Grads told to share their ‘snapshots’
High school graduates are often told to cherish their high school memories. The graduates of Unionville High School’s Class of 2021 were told the same, even to cherish the memories of dealing with a pandemic.
“Members of the Class of 2021, you are the living monuments of history to your generation, and maybe someday, you will share your stories and snapshots of history with your own children and grandchildren,” said UHS Principal Jimmy Conley, adding that he hopes they say they faced and overcame the global pandemic of COVID “with grace and humility.”
Conley told the graduating class of his own father’s “snapshot,” a memory of meeting then U.S. Sen. John Kennedy when he was running for president, and how deeply impacted the elder Conley was when Kennedy was assassinated three years later.
He said his father’s eyes would tear whenever he thought of the assassination, but there was always a touch of fond nostalgia when he would recall the “joyous and carefree time” the two men briefly shared in 1960.
“[M]y father was a living monument of history, and his autobiographical account, his snapshot of history, is something that I will always carry with me as an important memory of my father. Whenever I think of President Kennedy, my dad’s experiences will forever be connected to him.
Conley wants the Class of 2021 to be able to do the same when they tell their stories, share their snapshots of history, of enduring, adapting, and overcoming.
“So, class of 2021, don’t wish the last 15 months away and never speak about what happened here. Rather, your recounting of those memories, like my dad’s stories about Pres. Kennedy, are your snapshots of history. You need to teach future generations about how your grace and humility as a class and leaders in our fine school carried us all through these challenging times,” he said.
That theme was continued by student speaker Nikhila Kumar.
“We’ve dealt with a completely different last year of high school than anyone could imagine. We waited and waited and waited with the rest of the world for things to return to normal; when that didn’t work, we adapted – as leaders of our school and community, we found creative ways to connect and affect change. We can be assured of having a memorable senior year – this school year will go down in history for everyone, not just us. But whether for better or for worse, this will be the last time many of our paths will cross. The future is full of uncertainty, but I can definitively say that our time at Unionville has prepared us to face these challenges head-on. It’s taught us many lessons.”
She said those lessons include the need to take chances: “Failure is nothing compared to regret.”
Be patient: “[T]he truth is we can neither rush time nor go back in it. Things happen when they’re meant to.”
Fight for your dreams: “Fight even if you don’t know why you want something, but you know you want it. And when that doesn’t work, because it likely won’t the first time, fight harder because nothing truly worth having comes easy.”
Art teacher Noelle Porco, who the students voted UHS Educator of the Year, picked up on the theme of endurance as well, but added: “The ingenuity that the pandemic provoked is astonishing and I feel so very fortunate to have witnessed a small portion of that from the Class of 2021…All of you did something wonderful in your own way.”
Her bottom line to the graduates was: “Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. So, in all of your decisions moving forward, I hope that those decisions are based on joy. I implore you to do what makes you smile and make it your life’s work. I’m not saying what brings you joy won’t at times bring you to tears or bring you to the brink of a breakdown but, at its core, joy is worth the stress.”
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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