Commencement speech (excerpts) by Emya Ingram
Tonight, we gather in the St. E Center, the Sister Mary Ellen Arena — a place that’s more than just a gym. It’s where we’ve lived some of our best memories. In this space we’ve come together as a community and worn our jerseys and uniforms proudly representing the Vikings. Even the lobby and the classrooms within it, and the locker rooms beneath this floor, have seen our laughter and our tears, our questions and our growth. And now, we prepare to move on and leave them behind.
This gym has seen us at our most competitive, our most passionate, and our most proud, and I can’t help but think about how much this one space has helped so much to shape us into who we are. Now we stand here on these hardwoods, not just as seniors, but as soon-to-be graduates — ready to move forward, even if we’re not quite ready to say goodbye.
It’s also where we sat in the bleachers watching past seniors walk across this floor — wondering how it would feel when it was finally our turn. And finally… here we are.
Moving on is never easy. It means leaving behind what’s familiar — the hallways we once rushed through, the classrooms where we found our voices, the friends who became family. It’s saying goodbye to a version of ourselves that we’ve outgrown.
Today reminds me of a lyric by Natasha Bedingfield, it says:
“Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten.”
We don’t know exactly what’s next – and that’s OK. There’s beauty in the unknown. We carry with us the values of faith, love, and service that St. Elizabeth instilled in us. We don’t leave those at the door – we carry them into every classroom, workplace, or wherever God leads us next, because we Walk by Faith.
So to my fellow graduates: I know it’s scary to move on. But I promise you, we are not moving on alone. We move with the love and support of the St. Elizabeth community behind us. We move with the faith that was instilled in us through our high school years. And we move with hearts full of memories, lessons, and dreams.
I want to leave you with a quote from Maya Angelou:
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
As we face a world that is uncertain, let us be bold. Let us be brave. And let us never forget the light of St. Elizabeth that we carry inside of us. Let us not just move on, but move forward with courage, with kindness, and with the knowledge that the best parts of St. Elizabeth High School will always be with us — in every challenge we face, and every dream we chase. But now it’s time to turn the page. it’s only up from here.
Thank you, and congratulations to the Class of 2025.
