St. Paul graduates 38 in unique style

NORWALK — It was unlike any other graduation at St. Paul High School. Sure, there was a Mass and then the ceremony itself. But it all happened online as graduates and their parents sat in their cars and watched. Graduation 2020, COVID-19 style. Thirty-eight seniors graduated Sunday from St. Paul. Class Salutatorian Tori Pocos opened with a brief welcome. "This certainly hasn't ended the way we hoped it would, but we made it," Pocos said. Father Andrew Wellman announced the Bishop's Cross awards from inside the church, which were given to Margaret (Maggie) Centa and Griffin Schwan, who also read the petitions during mass. After the Baccalaureate Mass and speeches, graduates and their parents (one group at a time) went into the church for the diploma ceremony. After the graduates received their diploma from Norwalk Catholic School President/Principal Martin Linder, they moved to the gathering space for their official photo. After that they went out the doors into a new world as staff members cheered and applauded. All was done with social distancing. Here are Sunday's speeches by Pocos and Holly Powers, the class valedictorian: Victoria Pocos, salutatorian "Good afternoon and welcome fellow graduates and family, faculty, and guests to the commencement ceremony of the St. Paul High School Class of 2020. This year has certainly not ended the way we all thought and hoped it would, but we made it. I just want to take a minute to welcome, as well as thank everyone who has impacted our lives and schooling, on behalf of the graduating class. First, thank you to all parents, families, and friends who have shown their love and support throughout these difficult times of online schooling. Thank you to the teachers who have been understanding with all of us, and welcome to the board, advancement office, church leaders, and Mr. Linder and Mr. Conley, who have all influenced us within our time at St. Paul High School. It is tradition at St. Paul to graduate with a mass and on the altar, and we are keeping that tradition alive today, even though it is different this year. The class of 2020 is the 97th class to graduate from St. Paul. As soon to be alumni, I'm sure we are all thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this tradition that our school consistently upholds. We are celebrating all we have accomplished and should be proud of where we stand today. Everything has changed over the course of a few short weeks. It is now common to wear masks when you go out in public. Restaurants are just now starting to reopen. The COVID-19 crisis has affected us in more ways than one. Since Kairos, many of us have not even seen each other. Nevertheless, we have finished our senior year on a high note: we are able to graduate together, even though we are not all together. At least we had a memorable end to our senior year. During this time away from school, hopefully we have taken a moment to reflect on how much our education and faith has allowed us to succeed in our daily lives. We have spent sleepless nights and stressful mornings to get where we are today. We all have made many memories that we will cherish, and as we say our final goodbyes, we are able to reflect on all the good times we have had in and out of the classroom. Our future starts now. We are, almost, officially done with high school. Our next step in life is to go our separate ways, whether that be going to college, into the military, or into the workforce. But, we will always have St. Paul to connect us. St. Paul has taught us many things that we need to succeed in life - determination, perseverance, and hard work, to name a few. Whether we realize it or not, St. Paul has changed us for the better. To end, I'll just state a simple quote from Khalid. 'Make new experiences, have fun, and don't forget to take it easy. This is your moment, so make it count.' Thank you." Holly Powers, valedictorian Well here we are....the class of 2020, we made it! We made it through our ABCs, our 123's and COVID-19. Let's move past that daunting number 19 and look at the reassuring number 20. Today I want to share with you many meanings of the number 20, and how each meaning represents a certain aspect of our class. The symbolic meaning of the number 20 denotes one who has infinite potential. If you look out the windows of your car, you will see a patch of grass next to the playground where our class once built a garden back in junior high. Our class had many big plans and high hopes for the garden, and it had the potential to be really great. My point is that all of us have dreams right now about our future and we all have the potential to make them come true. As a class, we have clearly demonstrated great potential in many areas of interest. Relating this back to the garden, after a while, we did not keep up with the watering and it eventually died. It is important that we continue to water and nourish our dreams. It is important that we find what drives and motivates us, so that our dreams do not have the same fate as the class garden. The logistical meaning of the number 20 is teamwork and service. Through extracurricular activities, senior projects, community employment, and other service opportunities within the school, we have shown that we understand the importance of working with others and for others. The spiritual meaning of the number 20 is empowerment. If you keep seeing this number, it's a sign that you will be successful in everything you put your heart and mind to. We, as a class, have seen the number 20 everywhere during our days at St. Paul. From our Flyer class T-shirts back in kindergarten to our graduation yard signs, we have seen the number 20 a lot! If the spiritual meaning of 20 holds true, we are truly destined to have an impact in our world. The angelic meaning of the number 20 is proof that your plans, decisions, and actions align with the universe. I know our guardian angels have worked over time to get us to this day, so it is important that we all give them a huge shout out. So as we all try to discern our calling, take comfort in knowing you are right where you are supposed to be at just the right time. The biblical meaning of the number 20 represents a complete or perfect waiting period. Waiting requires patience. Jacob waited 20 years to possess his property. In the book of Judges, the Israelites waited 20 years to be free. We have patiently waited for this day to come. The day where we start to leave our comfort zones and enter into a world much bigger than we are used to. The day where we are free to pursue our dreams, no matter how big or crazy they may seem. I hope our class continues to listen to what God is calling us to do, knowing it may take a lot of patience until we find his purpose for us in life. Finally, in optometry, the number 20 means perfect vision, or 20/20. This cliché has been used for our graduating class over and over. So here we are, graduating in a format far from what we would call a normal vision. However, in light of the COVID 19 ban, we truly have had our vision perfected. Number one, we now know, like we have never known before, not to take anything for granted. Number two, we have seen like never before how vitally important every single person is in society, and how the work they do makes our world function. Number three, we have learned where our inner strength truly comes from when we discover how much is out of our control. So as we leave here today, never forget that we are truly 2020 strong in every meaning of our number!"