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Seniors Celebrate During Final Assembly

5/12/2017

Collegiate School seniors finished their school year today with a final assembly filled with speeches, songs, thank yous, and special time with their Kindergarten buddies.

After a slideshow of the Class of 2017 then and now played, the four members who serve as Student Council Association leaders shared thoughts about their experience at Collegiate, as well as words of thanks to those who helped them along the way.

Kate Surgner, co-president of the seniorclass, said she believes Collegiate is as good as it gets, including her teachers and classmates.

“The teachers rock and the Class of 2017 rocks harder,” she said. “Find something to love and pursue it as you head into this new chapter.”

Olivia Jacobs relayed some humorous advice to her younger Collegiate self at each stage of her Collegiate tenure.

As a Lower Schooler: “Think before you do or say anything.”
As a Middle Schooler: “It’s OK not to be good at something.”

As an Upper Schooler: “Surround yourself with happy people and thank those who mean the most to you.”

Olivia then addressed her fellow graduates: “Each of you has impacted me. I love you and can’t imagine this world without you.”

Grant Villanueva spoke of how much he has grown while at Collegiate and thanked those who influenced him and supported him when he needed it.

“Each person, each experience has challenged me,” he said. “There was no hesitation from my classmates, teachers or coaches to help me back up when I fell. Thank you.”

It was hard for co-president of the senior class Kyle Riopelle to describe leaving Collegiate after 13 years. He thanked his teachers, parents, the theater department, the soccer team and his class, but felt he needed to show his appreciation with a song. Grabbing a guitar, he called up several of his fellow Cougars to accompany him on percussion, keyboard, ukulele and viola with a rendition of You’ve Got a Friend in Me.

Patrick Loach, Head of the Upper School, introduced a video of current and past faculty members reading Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! He then thanked all ofthe seniors for their leadership this year.

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet,” he said. “The success is yours. You’ve worked hard.”

As is tradition for the seniors’ final assembly, Collegiate Kindergartners — members of the Class of 2029 — serenaded their seniors with "I Am a Promise." The seniors responded by leading "Hail, Collegiate" before departing from Oates with their young Cougar buddies to share some special time together over a pizza lunch.

Before leaving on their final day, seniors picked up and perused copies of Torch, Collegiate’s yearbook. They will embark on their individual senior projects for the next three weeks before returning for graduation on June 9.

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