Godspeed as you go forth.