East '22 Speeches & Awards

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 Grace Ripley and Grace Wilde, 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 Abigail Ames: I think back to 8th grade. I hated school so much that [someone] told me that the best future she could see for me was dropping out at 16. I believed her, [but] when I came to Sturgis, my mind immediately changed. I remember being an incoming freshman at orientation, and being excited to go to school with these new people. I was in a room with people I had never met, who had no idea who I was, and most importantly, no one knew the person I had been before. This was amazing to me, I could completely start over, be a better person and student.  Of course some people knew who I was, but the majority did not and that was exciting. I could make new friends, get into a better crowd and maybe even graduate.

From Maia Rubin: I’m extremely grateful for my mom and her convincing me to stick it out for a few weeks. Because although we all complain about the broken heat and air conditioning, or the fact that our school is built from an old furniture store, bowling alley, and house across the street with an apartment above it; I think deep down we are all grateful for the fact that our parents had us put our names into the Sturgis lottery. There’s something special about the fact that our grade is made up of about 100 students, and the fact that we go to school on main street, and yes, even though we all deny it, to an extent, there’s something special about the IB.

From Jacob Kinkead: As I conclude high school, I’ve learned a very important thing. I love Sturgis. I love its quirks, its people. I love its freedom for lunch, its inclusivity, and its teachers. I love how I feel attending this school, and most importantly, I love who I am when I’m here. I love just about everything about this school, [except] the IB diploma program.

From Matthew Reino: My freshman year I was determined to frustrate my parents and teachers to the point where they would give up on having me attend Sturgis.   When I said I was determined I actually tried to get Mrs. Massey to not like me so she would tell my mom Sturgis was not right for me.   I underestimated Mrs. Massey, she was more driven to see me succeed then I was on getting asked to leave.

Sturgis has given me many unique opportunities to develop myself.   Academically I was taught strong study skills that I will constantly implement in my life.   Socially I was introduced to a culture of diversity and how beneficial it is to invite others into each one's “identity bubble”.   Personally I learned how strength and dedication is not just an action but an endless job, this I credit to Mrs. Massey.  I earned grades at Sturgis, and was accepted into Mass Maritime Academy.   The most important two A’s I earned though were acceptance and adaptation.   These A’s will always help me throughout my life.   I am a better person because I learned the meaning and how to implement these important characteristics into my life.   I would never have this knowledge if I did not attend Sturgis East.

From Olivia Solomon: Sturgis leaves an impact on every person who walks through its doors, from ringing that bell at camp burgess to graduating, walking down mainstreet to the sound of bagpipes. Sturgis just has this effect, returning to sturgis feels like returning home, as the people who work on mainstreet begin to remember your face and your order. People in the hall remembering your face, underclassmen and upperclassmen saying hello to each other, it's a conjoined and unified community as we come together even over the smallest of issues. I may not be coming out of Sturgis with the best academic track record, or the highest IB Score, but as my senior quote says, at least I can look back on the joy I had, the joy I found, and the joy I gave other people. Thank you, Sturgis.

From Ryan Thompson: While there are many funny stories to tell of this grade, the moments I remember best are the recurring ones. Sunny afternoons in Red Cross with frisbees or footballs or beanbags flying through the air and Jake Dilley or Owen Mullins putting something unusual on someone’s car. The art room in the morning with Steely Dan “Dirty Work” playing, lava lamp blazing, and too many people on the yogibo. The dressing rooms of 4c’s, air thick with hairspray and powder makeup. The bass river yacht club, clad with wood, lined with burgees, and of course stocked with food. Picking at the grey on the stage on the green. The chess table at Palio’s. The man behind the counter of Little Sandwich Shop. Standing on the track above the court in HYCC. The annex basement with its abundance of carpets, cracked drywall, wall outlets, and the heavily graffitied bathroom. The rooms with one tiny window high up in the corner that’s covered in bars and the air vents with a sweating problem. The day it was so cold and the heat didn’t work but we had to keep the windows open because of covid so [Mr. O’Kane] came in to give us space heaters and cover the vents with aprons to stop them from blowing out cold air.  As we move on with our lives, this is not lost. Ourselves in this moment live on, immobilized in these walls, and our collective memory.

From Peter Cotoia: So to all the senior nights, the half days, the musical performances, the theatrical productions, the art shows, the exam weeks, and school breaks. To all the field days and spirit weeks, to Chick-fil-a Fridays and to Waffle Wednesdays. To all the discarded masks and lysol wipes, the wifi issues and late notes, and lastly to the bathroom doors which we lost these last few months. I hope that you all stay resilient, because no matter where life may take each and every one of you, we are all connected by these past four years. A four years full of change and growth. I will say that I cannot have imagined it any other way, and I am grateful to be a part of the class of 2022.

From Harrison O’Brien: Let us not forget the annex, gone but not forgotten. I’ll never forget the day when I found out there was more than just the dance room downstairs but many classrooms. And it took us until our senior year to find that there were multiple secret bathrooms scattered around the basement of the annex. It was always a mystery with a surprise around every corner, like a random hole in the wall or a room filled with ancient computers with an old pair of boxers on the pipes. It's a shame we had to leave it behind but going to class in an old bowling alley is an experience; although slightly delayed we still got in here. In the words of Ms. Meisel, “I have light switches”; so it is a clear improvement from our beloved annex.

From Katherine Gutman: Remember one another and be grateful for the guidance we've all received. We've all endured so much, the people of main street chasing you or worse, random fire evacuations, countless stay in places and something as simple as the wind putting the entire school's power out. Yet we love our small and fragile furniture store of a school. Because the creaking floorboards, mystery of a basement  and ceilings that onces dripped coffee don't make it a school, we do. Through our diversity and creativity. We set the standards and represent one of the best schools in our state. So thank you for shaping me into the student I am today.

From Alexander Mendez: Sturgis has taught me many things. Like how to challenge myself. How to be curious. How to think logically. How electrons interact on a subatomic scale. How a wave propagates in a medium. How to be vulnerable. How to open up. But more so than anything, Sturgis has taught me how to be me; questioning the world before me, opening myself to opportunities, and simply expressing myself.

From Ellen Murray: What is it about Sturgis that prompts amazing and accomplished Sturgis graduates like Ms. Newcombe, Ms. Mead, Ms. Agel, and Mr. DeCosta, to come back to teach us, mold us, and contribute to the next generation? What is it about the Sturgis method that inspires such a strong bond of trust that faculty like Dr. Pete and Mrs. Furner bring their own children here for their education? I wish I could say it was the Wednesday advisory sessions, the leaky science room ceilings, or the ghosts of furniture stores and bowling alleys past. While each of these elements certainly contributes to Sturgis’ uniqueness, I’ve found that the community is what has made Sturgis our true home for the past four years.

I don’t use the word “home” lightly; home is a place of joy, where family can be found around every corner, where you know every smile like the back of your own hand. Sturgis isn’t just a building or a school, Sturgis is an intangible, indescribable quality and identity that each of us have developed over the past four years; it’s the collection of all the IB learner traits that our teachers have ever-so-carefully ingrained in us with their wise teachings and patient nurturing.

And, finally, from Isabella Goetz: Whenever I envision the term “courage,” I see anyone who decides to take HL math. I see all the students who play sports and refuse to give up if a game is lost. I see all the students who kept their cameras on during online learning, with their faces visible. I see seniors working overtime on their college applications, job interviews, or preparing for the army, at the same time they are trying to pass their IB exams. I see our teachers striving to re-engage students after a year-and-a-half of distance learning. I see family members trying to support each other when we became separated from the world. I see everyone who is sitting under this tent today, and I see the world beyond it.

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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 gather with great intentionality, care, and reflection. 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 to take a moment to acknowledge the following people for their commitment to our mission and our students: Connor Decosta, Morgan Denton, Richard Russell, and Deanna Singh: please stand.

I would also like to celebrate a colleague retiring this year after twenty years of service to our community. Cindy Gallo joined Sturgis in 2002, only four years after the school opened. She helped to write the application for Sturgis to become an IB school, and she and her husband Dave saw both of their children graduate from Sturgis. Cindy is passionate, intelligent, caring, and committed, and has faithfully served our mission and students as a teacher and our IB Coordinator. I don’t think any of us can recall Sturgis without her, and we will miss her greatly. Cindy Gallo, please stand.

Sturgis East class of 2022, 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.

But most importantly as your art teacher over these past 4 years, I have asked you to openly depict your inner thoughts, your fears, your passions, your dreams...

I have asked you to spill yourselves onto the canvas for all the world to see. (seriously because examiners are from all over the world)   

Each of you, regardless of which courses you took or sports you played during your years at Sturgis, have experienced this often terrifying sense of putting yourself out there on display...to perform and to be judged in some way.  

After all that, now you ask this of me - the honor of giving a sendoff speech, to one of the most inspirational, and awesome graduating classes I have had the privilege of working with during my 22 years of teaching. 

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to say. 

I wish I could just say “scary story time”! and tell you all some fun semi made up story while you worked away

...or should I say while some of you jumped out of your seat, or screamed in fear…and then tried to play it off like you weren't scared, you know who you are.

 You have had such a large role in my life, that naturally YOU are my source of inspiration.  

This speech is made possible by the last four years of happiness, laughter, joy…along with some tears, and some seriously difficult times …but also, by YOUR ever-present resilience, and strength! 

When I reflect upon all the million ways you have inspired me, the first word I think of when I consider the Class of 2022 is Relationships. 

As ninth graders new to the school. Our relationship began with many laughs and excitement. You awkwardly fell UP stairs, somehow managed to spill paint everywhere even though the tables were flat, fell off chairs that were perfectly still and gave me many laughs bumping into those white pillars as you raced into the art room with excitement. 

Our relationships were building, you taught me to laugh and accept your individuality. 

Especially when Dr. O’Kane would walk in and was confronted by some awesome artwork that featured the human body in its purest form and made him blush. 

Some relationships are momentary, and some are more lasting that lead to an emotional domino effect where one connection can impact another. Sometimes we upset each other, we say things we didn’t mean or we hurt another person's feelings (sorry to sound like Greek Tragedy)... or sometimes we manage to pull it off and are there for someone when they really need us.  Regardless of the type of relationship, as you live your life one thing is constant…the relationships you build and encounter. 

In the words of Ramona Peters of the Mashpee Wampanoag

"We drink from the water that is flavored by the land.  Whatever is deposited in the soil becomes part of the water that is in us. So, together, we are all one thing." 

Because we can all be connected by our interactions and surroundings relationships turn into ripple effects. Be kind to yourself; be kind to others because that is one of the most fulfilling ways to leave your mark, an impact that will live forever in a memory of someone.

Even if for only one fleeting, instant your impact is absorbed and felt by those around you. Try to live in that moment knowing that your actions matter, relationships matter.  

But remember the greatest relationship you have is the one with yourself, because experiences and words and judgements of others may impact you, but they do not define you.  

You have the power to create your own composition, to use any color palette, any medium, to incorporate any imagery or style (without me yelling at you to change something) and to create your own relationship with yourself. 

Foster this relationship, nurture it because every one of you has the strength to be an amazing work of art! To me you already are. 

To the parents, who have raised and supported the 102 students who sit in front of us today, thank you for making such wonderful human beings who have made a job feel like a home.

In closing, I didn’t end up fainting, phew!

As this relationship with Sturgis ends others are awaiting you.

I want to end with a quote from my favorite song which I know I have played for each of you at some point …in the words of George Micheal, “I think you’re amazing” …and when you’re out there think of those words everytime you doubt yourself or feel scared, because the most important thing my relationship with you has taught me is… 

YOU GOT THIS! 

Thank you for a wonderful four years, and Congratulations!

I am the biggest fan of these small moments. Some of my absolute favorite moments at Sturgis happen at some of the most unexpected times. Sometimes it's an innocent question asking how the weekend was in the first minutes of class that can launch a discussion into something deeper in the news that needs more context before it can be judged. 

Sometimes it’s the waning moments of a Socratic discussion where a quiet student unexpectedly perks up after a few minutes of thinking and gains the courage to put their idea on the line for the class to consider. Or, one of my absolute favorite moments, is when a student offers an idea in class on something that I as the teacher had not considered before, and I can’t help but grin being witness to a brilliant idea. 

Any given day at Sturgis is made up of thousands of these ephemeral moments.

It’s funny how seemingly insignificant moments in life can have a lasting and permanent impact on your thinking. When I was an undergraduate at the University of Hartford in Connecticut studying literature, to satisfy the one science class credit I needed for my major, some friends and I took an Introduction to Forensic Science course thinking it would be a breeze, we’d easily pass the course and then never have to think about science for the remainder of college. Our adjunct professor, an active crime scene investigator for the State of Connecticut, would tell some of the most interesting and stomach-turning stories from his years on the job. 

And while we successfully got our professor to tell story after story thus delaying essays and dull talk of criminal theory and the state penal code, there was one aspect of the course I’ve never been able to shake or forget and as a result, I think about the concept at least once a week. The theory is called Locard's Exchange Principle. The principle basically boils down to the idea that when someone commits a crime, they leave behind a trace of themselves: a fingerprint, a fiber from a shirt, or a strand of hair. The principle also states that the criminal often takes something from the scene with them: think soil on their shoe or skin from a victim under their nails: it’s a reciprocal exchange: literally every contact leaves a trace whether it can be detected or not. 

When I think about this idea in quiet times of reflection, I think about how this idea relates to everyday interactions people have, interactions that might seem insignificant at the moment.  I think about how Locard’s Exchange Principle is very much at play in the halls and classrooms of Sturgis Charter Public High School. 

Sure, you may forget the intricacies of the plot of James Baldwin's novel Giovanni’s Room or you’ll forget the minutiae of a particular math problem you struggled with, but you’ll leave that class having practiced skills of inference making, establishing connections between texts, and perhaps doing some analytical thinking that was built on prior knowledge. 

You might not have realized the impact of your contribution of selling waffles on Wednesdays in support of Ukraine relief efforts or remember the exact score of a particular basketball game you fought hard to win, but the logistical, technical, and empathic skills needed to organize such a fundraiser or the skills fostered in working as a team on the court have made you a more caring, organized, thoughtful, and driven person.

While you may not remember the day-to-day nuance of your time at Sturgis, you might remember those instances where traces of Sturgis, your classmates, your teachers, and random hallway interactions stick with you. On the other hand, you may not realize the impact and trace you are leaving behind after four years of in-person, virtual, and hybrid study at Sturgis. 

And while your time of paper ones and TOK debates might be over, in any pursuit that comes next for you, it will be your curiosity and ability to engage in this reciprocal exchange that will lead you to places you can’t even imagine today. To me, that’s one of the most exciting facets of what's to come for you all, as Walt Whitman wrote “that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Now more than at any point in your life, you have the ability to set the direction, the speed, the altitude. You get to continue your journey of growth.

As you prepare to transition to college, the military, or enter the workforce, I hope you maintain the perspective of a student. Even beyond academic pursuits, maintaining the perspective of a student — being curious, asking questions, and constantly trying to expand your worldview —will open many doors for you because every inquiry, every discovery, and every question is reciprocal in its ability to leave a trace. 

From your time at Sturgis, I hope you remember how strong you were in the face of uncertainly, how willing you were to roll with the punches when some of us on the faculty were adapting in real-time to help you achieve success in and out of the classroom, and how your experience with honing these skills early in life will serve you well in the future. 

I hope that your time at Sturgis leaves a trace within you and has shaped you for the better. I hope you had a resounding success in your academic studies or on the athletic field. I hope you made friends that will last a lifetime. I also hope you had your heart broken in some way and healed even stronger in the parts where cracks once were. I hope you failed miserably at something that left a lasting imprint on you and bettered you in some way because we often learn the most in times when we are tested. I hope you took academic risks and will continue to assume the role of a student, be curious, and try new things. 

I’ll close by quoting the poet Mary Oliver from the 1986 poem titled Wild Geese, one of my favorite poems that never fails to inspire me in times of transition or uncertainty: 

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees 

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

 love what it loves.                         

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Pursue what excites you but always remember it is okay to be wrong. You will be so surprised by how far simply trying at anything will get you. And, yes, often you will be wrong, and you’ll fail spectacularly, but I promise you that if you continue to try, you will be better for it because every contact leaves a trace and those traces make up our whole.

Congratulations to you, the graduating class of 2022, I will miss you all so much, but I am so excited to see you excel as you embark on your new journeys.

Thank you. 

I can say personally that I don’t believe I would have been able to fully understand my capabilities, as a student or a person, without the faith my teachers and my classmates had in my ability to push myself to success. I think the faith that Sturgis has in their students is somewhat remarkable. Although I have at times cursed how it has forced me to keep myself on track, I can only place value in it in retrospect. Sturgis trusts its students. It trusts its students to personally pursue what they have learned in class, to not just sit and let information pass through one ear and out the other but to actually interact with the material at hand, forming students with clear ideas of what they actually care about in the world. As cliche as it sounds, I have genuinely exited classrooms and proceeded to discuss its material with my friends in our cars when lunch comes. It forces its students to lead clubs and keep those clubs functioning, introducing new ideas and actions each week. Within the clubs I lead personally, I have seen students rise to that challenge, passionately adding their own ideas to the mix and offering their own time and effort to projects. It is motivating to be a part of a community that cares. 

I think we take for granted the care which the students and faculty possess. At Sturgis, I have rarely felt like opportunities and knowledge are wasted. Although, inevitably, we find ourselves learning for the sake of a test, or a good grade, I have also experienced students and myself, as well as teachers, seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself. The EE and our IAs exemplify this aspect of Sturgis. I remember junior year, and my genuine interest in my topic for my History IA. I found joy in pursuing my topic, I came in and school didn’t feel like work but like a passion project. The teachers here at Sturgis listen to students, accepting what I think is a sometimes difficult truth: that we all have things to learn. I have offered ideas to conversations in class and heard back from teachers that it was a perspective they had never considered, a unique idea that they themselves had not prepared for. This type of interaction taught me that, although a student tasked with learning from the adults around me, my ideas still held value. 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what sticks with us, as I look around at my peers and think about how we will all find ourselves in drastically different places, geographically and otherwise, in a year’s time.  I never used to think of myself as an incredibly sentimental person. When I was a freshman, first entering high school, all I could think about was how excited I was for college, to leave high school behind me. However, as I have made connections with my fellow classmates and with Sturgis as a whole, I think my perception has changed. Where I once was eager to end this chapter of my life, I find I end it  now with a hope for the future, but a slight grimace nonetheless. It becomes more difficult to leave a place after you find your place in it, as I’m sure any of my fellow classmates would attest. I know that I still feel like I have so much to give to this community, and I think that that urge speaks volumes to this school, that it consistently calls for each student, as an individual to contribute to the whole. 

And so, I have been thinking about what stays with us after high school ends. Maybe it’s not the school itself, maybe it’s not even the curriculum. In ten years, maybe it will mean nothing to me that I attended Sturgis Charter School in Hyannis. Maybe I will not remember the specifics of the Cold War, or Environmental Value Systems, or Chi Squared Tests. Maybe I will not remember exactly the halls of Sturgis, or how to get to my old English or History room. Maybe I won’t remember the names of all of my teachers, or every peer in my classes. I don’t know if those things are what I’m going to look back on when all is said and done. After all, Cape Cod is a mostly arbitrary division of land, formed by millenias of tectonic movement and the interference of man for the sake of trade. A school is a collection of concrete and wood, as easily torn down as it is constructed.You can’t take those things with you when you leave.

What I can take with me is the love and joy that I have given and received over the past four years, the memories I have been so privileged to make. For this I can thank my friends I have made here, my fellow students. What I can take with me is the generosity of the teachers here at Sturgis. I have been able to form genuine connections with so many of my teachers over the years, and will always be grateful for how generous they are with their time, their energy, and their sympathy, especially when it comes to confusion over the subject material or late work – which I’ve needed many times throughout my high school career. The passion possessed by the teachers at Sturgis is another thing which will always stay with me. Their passion has redirected my own interests. I think about how so many times teachers here at Sturgis have made me see the values in subjects and topics that I would have never before, simply because they cared so much about what they were teaching. From them, I can take away the ability to find the value in education, to look beyond the dreary nature of a lecture on a gray winter afternoon, something to endure, to see that education is a way to open one’s mind and create a better world in the doing so. From Sturgis, I will take with me a value for diligence, individuality and collaboration. And now I will stop listing off what I will take with me, lest I begin to sound like a pamphlet for the IB learner profile. 

I must admit I put off writing this for a long time, to the chagrin of Mr. Swetz I’m sure, because I think it’s always difficult to wrap up a part of one’s life that was so formative. How do you tie a bow on it and call it done? How do you walk away from an experience which has become your entire life and be satisfied with the end? How does something which has for so long been your present become your past and how do you put that feeling into words? I guess you do, in four pages of writing with a bittersweet smile on your face. Because, at the end of the day, that’s all you can do.  All any of us can do is walk into the next stage of our lives hoping that our past has prepared us for our future. And I believe I can say, with confidence, that it has.  

Of course, a few things make up the backbone of any high school experience. First of all, the teachers. If you ask any Sturgis kid what makes this school such a special place, they would probably say the teachers. The teachers here are dedicated, reliable, and passionate. I mean, look at Mrs. Abel, where else would you find someone so dedicated to her students that she gives each and every one their own personal nicknames, like Brandon for Brenden, Mia for Maiya, or Tracy for Caroline. And where else would you find a Spanish teacher like Mrs. Manrique? So intent on immersing us in the Spanish culture that she let us frequent the French-Belgian cafe during class? And of course, we can't forget Mr. Teck, the TOK teacher who really taught us to question everything, like…… are we sure thats not Dr. O’kane in different clothes?

No matter your Sturgis experience, we have all made it to the other side. 720 days, 50 pieces of Palios pizza, and a disproportionate amount of mullets later, here we are. 

Our school likes to liken our high school journey to a ship, and we are all crewmates navigating the great seas together. I think it's more like whitewater rafting, and we're all just terrified children clinging onto each other for dear life. Miraculously, and against all odds, we made out.

That's why I want to say congratulations to each and every one of you sitting up here today. These last four years have been rough, in the words of Scott Westerfield, “High school wasn't a trial by fire or some ordeal that had to be survived. It was all a big joke. You just had to provide the laugh track.”. Though sometimes it may have felt like we were the punchline, let me say thank you to all of the wonderful people who laughed, cried, smiled, and suffered every painful and wonderful moment of high school with me, it may be the residual trauma bond from the IB speaking, but you have all made this an exceptionally bearable experience.

I trust that 20 years from now we will be able to look back on the messy, stressful, and terrifying experience that is high school and remember the good times. Maybe one day we can blow the dust off of our yearbooks, share these stories with our children… just maybe dont let them look too closely at out senior picture.

Honestly, I’m not really sure what to say knowing that this may be the last time I see many of you. To the friends, classmates, teachers, administration, and staff that made it possible for us to be here today, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for always working your hardest, supporting and inspiring us at every turn, and guiding us through these last four tumultuous years.

To my fellow classmates, good luck starting a new chapter in your life, be brave, and remember that no matter how far or wide you go, the sturgis family we created over these last few years will always be rooting for you.

So, before I end this speech, let me leave you with one last piece of insight loosely inspired by the wise words of our very own Anthony Georgi…

Our time together at Sturgis was an unconventional, chaotic, stressful, inexplical experience … but it's our experience, and I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

This year's recipient has made a notable impression on teachers in nearly every department of our school. Xanthippi remarks that she herself is inspired by this student who also brings a smile to Xanthippi's face whenever she's present. Shayna Meisel considers this student a "gifted writer" with a grand "sense of humor" who is able to "laugh about themself". Camille Manrique's description is of someone who "dedicates themself to a variety of activities'' and someone of whom she is "proud." 

I can relate to all of these comments. Each of these descriptors has been evident to me through the student's three years with me in biology. Her smiling face brightened my days, as it did Xanthippi's, all through the remote teaching of Covid. Her's was one screen I could always count on to contain a living, responsive human, and that was a huge gift to me. Her writing prowess, mentioned by Shayna, made her EE and her IA, pleasures to read. You might be impressed, as I was, that despite Covid and having no access to the labs at school, she designed, ordered supplies, and carried out a well-executed experiment on which she based her extended essay. This was done without my help, during the summer, in her basement, using special lighting, and living organisms that had to be counted using a microscope and a gadget intended for counting blood cells. Speaking in an eloquent scientific voice rather than a creative one also proved to be no obstacle.

Finally, as Camille noted, this student is talented, dedicated, and disciplined in many other areas. I've not gotten to see her dance, but I have gotten a peek at her artistic side. She and five peers co-authored an upcoming article to be published in the journal Pediatric Research which centers on her fabulous illustrations. Dr. Gilligan and I are proud of the entire group's work and, like Camille, were especially proud as we watched this student, their de facto leader, conduct a live meeting with two of the original British researchers with remarkable poise and maturity.

Because of her humble and private nature most of us aren't aware of her varied talents. But it's with this year's winner of the Ryan King award in mind I can say, this generation of young people gives me hope for our world. 

Congratulations to the 2022 winner of the Ryan King Award:  Grace Wilde.

I always looked forward to reading Ellen’s essays and written work. Sometimes I would save her paper for last so I could finish reading a stack of essays knowing I would end on a high note. 

She communicates well in front of all the grades and has kept our advisory interesting and on task with the weekly expectations. She has been super responsible and a joy to work with.

Ellen is open-minded, kind, and an active listener–which translates into a young person with exceptional communications skills.

Some of her many activities include:  teaching dance, volunteering at a nursing home, a public library, and completing an IB mural at our Main Street entrance.

As senior editor in chief, she was able to combine the rigorous and structured expectations of the yearbook, while allowing for the individual voices and opinions of her peers to shine through.

In addition to this $500 scholarship, Talin Bookbindery in Yarmouthport has donated a beautifully hand-bound collection of Ellen’s essays written during her four years at Sturgis. Talin hopes to inspire fine young writers to continue writing and to develop an appreciation for book arts and the ancient craft of bookbinding.  

Congratulations, Ellen!