Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Shanahan grads encouraged to be grateful, loyal
The 310 Bishop Shanahan graduates in the Class of 2018 were encouraged Friday to live out their faith.
Shannon Cody, salutatorian, urged her classmates to live by “seeking God, knowing God and following his word.” She said her classmates felt God’s presence when the entire student body prayed silently during Mass.
Cody, of Exton, said that while the amount of time that an individual student spent studying and the grades they earned did not affect the class as whole, they understood the benefit of willingly working as a team to accomplish more. The 2018 Class has 100 percent college acceptance and received more than $36.4 million in college scholarships and grants to date.
Simon Blanchard, valedictorian, saw how people appreciated the help they received when the students fulfilled their required service hours as part of community service work.
“We truly began to appreciate how rewarding service can be,” Blanchard said. “Service changed from something I had to do, to something I was honored to do.”
Blanchard, of Coatesville, said that their time at Shanahan has drawn them closer to God and enabled them to explore their faith on a deeper level. He encouraged his classmates to remain close to God.
Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, encouraged the students to live by the virtues of gratitude and loyalty.
“If you’re a grateful person, you’re fun to be with,” Chaput said. “Try to be grateful for all the ways you have been blessed by your school, by your parents and most of all by God.”
He told them to be loyal to their school, church, their loved ones and God, who he said would be faithful to them in “amazing ways.”
Also during the commencement exercises, the Shanahan Medal was presented to The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Sister Lorraine McGrew, IHM, General Superior, accepted the medal on behalf of all the sisters who have served the Bishop Shanahan community over the last 60 years. This medal is awarded annually to a person or group of people who demonstrated service, commitment and dedication to Catholic education and deserves recognition and gratitude.