Grads ready for next chapter

The 166th Annual Commencement Ceremony at Mount Vernon High School Energy Fieldhouse on Sunday, May 24, was a final opportunity to thank and congratulate the 295 graduating seniors and give them some sage advice, before they go their separate ways and follow their dreams.

Principal Cory Caughlan shared some words of wisdom with the graduating class.

“Life is going to challenge you,” said Caughlan. “That’s not a possibility, that’s a guarantee. You will face setbacks, obstacles, and moments that don’t go your way. In those moments you’ll have a choice: You can either fight back, or fight forward.”

Caughlan cautioned the senior class about getting caught in a cycle of getting fixated on adversity, dwelling on what went wrong, and finding someone or something to blame. Fighting back to prove someone wrong or to get even, creates a mindset that gets you stuck in a vicious cycle, driven by a need for revenge.

“You want to succeed,” said Caughlan. “Instead of fighting back. Consider fighting forward. Think about a hurdler in a race. If they trip over a hurdle, they don’t stop and stare at it. They don’t argue with it. They don’t look back at the crowd and not the hurdle. If they do that, they will miss the next hurdle, and the next one after that. One mistake turns into many. Successful people understand something important: You don’t win by focusing on what happened. You win by focusing on what’s next. You will fall short at times. You will make mistakes. People will doubt you, but your success won’t be defined by those moments. It will be defined by how quickly you learn from them and move forward. Don’t waste your energy trying to prove someone else wrong. Use that energy to prove yourself right. Don’t let one obstacle turn into a chain reaction. Adapt, adjust, and move forward. The future doesn’t belong to people, who look back. It belongs to those, who keep moving forward.”

Senior Class President Cooper Curry encouraged his classmates with a line from a Charles Bukowski poem about committing to what matters to you, entitled Roll the Dice. ‘If you’re going to try, go all the way.’

“I read that poem a few years ago, but it wasn’t until re-reading it recently, that I’ve taken it to reflect upon our journey today, but more specifically, about time itself,” said Curry. ”You see, time is a funny thing. It’s always out of our grasp and always pushing us forward.”

“Now, as we all prepare for this next, great journey of our lives,” said Curry. “Whether we are assured of our path or exploring still, it is time for us to part. It is now that we brace for the challenges and adventures in life that await us. It’s time that we carve our own possibilities and forge our own legacies and that we do so on our own. We will encounter pain and there will be setbacks. There will be times when we will falter and face the trials of life. Our journey to today was, itself, full of those trials, There will be days with no hope of triumph. No expectation of delivery, or spark of passion…”

Curry reminded his classmates that they have already come a long way in their lives.

“Our world is filled with uncertainty and the chaos and the despair, which we can, at times, find no sense of no hope to grasp onto, except by the guiding of our families, our teachers, and our mentors. With the help of one another, as peers, and much more importantly, as friends. Those, who have strengthened our gifts and shown us our weaknesses. We have become young men and women who, despite those conditions, have pushed forward to arrive here today, in honor of our success and accomplishment.”

Riley Jones is headed to the College of Wooster this autumn and will double major in computer science and the performing arts. At one point, she nearly gave up on the latter of those two majors. She shared that experience as she spoke to her classmates, from the lectern.

“If you were to tell me, a year ago, that I would be standing here, giving this speech, I would have laughed out loud,” said Jones. “I might have liked the idea, but I never thought I would have the courage to do so. Since I was a child, I dreamt of pursuing the performing arts and had, until recently, let that dream go.”

Jones suffered from stage fright and it was getting in the way of her dreams.

“Fear of rejection, anxiety and embarrassment could hold any of us back from trying new things and discovering what we are truly capable of and passionate about. Worrying about what others would think, stopped me from chasing new experiences and meeting some really incredible people.”

Perhaps, the most important thing Jones learned was, nobody cares.

“Nobody cares that you sang karaoke, and that it sucked,” said Jones. “Nobody cares that you came in last in that race, and absolutely nobody cares as much about your mistakes as much as you do. We are our own harshest critic and everybody is too busy, focusing on their own lives to notice our slip-ups. The next time you berate yourself about an embarrassing mistake, ask yourself this, ‘Will anyone else remember this a week from now?’ The answer is almost always, no. So, go out and try new things. Go take that singing class. Join a club or, finally, get in that sport that you wanted to try, a shot at. Don’t quit, just because you are not amazing at it. Keep practicing and, if it turns out it wasn’t for you, move on and try something else.”

She reminded her fellow graduates that, ‘We are not defined by our failures, but by our successes.’ A quick look around the fieldhouse was a reminder that success comes in as many forms as there are students.

Gage Cook, already has his certification and is working as an electrician’s apprentice.

“I’m in the 1105 Union,” said Cook. “I work for Mid-City Electric, which is based in Westerville. I might go into engineering and maybe business.”

Stevie Munoz is heading to Ohio University in the fall.

“I’m going there for four years to study physics and astronomy,” said Munoz. “I want to be a scientist. I want to work at NASA. Ever since I was little, it has been something that I enjoy doing.”

She mentioned working as a data analyst at NASA, but mentioning the idea of being an astronaut, working in zero gravity or being a part of a future, lunar colony, made her eyes light up.

“That would be fun,” said Munoz. “That would be a dream.”

Sala Glandon will be attending Washington and Lee University and will be studying chemistry.

“I’m thinking about working in wastewater treatment, or maybe food science or material science,” said Glandon.

Cobee Gallogly will be working toward a degree in social work. Then, he will be heading for warmer temperatures.

“Well, I’ll do my two years at Columbus State and, then I will be moving to Miami (Florida),” said Gallogly. “Some of my life’s experiences here have been around those that are less fortunate. It’s just really a need to help people.”

Benjamin Henricksen has his eyes set on Oberlin College, this fall.

“I’m looking to take neural science or something like that,” said Henricksen. “I’ll figure out where that takes me.”

Curry encouraged his classmates to be stubborn enough to continue on the path they have drawn, even if they have obstacles thrown in their way.

“Find (your) balance and continue forward,” Curry said. “Because that little bit of time represents our hope of tomorrow and, to quote Bukowski, ‘These strikes, and all the others, are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it, and you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. It will be better than anything else you can imagine. So, if you are going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You’ll be alone with the gods and the nights will flame with fire and you will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight that there is. So, to you, my friends, family, and the Class of 2026, as we head off into this next chapter, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbors, and catch the trade winds in your sails, and if you are going to try, go all the way.”