Good evening! It is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you to the 2020 Stonington High School Commencement Ceremony. I extend my warmest congratulations to our graduates and acknowledge the support from family and friends that has helped them along the way.

Class of 2020, I am deeply honored to be your commencement speaker. Together, we have experienced a year unlike any other. When we began our school year this past September, we looked forward to a new season, a time of year marked by autumn festivals and the brilliant beauty of New England.

A few weeks into our school year, however, life in Stonington was altered by the threat of the unforeseen EEE virus. Our routines changed drastically at sundown, when outdoor activities were canceled, and we were forced to seek shelter inside. We thought the threat of illness had passed when the first frost greeted us in November, but by winter’s end, a new, more menacing virus had transformed our lives.

As the spring season approached, prom promises were put on hold, awards ceremonies canceled, sports seasons erased, and you, our beloved senior class, were robbed of that precious time together as you close this chapter of your lives.

You have experienced a senior year like no other senior year in the history of Stonington High School, and as I sat down to compose this speech, I wondered how to put this enormity into perspective. How can I offer you hope and positivity in this most challenging of times?

As I often tell my students, when I am feeling lost and overwhelmed, I turn to my favorite books and to my favorite music for inspiration. Never do they steer me wrong. When seeking comfort over the past few months, I have often turned to a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings. Just like each of you, the protagonist in this story encounters great adversity. Also feeling lost and overwhelmed, he tells his mentor, the wise wizard Gandolf, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” Much older and nurtured by experience, Gandolf prophetically explains to Frodo, “So do I. And so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The coronavirus pandemic has magnified the reality that there is much about life that is out of our control. As we watch illness wreak havoc in our community and normalcy crumble all around us, it is easy to feel helpless and victim to the whims of fate; however, in these most trying of times lies Tolkien’s timeless lesson: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” All we can do is embrace those elements within our control and use our power to shape the trajectory of our path. To bend the arc of fate toward victory. The only thing we can do, is simply do our best.

At the beginning of every school year, I pose a request to my students. I ask them to strive to make every space they enter better for them having been there.

I am now posing this request to each of you. Wherever your life takes you from this moment, make every space you enter better for you having been there. Whether this space is a classroom, your workplace, your home, your community, work to make every space brighter, even the smallest, most ordinary of spaces. In the darkest of times, be that lone sliver of light radiating through the night, inspiring others to shine with you.

As you set forth from Stonington High School, your path may be unclear, but I hope you will use the gifts inside you -- your talent and intelligence, your humor and compassion -- to make our world better. Take those talents, the gifts that you can control, and set them to good use. Whether it be solving complex riddles to cure diseases, creating vibrant art that evokes joy, or composing words that inspire wisdom; whether it be healing the sick and the weary, defending the rights of those less fortunate, educating the minds of future generations, or raising your own children, one day, to be bright minds full of hope - bright minds that strive to make their future spaces brighter as well.

As you navigate the moments of your life, remember the lessons taught to you by the heroes of these times: the generous volunteers delivering groceries to those in need, the courageous essential workers and first responders supporting their communities, the heroic healthcare workers and caregivers risking their own lives to heal the sick. You have been taught by the greatest teachers of all time.

As writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wisely stated, “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” Through all of the darkness these past few months, through the sadness and disappointment, we have begun to see the stars in our midst. Here, in our Stonington, Mystic, and Pawcatuck community, we have witnessed unprecedented generosity, compassion, and heroism. It began with our community coming together to foster solidarity through the ringing of bells night after night, together tolling sounds of hope from our doorsteps every evening.

It continued with benevolent mask makers sewing stitch after stitch with love. Together, our entire SHS crew team collectively rowed 1.3 million meters to raise over $7000 for the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center. Our honor societies raised over $2500 to feed the world. Over sixty members of our high school’s faculty and staff decorated the front yard of every senior student with a heartfelt sign reminding you that “SHS loves our seniors.”

As students and community members, you have placed hearts of appreciation on mailboxes, etched them on sidewalks, hung them in windows, and my favorite, you even mounted a heart-emblazoned flag on the tallest mast of the Charles W. Morgan, the mightiest ship on the Mystic River.

We are indeed a town that cares. We are a community that loves. And if anything else, this pandemic has sifted the meaning of our experiences down to the most essential elements. The elements of love, compassion, and friendship. As you were homebound, you longed to spend time with your friends and classmates.

As illness swept through our community, you clung to your families and loved ones more closely. The secret to a life well lived is to not forget the lessons that these hardships have taught you.

As you carve a life for yourself, hold your loved ones close. Nurture these relationships and don’t take them for granted. When the world stops and we feel helpless, it is the love and support of our neighbors that will see us through. I often tell my students that a good teacher can make the ordinary seem extraordinary, and the extraordinary seem ordinary.

A good teacher can reveal the brilliance in the most seemingly mundane topics, and make the most complex topics miraculously easy to understand. But, what I have also learned is that extraordinary students make a lifelong impact on their teachers. For anyone out there who may think you are an ordinary class of seniors, I would like to take a moment to highlight your extraordinary qualities. Starting with the fact that so many of you say “thank you” at the end of every class. I am not sure where you learned this gesture, but it has melted my heart with joy every time one of you has said these words. So, thank you.

To my beloved homebase, you have brightened every day of mine for these past four years. All of our seemingly ordinary days spent together have given me extraordinary joy. To our honor societies, Student Government, and Interact members, I applaud your leadership, excellence, and service to our local and global communities. You have certainly improved our world.

To our distinguished scholars, those of you inspired by the wonders of mathematics and literature, the mysteries of history and science, I hope you never lose your passion for learning. May you inspire others to appreciate the power of knowledge throughout your lifetime.

To our sports teams and scholar-athletes, thank you for inspiring us with your dedication and discipline. Being present at our soccer team’s state championship victory this past fall will forever remain one of my favorite memories. Seeing our team rush the field as the opposing team’s final shot missed by just a few inches was simply amazing.

To our music, art, and drama students, thank you for gracing us with your talent and creativity. You enrich our lives with color and melody, with form and beauty. My favorite memory of this entire school year was the drama department’s incredible production of Mary Poppins. You gave our community magic when magic was most needed.

These are just a few examples of your accomplishments, but I wanted to take a moment to remind all of you that the Class of 2020 has made its mark on Stonington High School.

Some stars shine more brightly in the night sky, as do you, the Stonington High School Class of 2020. Your class may have experienced a senior year unlike any other senior year, but that does not take away from that fact that you are, and will forever remain, one of Stonington High School’s most outstanding classes. You are a class that leaves Stonington High School with greater wisdom than any class I have ever known.

Please take this wisdom and make all the spaces you inhabit better. Take the lessons you have learned here at SHS and give them to the world. Make the best of these times - the time that has been given to you. All those dreams you had for yourself, all those desires that burned within you as you were quarantined in your homes, use that fire for inspiration.

You have seen darkness, but because of this, you more fully appreciate light. You know the endurance of kindness, the benefits of generosity; you know the power of hope.

To the Class of 2020 - May each one of you grace the world with your talents, may each one of you make all the spaces you inhabit better and brighter, and may each and every one of you live a beautiful life. Congratulations to the Stonington High School Class of 2020! Go forth and make an impact unlike any other! We believe in you! … Thank you!

Stonington High School Class of 2020 Commencement Speech By Sandra LaCombe