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Cheryl Ting

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Good evening and welcome to St. Paul’s graduation!

Welcome to our families, faculty, and most importantly our graduates.

Class of 2024, 

Here are some of the words that adults who have had the privilege to work with you use to describe this class: thoughtful, wicked smart, artistic, creative, rockstars, friends to everyone, kind, big hearted, reflective, playful, empathetic, compassionate, amazingly mature, exceeding expectations, self-aware, a bunch of characters, passionate leaders, deeply kind and generous. Your baccalaureate chapel exemplified these qualities. You are that class that brings a sparkle to every teacher’s eye when they reflect on what they love and appreciate about the students at St. Paul’s.

Our school aims to cultivate and nourish young minds, spirits and hearts. Our academic program is multifaceted and adaptive - it’s not just about core academic skills and building blocks, it’s about humanity - the very real human connection to one another, to our neighbors, to our town, to our planet, to history, and to multiple communities. A St. Paul’s education is dynamic, developmentally responsive to what is happening in the world around us. We are a small school with a far reach. There is no place like this, which becomes abundantly clear when we step outside of our village.

Two weeks ago, you went to Washington D.C. for your 8th grade trip. Every adult who supported you on that trip said it was truly one of the best trips they’ve had with students and felt really lucky to experience that time with you. Remember that sparkle in the eye, I mentioned, that’s all about YOU! 

This trip was a culmination of your tenure at St. Paul’s. There were no cell phones, and no distractions to take you away from being TOGETHER - playing games, sharing stories, exploring, and learning. From a high ropes course that required trust and courage to walking the perimeter of the lake at Greenbrier State Park in pairs to share reflections on your time at St. Paul’s, and the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. From playing outdoors in the warm evenings to visiting museums and monuments around D.C., you embraced all of it. You, Class of 2024, exemplify and embody the scholars and human beings, WE, your St. Paul’s village aspires to nurture. 

You are generous and active citizens of the world who already know how to navigate a potentially challenging interaction with a group of students at a food court who represent very different values from St. Paul’s. A group that targeted you because you represent the diversity that terrifies them. And, you didn’t stoop to their level, but instead you stood your ground as upstanders, asked for help from the adults, and later reflected on the reality of the world outside of our Bay Area, and particularly our East Bay bubble. At the same time, you understand the complexities of our bubble, and the importance of examining the nuances and gray areas in an increasingly polarized world. It’s easy to get sucked into the stridency of oppositional belief systems, to only see things as a binary. It’s much harder to bend, flex, and remain fluid in our thinking to create space for understanding, connection and empathy.

Every generation reacts and responds to the decisions, actions, and impacts of previous generations. Unfortunately, for Gen Z, the landscape and events in this world have proven that fixed mindsets, extreme fundamentalism, and tribalism wreak havoc and undermine the progress of our society. And on behalf of generations before yours, I’m sorry we haven’t made the world better for you. But, if there is any generation that can make a difference, move the needle, help show us what true disruption looks like, it’s yours. As Mili said at the baccalaureate, “for two years you heard the thumping from above, and now you are the thumping.” And here is my challenge to you all, be more than the thumping, BE THE THUNDER! Share your brilliance, your SPARK, your courageous spirit. Be authentic and speak truth to power. Don’t be afraid to lean into radical compassion and build bridges. Be fearless, be curious, be humble, be human, be YOU. 

Congratulations to you all!!