ALEX MATSUOKA

St. Francis High School

... Just a few short months ago, we could not have dreamed of COVID-19 and the dramatic impact it would have on life as we know it. We lost spring sports, school trips, a traditional grad and, of course, senior prank day. In perspective, these losses are trivial in comparison to the devastating realities of this global pandemic, but for our small group of graduates, it is hard to deal with ...

I know life is not easy and neither are some of the lessons we took on over our high school years, such as getting cut from a sports team, failing an exam or getting in a fight with a friend. All of these are lessons that will ultimately help us in life ...

As we continue through the next few weeks and even months, we can take these words and live our lives through them. Since the beginning, our class has had faith in ourselves to overcome this hurdle. We’ve shown hope through various activities and ways to keep ourselves engaged leading up to grad. And we have found the light at the end of the tunnel.

Although it may be tough to see sometimes, we know there is something to look forward to. Even though our grad experience will be very different from what we had envisioned or hoped for, we have the opportunity to make this grad ours and build on the legacy our class is already leaving behind. Although it is sad to think we are ending this time in our lives, we can ... find comfort in our memories and the fact that the next set of students to squish through the halls will know all about the class of 2020. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”

Alex Matsuoka is the 2020 valedictorian for St. Francis High School. To read this speech in its entirety, please go to calgaryherald.com/grad2020.