We’ve segued from college commencements to high-school graduations here in the, sigh, “deeee-emmmm-veeeeeeeee,” and yesterday had me observing the Bishop O’Connell High School ceremony, held at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
(If memory serves, O’Connell did have an in-person graduation last year, but I think it was on campus. Returning to its regular venue, the cavernous and impressive basilica, is another sign of normalcy coming back, one hopes.)
Takes me back to my own h.s. graduation, which as also was noted by O’Connell’s principal of his own high-school days, was “at least” 15 years ago. Yep, at least!
My graduation speaker at ol’ Herndon High was the now late but still great anchorman Jim Vance. Always nice to have a celebrity on hand, and Vance (as he was uniformly known) was more than just a celebrity or a newsman. He was an institution.
Kudos to the 302 O’Connell grads and the thousands more like them this month who are walking across stages, shaking hands and grabbing diplomas as they move on to the next phase of their lives.
START THE FUNDRAISING! Good news came out of Wakefield High School yesterday, when the foundation that provides scholarships announced that a 1961 alum and his wife had provided a $1 million match challenge. For every dollar the foundation can raise in the year that starts July 1, they will match it dollar for dollar, up to the $1 million mark.
Whether or not the million-dollar ceiling is reached (and heck, it may be), this is still a great way to raise some funds.
The total amount that is brought in will be used to endow larger-than-usual scholarships, providing students with additional, more long-term support for their educational endeavors.
Will be nice to see how it all turns out, so check back in a year from now and we’ll run the numbers.
- Scott McCaffrey