Community High School of Naples issued the following announcement.
This Wednesday, on a crisp and breezy November morning, the entire CSN US and senior parents applauded as the Class of 2021 made their way onto the bright green field of the John N. Allen Family Stadium for this year's Senior Investiture. This annual ceremony serves to formally recognize our seniors as the leaders of the student body. As Dr. Watson said in his introductory remarks, "Less than a year from now you will all be at university. CSN will be a memory of the past...So make the most out of every CSN day left to you. Don't wait to do that amazing thing that you always wanted to do; whether it is on the stage, in your creative writing or math, your innovation or in the athletic arena. Don't wait."
Dr. Johnson then introduced senior Grace VanOort, a CSN "lifer," who would take the audience on a humorous journey back over her years at our school. The Class of '21 consists of 88 students, a CSN record, 21 of whom have followed this same journey with her. Perhaps most poignant was the moment when she said, "In the last 14 years, the group of us have watched some of our best friends and favorite teachers leave. We've welcomed new classmates and new teachers, who have either dealt with us or been scared away...Through everything that changes in 14 years, which is a lot, we've always had each other... I know that none of us will forget where we came from and who helped us along the way."
Senior Loren Brown then took the mic to explain the Investiture tradition of having the soon-to-be graduates choose the top three adjectives which describe their class. Panos Dimaras read his essay on "outspoken," in which he singled out incidents when his classmates have embodied this trait. "Outspoken is the unwavering passion of our class...Outspoken is the questioning of authority... Outspoken is the love that we have not just for each other, but for the world." Abby Sinberg chose "resilient," first defining it as "able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions." She said, "We are aware of how difficult the rigor is at CSN, and with genuine excitement we embrace the school day with open arms... All of you here today choose to rise up and show up for each other." In these unique times, these students "started the year thankful just to be able to be with each other."
The final adjective was Nick Diamond's "ambitious." As Panos said, Nick is the only two-term Student Council President in CSN history. He explained why his class is ambitious: "We are a group of people that are driven by our wants and our desires. We don't work only with the prospect of success. We work in order to learn. We work in order to grow. Our ambitions in the last few years at this school have taught us the methods, the obligations, and the essence of finding meaning, of discovering our own potential, and of defining our own roles." He concluded, "The campus may not see us again, but CSN will have never left us. CSN is a part of us. Ambition will take us on routes far from this campus, but we will never forget our roots, because CSN is a people, not a place."
After hearing from these wonderfully poised young students, Mr. Utz introduced our special guest speaker, a product of the CSN difference, Ms. Megan Myers of the CSN Class of 2014 and reporter on NBC-2. Megan came to CSN in the 6th grade, played basketball for two State Champion teams, and went on to college, majoring in Communication with a minor in Journalism. In a cutthroat profession, her big break came when she reported for 16 straight days from Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Megan proves that, as she said, "Success doesn't come to you. You have to go get it." She recommended that the current seniors "know what you want to do, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Just make sure you do what you love, because there will be many hard days...Some day you will look back on your time at CSN and think 'that was where it all started.'"
Dr. Johnson ended the ceremony on a personal note. He himself graduated high school in 2001, when "a global catastrophe changed life as we know it, a close presidential election that took weeks to finalize, and a new Fast and Furious movie (was released). All equally momentous, historical events." He made sure that today's senior class knows that "none of us gets through life on our own, and...it's important for you to remember all of the people in your lives who have made this possible." This includes their parents, their teachers throughout all their schooling, and their classmates. He concluded, "Through not only your resilience, ambition, and outspokenness, but also your kindness and compassion, you can be the individuals–the Class–that future seniors and classes point to as having made a difference in their lives."
Original source can be found here.
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