To conclude the 2021-2022 school year, Mount Carmel School held its annual commencement ceremonies this past week.

All the ceremonies were held at the Mount Carmel Cathedral and after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, many family members and friends of the school’s graduates were able to attend this year’s commencement ceremonies. For those unable to attend in-person, the graduation ceremonies were also streamed live online through the Mount Carmel School Facebook page.

This year, Mount Carmel School conferred diplomas for 36 kindergarten students, 55 eighth-grade students, and 52 graduating seniors.

Among the eighth-grade graduates, Valerie Anne Rivera Estella earned the salutatorian award with William Matthew B. Cano earning the title as the eighth-grade class valedictorian.

Among high school graduates from the class of 2022, Richard Jesus Mafnas Villagomez earned the salutatorian award and Aleia Carlinne Hofschneider Santos earned the title as the school’s valedictorian.

During her welcoming remarks, MCS principal and acting president Ms. Frances Taimanao congratulated all the students and commended them for their level of impact they’ve made during a challenging school year of school closures, transitions between face-to-face and remote learning, COVID-19 tests and restrictions, all the while promoting school spirit and excellence.

“You are a creative group of young people who have shown good character and leadership for the students in this school. You have shown leadership in your own unique ways. You have involved yourself in the school’s leadership meetings, the planning of the school’s strategic master plan, community services, sports, charity, island wide competitions, and much more,” shared Mrs. Taimanao.

Towards the end of her remarks, Ms. Taimanao also expressed thanks for the parents of the graduates stating, “To the dedicated parents of these graduates. Congratulations and a job well done.  Thank you for all the sacrifices you made just to send your child to Mount Carmel. For this, we are forever grateful. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Leadership team, Faculty & Staff, thank you for all your support and for believing in Catholic education.”

Mount Carmel School’s keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony and former school president, Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero gave a heartfelt speech that left many of the attending audience emotional. Leading with the theme about the value of time and how more often than not, people tend to dedicate time to trivial situations that often do not matter.

“It’s funny how, more than our own family and friends, we seem to pay more attention to complete strangers whose lives have absolutely no consequence to us—trolls, haters, celebrities, social influencers, or fictional characters on TV shows like Bridgerton. But, imagine also if you knew that a dear family member or a close friend were to die one year from now, one month from now, or one week from now. What would you do with that time? Would you make an effort to visit your grandparents of your own accord? Would you reach out to those who have hurt you, or those you have hurt, to make amends? Would you join the gang at the beach, return someone’s call, or simply respond to a message, instead of leaving it unread?”

Dr. G’s speech left the graduates with three primary lessons. First, make the most of their time. Second, make the most of other people’s time. Lastly, make the most of moments of time. Bringing his speech back to the same question he asked at the beginning, “If you knew you only had 30 seconds left, what would you do? So right here, right now, let’s take 30 seconds to carpe diem and savor this very moment. When I start the timer, look at your family, look at your teachers, look at your friends. Feel free to cry. Feel free to laugh. Feel free to cheer. But, whatever you do, make the most of these 30 seconds.”

During each event, the following awards were presented for the eighth and twelfth-grade graduates: