1 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address Presented on June 2, 2015 at St. Colman Church by Reverend Brian A. Cash Class of 2009 - Associate Pastor and Youth Pastor Friendship Baptist Church, Nashville Today you all have made tremendous strides toward great success. As you sit in your seats and I stand here before you today as a person who matriculated through the halls of Cleveland Central Catholic, one word comes to mind. There is one word that binds you and me closely together like a beautiful tapestry in the hands of a master weaver. That word is experience. Although we all do not share the same lives, vocational aspirations, and personal experiences, there is one experience that glues us all together. The experience that connects you and I forever is that of attending and graduating from this exceptional institution called Cleveland Central Catholic. Our Cleveland Central Catholic Experience I must say things have changed a little over the last six years since I have graduated. I walked from across the basketball gym and saw a huge stadium with bleachers, a wide track, and to top it all off, a state-of-the art football field for the football team. So yes the place that I remember six years ago is a little bit different than I remember when I was a student. However, the experience of being in the place called Cleveland Central Catholic remains the same; the memories of the first day of school trying to form new relationships and also getting adjusted to switching from classroom to classroom. The memories of going to your first homecoming dance, or winning the homecoming game, and recently for all you, going to your prom, will forever be memories that you will never forget. 2 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address Our Teachers Then the experience of being in the classrooms with teachers you loved and teachers you sometimes wished would stay at home. Nonetheless you will never forget the lessons that the teachers taught you. Even today I remember many of my teachers. I will never forget learning about Carpe Diem and interpreting Shakespeares sonnets in Ms. Sinclairs class. I remember learning about the Industrial Revolution and the FDR New Deal in Mr. Clarks U.S History class. The amazing Ms. Hynes taught an important lesson about leadership through how she interacted with students. She demonstrated that people dont care how much you know, unless they know how much you care. I will never forget reading about J ulius Caesars quest for power in Mr. Hylands class or reading a newsletter and writing a response every day in Mr. Andersons class. How can I ever forget Mr. Hollis? I had the pleasure of being his student all four years of my high school career. He may not know this but Mr. Hollis not only taught me Latin and Spanish, but he stretched me to think widely and urged me to excel for greatness. It was by Gods mercy and Mr. Hollis merciful grace that I made it out of his class every year. Students, although the names of your teachers may be different than mine, the lessons they taught you will never be lost. Our Lunchroom Not only was there the experience of teachers but many of you can relate with experiences of those unforgettable places such as the lunchroom. When I was a student, every day surprisingly the lunchroom transformed from a cafeteria space to an epicenter for fun, laughter, and comic view. The lunchroom was the place people could relax from long hours in the classroom and find relief in the comfort of enjoying the presence of friends. In the lunchroom it all went down. Students turned from high school matriculating young men and women to rappers, comedians, dancers, and unfortunately some thought they were Floyd Mayweather transforming into fighters. The lunchroom was the place to be. Our High School Sports Experience I would be remise if I forget to talk about the experience of playing sports at CCC. It seemed as though the majority of students who attended CCC played some kind of sport, at least one year of their high school career. I wasnt good enough to play baseball or athletic enough to play basketball, so the football family accepted me on their team. Now I see Head Coach Lundy in the audience. When I played football we didnt have the massive field to practice on but we had to travel around the corner to practice on a field far away from public eye. Going to practice for us was like going to play an away game. Nonetheless, whenever we lost a game, Coach Lundy would have the entire team assembled at the bottom of a long hill and we had to run the same amount of hills as the number of points we lost by in the previous game. Playing football for Cleveland Central Catholic was a life changing experience. Those of you who have had the privilege of3 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address playing sports can witness to the fact that the bond you build with your teammates will never be broken. The hours of traveling to games, conditioning in practice, staying up late to finish homework after practice are all experiences that have helped to shape the graduates you are today. Overall, there is something special to be said about all of yourexperiences at CCC. These experiences will be the catalyst that catapults you to your destiny. As we transitioned from the unforgettable experiences at CCC, the question of where do I go from here penetrates all of your brains. I know all of this year and as the year ended this question popped in your mind. I know many of you have already been accepted to colleges with healthy scholarships, some of you will not attend college immediately only to go later, and some of you will probably not attend a university but gain a trade and become very successful in life. However, we must take the time to analyze, where do we go from here? The next step of your life is very important because you are moving from the sweet comforts of your parents care to the unfamiliar territory of the worlds bosom. Essentially, this will be one of the most important decisions of your life because the choices you make now will determine the person you will become in the next 20 years. So as we discuss the question where do we go from here, we must examine the more relevant question; how do we get there? We Learn from the Past As we ponder over these questions and begin to answer the question of how do we get there (wherever there may be for you), it starts with mastering the ability to learn from the past. However, one cannot learn from the past if one doesnt have the slightest idea about the past. There is an African symbol called the Sankofa bird, which represents the concept of looking in the past to discover answers for the future. If you have ever seen the image of this bird you would see that birds body always faces in the forward direction while the head looks towards the past. The Sankofa translates as reach back and get it. In other words the ultimate meaning of this bird is to remind us of the significance of learning from our past history whether the past be good or bad. As graduates of CCC, you should be reminded of your past history. Marcus Garvey once stated, A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. The sad reality is that students are graduating every year without the slightest idea of their history. One of the false tales that hangs over the heads of students who attend Catholic Schools such as CCC is that we are kids from the rich neighborhoods and we have a lot of money. However, that is not reality for most students at CCC. The symbol Ironmen is most befitting to our school because many of the parents of the students who attend Cleveland Central Catholic struggle physically, emotionally, and financially so that their child can receive a better education. The parents of CCC are the real Iron men and women because they have made major sacrifices so that their children can gain an education that will provide them easier passageways in the world ahead. Many of the parents at CCC are represented by single parent mothers and fathers who saw potential in their children before their child saw potential in themselves. I know this to be true because my mother was an Ironwoman who struggled to make sure two of her boys made it through high school. She suffered from kidney failure but placed her own sickness aside to help two boys with their4 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address homework on a nightly basis. She made sure we had our uniforms ready, she came to games in the cold, she drove us to school every morning, and she made tremendous sacrifices so that her boys could be where they are today. I didnt realize all she did until I graduated and went off to college. It was a result of the struggle of the past that now allows me to stand in front of you today. Students, never take for granted the people inyour past because it is as a result of those people that you sit in these seats today. It is your past, which are filled with people who want to see you blossom like a rose in the spring. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others who prayed for you while you were acting up in school. The Story About the Young Man from an Ivy League School There is a story about a young man who graduated from an Ivy League institution, had a great paying job, nice family, and living in the suburbs. His mother got sick and had to move in with them but the wife and children did not like the grandmother. The wife told her husband to put his mom in a nursing home. The man came to the mother and said, Mother, we are going to have to put you in a nursing home because its not working out with you at the house. The mother said, After all I did for you, you are going to put me in a nursing home. The son said, What do you mean after all you did for me? I got everything I have on my own. When I was 11 years old I went to Mr. Michaels candy store and got me a job. When I was a senior in high school I filled my own application out for college and got accepted with a full scholarship to Yale University. I graduated on my own and everything I have now is because of me. The mother with tears in her eyes said, Son you remember when you got that job at the corner store? I knew that storeowner, and you went down to talk to him on a Tuesday; but right after church I went to him on Sunday afternoon and begged him to give you that job. You remember going to college for an interview to get in college? You went on a Thursday but I traveled all the way to that school and sat in the deans office on that Tuesday morning. I told that man your story. I told him how I was single parent mother raising a family and I wanted you to go to college. All that you have now is because the sacrifices I have made. The young man who was once looking at his mom with arrogance began humbling himself. All Im trying to tell you is remember the people in your past who helped you to become the people you are today. Learning from your Struggles While you remember your past, never forget your own struggle in the past. For some of you, the road to graduation has been a difficult road. Many of you have not always been the brightest kid in the room and you have had to work hard. Some of you like me were counted and judged by the content of your character and by the color of your skin. Remember the struggle of staying up all night to write papers and read books? Remember the struggle of the first day of school trying to fit in and not stick out? On this day remember the struggle of attempting to balance sports and school life at the same time. Many of you had struggles outside of school that bled into the struggle of school, causing you to have struggles on every side. Some of you were parents to your siblings, cooking, babysitting, and looking after younger siblings can be taxing. However, you 5 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address did it and graduated at the same time. So remember that struggle because it is that struggle that has created the person we witness today. The Law of Compliancy or Complacency Before I leave, I want to drop one more lesson that will help you get to the place that you desire to go in life; that is what I call defying the law of compliancy or complacency. One of the greatest attributes of humankind is that we have an amazing ability of starting well. We begin projects well, assignment well, jobs well and other endeavors with great ambition to do well but the issue is finishing well. Think about the countless things youve started but never finished. Many of you know people with closets and garages full of unfinished projects. Think about the countless New Years resolution diets you started but never finished. The reason why we do not finish well is because we sometimes become complacent with minimal success. Now, graduates, do not misunderstand me, this achievement of graduating today is a major stepping-stone to a life of great success. Many have started this journey with you but not all have finished this journey with you. However, do not become complacent with this success. The diploma you will receive today is only a small step to experiencing the destiny awaiting you. The story is told of the leaping frog. One day a frog decided to leap and in and out of boiling water for his own personal entertainment. The frog said since I am so fast I can leap in and out of the water without any consequence. So the frog leaped in the water and out of the water. The frog proceeded to leap in the water and then out of the water. After multiple times of leaping in and out of the water, the frogs body became adjusted to the temperature of the water. The frog became so comfortable with the water that he decided to stay in the water. Although his body was adjusted to the temperature of the water, the water was still boiling hot. Consequently, the frog boiled to death because he had become complacent and comfortable. Graduates do not become complacent, because complacency kills. Do not settle for anything in life, because the world is at your fingertips. Graduates reach for the stars and if you happen to miss, land on the clouds. Living life in your comfort zones will only stunt your growth and eliminate you from excelling to your destiny. People who live in their comfort zones never experience the totality of life because they have not taken the risk to get there. The Bible calls us to press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ J esus. Pressing requires taking the risk to move from our comfort zones and step out on faith to see what life has to offer. I remember leaving Cleveland after graduating from CCC; I did not know where I was going. I arrived in Nashville, Tennessee to a small liberal arts college called American Baptist College. It was so small that the people in Nashville who lived there over 30 years had never heard about the college. We had three buildings on the entire campus. The campus looked barren and forsaken. I was 700 miles away from home and I had never been away from home more than two weeks at a time. However, I stayed there, struggling to figure out my place in the world. I graduated from that small college Valedictorian of my class, received a scholarship to Vanderbilt University to gain a Masters degree and will be graduating in May all because I defied the law of complacency 6 | P a g e 2015 Cleveland Central Catholic High School Commencement Address . Get on your Way Today you have to make the step outside of your comfort zone and make history happen for you. Along with the support of your family, the power of God, and your potential, you can reach heights you have never dreamed about. As the famous author Dr. Seuss oncestated, Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so... get on your way!