Good evening, everyone. Good evening, Mr. Macrino, Mrs. Griffin, our faculty and staff, fellow students and all your families. I hope everyone is well. My name is Sean Power, and I am the president of the Class of 2020. Under normal circumstances, I would probably be speaking to all of you directly. Unfortunately, this is probably the furthest from “normal circumstances” that most of us have been in. However this works out in the end, I am honored to be able to share my thoughts with you.

Saint Bernard School has had a huge impact on me, just as I know it did for every one of you. Saint Bernard’s means a lot to me. My experiences over the past four years as a Saint have provided me with quite a few life lessons. I would like to share those that have stuck with me the most.

Though this first one may seem a bit bizarre, it’s something that I’ve never forgotten and never will. Those of you who know me well know that I have a passion for running. I have been a member of the cross country, indoor, and outdoor track teams since I was a freshman. Of course, my coach, Bill, has offered countless lessons that I will never forget, including the appropriate times for celebration, true patience, and humility, wich are certainly hugely important aspects of being a Saint. But one runner, bear in mind he may not have been the fastest guy out there, from a few years back competed with a certain mentality. He believed that if you didn’t throw up at the end of a race, you didn’t try hard enough and by God he stood by it. In every race, he would push himself to his absolute limit and promptly throw up. Yeah, it was gross, but it was quite the feat of determination. It really instilled in me something that I’ve tried to carry with me since then — the constant drive and determination to do something. I see it all around me, demonstrated in all of you — when a Saint sets their mind to something it gets done. I know that talent will be put to good use by all of you.

All right don’t worry, the next one doesn’t have anything to do with throwing up. This one is more about the religious aspect of Saint Bernard School. When I arrived here as a freshman, I was probably closer to what my priest would refer to as a “lukewarm Catholic.” I went to mass, I paid attention in religion class, and said the occasional prayer, but that was about it. I was even a little upset when I learned I would need to take MORE theology classes in high school. However, with time I truly came to grasp the importance of faith in our lives. At Saint Bernard, with the help of all of you — both the staff and my friends — I began to understand the place that God holds in our lives. Being a Saint has taught me to fully acknowledge God in my life, and I will always keep Him in mind. I like thinking that God has a reason, a plan for everyone and everything; and that mentality certain extends itself to our current situation, now more than ever.

Saint Bernard’s has taught me to push above and beyond morally. The Xaverian Values of trust, compassion, humility, simplicity and zeal are incredibly important to me, just as I know they are to everyone else here. Being a Saint allowed me to understand the importance of holding oneself to a set of values, and the benefits of doing so. Trust is what is so important to develop and flourish within the relationships we make and continue to make every day. Compassion provides the motivation and drive to act on the desire to help those around us.

From experience, I can guarantee the compassionate attitude held by everyone at Saint Bernard School. Humility reminds us not to get ahead ourselves; to slow down and calmly and patiently live our lives in a way that promotes unity. I’ve seen older students humble themselves countless times for younger students. Simplicity, like humility, frees our mind to allow us to more passionately focus on what truly matters. It always helps to calm down and look at the bigger picture. And zeal ties it all together with determined fervor to work with and properly utilize the enthusiasm we share.

We all get our spurts of excited motivation, be it winning a game, running to lunch to beat the crowd, or racing to finish an assignment with only seconds to spare. I think we’ve all been there. Really, though, I know our zeal will help us strive for all the accomplishments yet to come.

So What Does Saint Bernard’s Mean to Me? To me it is the love and passion to pursue our goals. It is the holy reminder of God in each and every one of our lives at all times. It is the esteemed values upon which our morals flourish and help us grow to be greater than we ever could have imagined. I will never forget my years at Saint Bernard School, and God knows I will dearly miss every single one of you.

Remember, though this is not the end. No, this is only the beginning and I know we will all accomplish great things. I love you all and I can’t wait to see where life leads us. I’ll never forget the lessons we’ve shared or the people I experienced them with. So thank you all so much for everything. Thank you for the honor of allowing me to speak to you all this evening. Thank you for making the past four years the best four years of my life. Thank you for the countless memories, stories, jokes, experiences, lessons, and everything else.

Always remember — Once a Saint, Always a Saint. Thank you.

(Sean Power delivered the orator speech for the St. Bernard Class of 2020.)