Paul Marble

Sturgis East Class of 2021, Parents, Faculty, Board of Trustees, Relatives, & Friends: today is a momentous day.

Ninety-six Sturgis East seniors – soon to be graduates – sit behind me, expectantly.  They are nearing the end of one journey, about to embark on another, and for the last time each of these ninety-six people will be an active part of this special group – the class of 2021.

We gather here on a beautiful June day – the sky is blue, the grass is green and the air is pleasant – and listen to people who care deeply about Sturgis and each other. We see the looks on graduates’ faces when they are handed their well-earned diplomas. We bask in the pride, joy, and love on the faces of those who came here to celebrate. All of this feels quite momentous to me.

As our soon-to-be-graduates are IB students, they may have held that statement – today is a meaningful day – up to closer scrutiny: “But, Mr. Marble, how do you know it is a momentous day” for us?

I assume so based on what many of you wrote in your graduation speeches. You see, parents and friends, we have a custom at Sturgis that every senior writes a graduation speech, and a committee of faculty chooses the two speeches that are most evocative of our Sturgis beliefs and values to be given at graduation; you will hear from Lyle Edwards and Morgan Fedele shortly. I have had the pleasure of reading all the speeches, and I would like to continue our custom of sharing select passages from these speeches with you today.

When I call your name, please stand while I read your words aloud:

From Eliza Hackler: As the last of three children in my family to attend Sturgis Charter Public School, I was aware from the beginning that I would be writing a graduation speech, but after four years of that awareness, and taking admittedly a bit too long to open up the assignment, I was thrilled to see that no where in the whole thing did it say to keep this speech short and sweet. 

From Marie Claire Smith: Greetings friends, teachers, and four guests who were deemed important enough to receive a ticket to this highly selective event. 

I really did want to start off this speech without a cliche but I am actually quite shocked at the reality of how fast high school has flown by. Well, about 31% of it did occur from my bedroom. It feels like yesterday when we sat on the soggy grass by the Harbor listening to Mr.O’Kane explain how we will be back in that same spot in the blink of an eye. Sitting here on the Sandwich High School turf, it is clear the times have changed.  

From Chloe Fox: In the end, the reason I ended up choosing Sturgis was because a promise my parents made to me and finally fulfilled my senior year. They promised that if I went to Sturgis and gave it a good try for at least a month or so, they would get me the one thing I had been asking for since I could first talk. A puppy. I remember thinking “Hey I can suffer through this school for a month, get the dog, and then go back to Falmouth where I am supposed to be and move on with my life.” Four years later, here I am writing this grad speech for a school that I thought I would just be laughing at as one of the weird things my parents made me do. As much as I would never admit this to them, I am extremely grateful for them making me go to Sturgis. 

From Sharlotte Lundell: On a school tour right before my first day, Mr. O’Kane greeted us and was immediately a friendly face. However, I quickly got embarrassed by my Dad, who as a vice principal himself was asking my future principal: What do you do in terms of discipline? Do you do school suspensions?  To my horror, he kept asking these questions, and I felt like he was labeling me as a trouble maker. However (even through these embarrassing conversations), I knew Sturgis was for me. It was not the building itself that convinced me Sturgis was the school for me, but the environment, the community. I just had a gut feeling. Coming out of there, I was excited. I told my Dad (after begging him not to embarrass me again) that I wanted to spend the next 4 years here.  

From Alexander McInerney: The early days of Sturgis were something special though. We met people who would become our best friends but we didn’t even know it yet. I remember when I first met my best friend Rowan Wood.  We would sit together at lunch and really only talk about the main Sturgis talking points that they give parents to make them want to send their kids here. 

“I love this long lunch, it’s so nice to be able to eat on main street”

“I love all of the clubs, so many options to choose from”

“I love the IB learner profile traits, I hope that they are brought up again!”

Luckily we eventually learned how to have actual conversations without sounding like Sturgis recruitment robots.  

From Jocelyn Tompkins: Sturgis made everyone work together to get the job done. We all needed each other and the strangest thing about my high school experience is that I was the girl in the corner freshman year. I was the one that stuck to her little group of friends and that's it. But year after year slowly everyone came from their shells and started to bloom in their own way. Everyone was different, everyone had a purpose and they were put in that school to figure it out. Sophomore year is when I started to love myself for who I was. My hair once being straightened day in and day out was now in its natural fluffy afro state. Self-love is one thing Sturgis tried to ingrain in our heads. We are all one and we all are fighting for the same thing. Love is what will get us to the finish line, not hate. It's what moved us so close together. I never would've thought in my sophomore year I'd be the one everyone was saying hi to down the hall, or the girl people wanted to go out to lunch with. It was because I recognized early that no one cares about what you look like, as long as you are a soulful person you will always find someone to talk to and connect with. Sturgis taught me that.  

From Amery Slover: Sophomore year,  our polaroid photo started to faintly appear.  Sophomore year Color Wars will never be forgotten!  We managed to get ourselves in trouble by starting a yelling match with the seniors on the staircase. We weren't afraid to show our bleed blue mentality to the big dogs on campus. During the winter, Sturgis thought it would be a good idea to hold class during a nor'easter, without heat or power.  Rumor has it, it even snowed in Dr. Pete's room while they were discussing global warming. And we all went home before lunch!   In the spring, Mr. Nystrom managed to organize a trip to Six Flags theme park, as an ‘’educational ‘’ field trip to study the laws of physics first hand. Hmmm... can anyone here tell me what the laws of physics were again? I'll admit it was a highlight of sophomore year. Thank you Mr. Nystrom!  Little by little, through our shared experiences, our colors began to show through on those polaroid photos. 

From Carley Castro: There is no denying that what makes Sturgis so special is the people. The reason why I, and I’m sure many of you as well, was able to push through this year and come out victorious was because of the community that Sturgis offers. What still remained even outside of this old furniture store, was the sense of community between the students and teachers. Some things never change. I have to say I have become very fond of everyone’s Google Meet icons. Whether it was Playing Those Mind Games a.k.a Trivia in TOK with Mr. Bundy, listening to the song of the day in Spanish with Mrs. Manrique, or meeting every Wednesday morning with the Abels to bang out the Extended Essay, the headstrong spirit of what makes Sturgis, Sturgis, was not diminished. And don’t worry, we still had our fair share of obstacles this year, even if they weren’t leaky ceilings. The Wifi completely disconnecting from the entire school at the worst moments - in true Sturgis fashion - kept us humble. 

From Cora Pohlman: I first want to thank Sturgis for continuously keeping us safe and healthy this year. Secondly, the parents who survived a year and a half of caring for emotional teenagers stuck at home… every day. And of course, our teachers, who picked up an entirely new skill of teaching virtually. You continued to focus your effort into keeping us learning and thinking, while being stripped away of the thing that motivates most: our faces, the conversation, and knowing that you are actually making a difference. Well I want to assure you that you did make a difference, and we would not be standing or sitting here today without you.  

From Drea Alonzo: My lesson here today is, give yourself time. Everything is a learning process. Don’t be discouraged by your progression, even if it’s slow, because I know mine was. But I made it here today. I stand before you all today, and this is a moment I would have never imagined, because I gave myself time and I never gave up. There were moments where I was ready to give in to my challenges and say forget this all, but this school encouraged me to do better and to be better. Believe it or not, all of you have encouraged me in a way. I would think to myself: if they can do it and if they can overcome it then why can’t I? And that’s when I stopped giving myself excuses, and I actually faced myself. I realized that I would have gotten nowhere with that kind of attitude and that kind of mindset, and from there I wanted to be great, I wanted to feel accomplished and proud. And now I certainly am all of those, and I want to thank myself for being able to recognize where I was failing and pick myself up and bring myself to where I need to be, and that is here with you all. Thank You. 

And, finally, from Victoria Tyber: You might be wondering why this year’s graduation ceremony is taking place at Sandwich High School. My answer to that would be “that’s Sturgis for you.” The truth is it’s not about the building, the field, or even the classroom. It’s about the people. This has been proven time and time again for over 20 years, and for the last four years I’ve had the privilege to be a part of this community. I always knew it wasn’t the building that made Sturgis East special. Maybe I thought it was lunch on main street, the dances, the fun events. But after over a year of going completely online, having lost so many junior and senior activities that we’ve all looked forward to since we were rising freshmen, it has been made clear that it’s not just the fun activities that keep the Sturgis culture alive. It’s the teachers, the students, the staff, the coaches, and the parents that make the Sturgis experience unique and unforgettable. 

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To my initial claim: today is a momentous day, I now add the rationale: because today is a culmination of the past four years where we have all chosen to live, think, and stay connected to each other with great intentionality, care, and reflection. More so than ever, students, faculty and family have made our collective Sturgis experience momentous, and today is a day to celebrate that accomplishment.

Just as all our seniors are graduating, so, too, are some of our faculty about to embrace their own new opportunities. I would like for the following faculty to please stand so that we can show our appreciation for their commitment to our mission and our students: Aliza Ray, Claire Monfort, Emily Williams, Peter Bundy, and Rachel Perras, please stand.

Sturgis East class of 2021, congratulations, and thank you for choosing to see the best in each other and for making the most of yourselves. I hope that you always carry Sturgis in your hearts.