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News & Photos
Six Gifts to Guide You, Class of 2006
Good morning and welcome to the 2006 baccalaureate service. It is truly an honor to have the privilege of sharing some thoughts with you on this very important day in your life.
It seems like only yesterday that I was seated in the Tagart Memorial Chapel listening to my baccalaureate speaker . . . even though it was actually 16 years and one day ago (to the minute)! I had mixed emotions that day. I was excited about graduating and going to Bucknell. Excited to start a new chapter in my life academically, athletically, and socially.
Another part of me was nervous. You see I had a nightmare that my incredibly fashionable and fabulous white pumps with the cute pointy heal (all the rage in the late 1980s) got stuck in the mud on the way down the hill to Childs Memorial and I fell, causing a domino effect. Everyone in the line ahead of me went sliding down the hill and we landed, crying, in a heap of white dresses and red roses atop the bagpiper (not a pretty sight or sound). It was such a real dream that I sat there in the Chapel worried that it was a premonition.
But my most dominant emotion that day was sadness. I was sad to leave my friends who knew me better than I knew myself ... sad to leave my teachers who believed in me and taught me to believe in myself ... sad to leave the place where I grew up and felt truly comfortable.
Well, I am sure you will be relieved (or maybe disappointed) to hear that I did not fall on the way down the hill to Childs Memorial and the bagpiper escaped unharmed!
But I did cry! I cried all through graduation. I cried when I looked around at the beauty of McDonogh. I cried when I looked at my family and extended family seated in the audience. I cried when the chapel bells rang. I cried when the senior singers sang. I cried when I looked at the faces of my friends. I was a mess and looked a mess, since waterproof mascara was not invented until the mid-1990s! Even though people reassured me that “Commencement” actually meant “The Beginning,” I felt as though so much of my life was ending.
I would learn, however, in time, that McDonogh would be a part of my life forever. In October of my freshman year at Bucknell, things were going extremely well for me. I was doing well in my classes and I was the starting goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team. I had just recorded the first shut-out in school history, and the local paper put me on the front page, proclaiming, “Bridget’s a Zero.” Wow, you would think they could have come up with a better, more positive headline!
Anyway, I was on top of the world. And then, within a two-week period, I tore the ACL in my knee and my grandfather lost his battle with cancer. Now my grandpa and I were very close and I had never lost anyone before. And soccer was very important to me. It was my niche, how I made close friends, and how I coped with frustration. Losing both my grandpa and my ability to play soccer at once was devastating. I suddenly felt all alone at Bucknell. While I had some friends, no one there really knew me. No one knew how important family was to me or how much I loved playing soccer. I was very depressed and unhappy. I couldn’t help but wish I were back at McDonogh.
Then one day, a knock came at my door and there stood Kristin Blumer, a freshman at Bucknell and a McDonogh classmate of mine. We were not close friends at McDonogh, but there she stood in my doorway because another McDonogh classmate had called her to tell her I’d lost my grandpa and had reconstructive knee surgery. She was just checking on me. We began meeting weekly for lunch and reminiscing about McDonogh. My unexpected McDonogh friend helped me through a difficult time in my life.
Four years later, after I graduated from Bucknell with a B.A. in history and education, I searched for a teaching job in all of the private schools in Maryland, but there were no openings. I began substitute teaching and I was miserable. I was bounced around from alternative school to behavior disorder classroom and never even had the chance to teach history. It was so bad that when the phone rang at 6:00 a.m. (the sub assigner), I would immediately begin to cry. I felt as though I was not making a difference and began to wonder if I had made the right decision to go into teaching.
I wrote a letter to Mrs. Boyle, who had been a coach and mentor to me during high school. One week later, I received a letter in the mail from her asking me if I would come and be a long-term substitute for her at McDonogh while she went on maternity leave. Four and a half years after that graduation day, when I feared I was losing McDonogh, my McDonogh mentor found me and helped me fall in love with teaching again.
After my substitute teaching job at McDonogh ended, I went off to graduate school to get my master’s degree in history. After I graduated, I applied for teaching jobs in Maryland, including McDonogh. I also sent a resume to an all-girls boarding school in North Carolina. McDonogh didn’t have any openings because, if you haven’t noticed, NO ONE EVER LEAVES! So I decided to accept an interview at the North Carolina school.
At the interview, the Associate Head of School, Jack Hume, said "I am very impressed with your resume and would like to offer you the job." He did not mention the University of Kentucky or Bucknell. Instead he said, “I went to Gilman and I know what an outstanding school McDonogh is. Our school could benefit from trying to be more like McDonogh.”
Wow! How many Gilman alums actually admit McDonogh is great?! Once again, my McDonogh experience had followed me and opened up doors for me.
You see my McDonogh experience did not end on June 8, 1990. Instead, in my darkest most challenging moments, my McDonogh friends, teachers, and experiences have lifted me up, given me hope and opportunities.
I’ve spent time talking about the external reminders I’ve had of McDonogh continuing on long after graduation, but McDonogh has impacted me on a deeper level. Albert Camus once wrote, “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” I like to think of it as “Invincible McDonogh.” The lessons and values I learned as a student at McDonogh have helped to guide me through my life.
On our McDonogh seal there are six stars. Each star represents a virtue: labor, patience, wisdom, honor, truth, and love.
Labor: McDonogh taught me the importance of labor. I learned to work hard in classes, on the athletic field, and at rehearsals (even when I only had two lines in the school play, Gypsy, and one was “OK!” I practiced that line hundreds of times). I pulled many an all-nighter writing papers for Mr. Harley, Mr. Abbot, and Ms. Cox. And I learned that if I worked hard, I would be rewarded (with a B minus).
Patience: McDonogh taught me patience. Patience waiting in line at the dining hall, waiting for my bus in the morning, waiting with an empty stomach for the school store ladies to “Be Right Back!”, waiting for the rat bab unit to be over in Mr. Smoot’s biology class, and waiting to be a senior so I could go off-campus to the mall for lunch. The waiting was often long and painful, but, oh, it made the rewards that much sweeter! Oh, the taste of the spongy chicken patties. And oh, the smell of the yellow bus exhaust and screams of the lower schoolers. And oh, the taste of those delectable little goldfish crackers. And oh, the joy of throwing the rat away so J.P. McMillan could no longer taunt me with the pickled innards of that rat. And oh, those Boardwalk Fries dipped in vinegar and sprinkled with Old Bay at the mall. Patience is truly a virtue I learned at McDonogh!
Wisdom: McDonogh taught me wisdom. My teachers and deans taught me to think, to study, to enjoy reading, and to love learning. I treasure these lessons today. By observing great role models, like Mr. Oliver, Mr. McKibbin, Mr. and Mrs. Corcoran, Mrs. Wender, Mr. Seigman, Mr. Harley, Mrs. Millar, Dr. McGuire, Mr. Grega, Mr. Smoot, Mrs. Ottinger, Ms. Deegan, Mrs. Boyle, and countless others, I learned to value and understand what was true and lasting in life.
Honor: McDonogh taught me honor. I learned that my integrity and my honor were more important than any grade. I learned to stand up for honor and had the opportunity to help write the Honor Code. I learned through watching my teachers living their lives honorably. I learned to honor the memory of those that had gone before by standing reverently at Founder’s Day, and at the Memorial Day service. And I learned to honor people who exhibited courage, character, and compassion by watching awards given out at Headmaster’s Day and Graduation.
Truth: McDonogh taught me to value truth. I learned to be true to myself, to my family, and to my beliefs. From the Peace and Light ceremony, to Multicultural Night, to SEED, to Clubs and Organizations, to Mr. Grega’s announcements and prayers on religious holy days, McDonogh tried to encourage people to be true to themselves.
Love: And finally, most importantly, McDonogh taught me love. I learned the meaning of true friendship. Sixteen year later, my best friends are McDonogh friends. I learned the value of unconditional love by watching my parents and sister sacrifice to pay my McDonogh tuition. I learned what passion looked like in the eyes of my teachers (most of whom are still your teachers today, because no one ever leaves). I learned to love myself and be confident because I was valued in this community as a unique individual.
You see, you may think that when you walk across Childs Memorial Terrace in an hour (well, just a few minutes from now, since I spoke so long!), that you are leaving McDonogh with just a diploma. But McDonogh will always be with you, because you have within you those six gifts of labor, patience, wisdom, honor, truth, and love. They will guide you through your life.
I know I speak for the entire faculty when I say that you are a talented and intelligent group of men and women. You have been a joy to teach, advise, and coach. I wish you much success and happiness in the future, but when life challenges you (as I know it will sometimes) in your darkest winters, I hope you will find within you an “Invincible McDonogh.”
Good morning and welcome to the 2006 baccalaureate service. It is truly an honor to have the privilege of sharing some thoughts with you on this very important day in your life.
It seems like only yesterday that I was seated in the Tagart Memorial Chapel listening to my baccalaureate speaker . . . even though it was actually 16 years and one day ago (to the minute)! I had mixed emotions that day. I was excited about graduating and going to Bucknell. Excited to start a new chapter in my life academically, athletically, and socially.
Another part of me was nervous. You see I had a nightmare that my incredibly fashionable and fabulous white pumps with the cute pointy heal (all the rage in the late 1980s) got stuck in the mud on the way down the hill to Childs Memorial and I fell, causing a domino effect. Everyone in the line ahead of me went sliding down the hill and we landed, crying, in a heap of white dresses and red roses atop the bagpiper (not a pretty sight or sound). It was such a real dream that I sat there in the Chapel worried that it was a premonition.
But my most dominant emotion that day was sadness. I was sad to leave my friends who knew me better than I knew myself ... sad to leave my teachers who believed in me and taught me to believe in myself ... sad to leave the place where I grew up and felt truly comfortable.
Well, I am sure you will be relieved (or maybe disappointed) to hear that I did not fall on the way down the hill to Childs Memorial and the bagpiper escaped unharmed!
But I did cry! I cried all through graduation. I cried when I looked around at the beauty of McDonogh. I cried when I looked at my family and extended family seated in the audience. I cried when the chapel bells rang. I cried when the senior singers sang. I cried when I looked at the faces of my friends. I was a mess and looked a mess, since waterproof mascara was not invented until the mid-1990s! Even though people reassured me that “Commencement” actually meant “The Beginning,” I felt as though so much of my life was ending.
I would learn, however, in time, that McDonogh would be a part of my life forever. In October of my freshman year at Bucknell, things were going extremely well for me. I was doing well in my classes and I was the starting goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team. I had just recorded the first shut-out in school history, and the local paper put me on the front page, proclaiming, “Bridget’s a Zero.” Wow, you would think they could have come up with a better, more positive headline!
Anyway, I was on top of the world. And then, within a two-week period, I tore the ACL in my knee and my grandfather lost his battle with cancer. Now my grandpa and I were very close and I had never lost anyone before. And soccer was very important to me. It was my niche, how I made close friends, and how I coped with frustration. Losing both my grandpa and my ability to play soccer at once was devastating. I suddenly felt all alone at Bucknell. While I had some friends, no one there really knew me. No one knew how important family was to me or how much I loved playing soccer. I was very depressed and unhappy. I couldn’t help but wish I were back at McDonogh.
Then one day, a knock came at my door and there stood Kristin Blumer, a freshman at Bucknell and a McDonogh classmate of mine. We were not close friends at McDonogh, but there she stood in my doorway because another McDonogh classmate had called her to tell her I’d lost my grandpa and had reconstructive knee surgery. She was just checking on me. We began meeting weekly for lunch and reminiscing about McDonogh. My unexpected McDonogh friend helped me through a difficult time in my life.
Four years later, after I graduated from Bucknell with a B.A. in history and education, I searched for a teaching job in all of the private schools in Maryland, but there were no openings. I began substitute teaching and I was miserable. I was bounced around from alternative school to behavior disorder classroom and never even had the chance to teach history. It was so bad that when the phone rang at 6:00 a.m. (the sub assigner), I would immediately begin to cry. I felt as though I was not making a difference and began to wonder if I had made the right decision to go into teaching.
I wrote a letter to Mrs. Boyle, who had been a coach and mentor to me during high school. One week later, I received a letter in the mail from her asking me if I would come and be a long-term substitute for her at McDonogh while she went on maternity leave. Four and a half years after that graduation day, when I feared I was losing McDonogh, my McDonogh mentor found me and helped me fall in love with teaching again.
After my substitute teaching job at McDonogh ended, I went off to graduate school to get my master’s degree in history. After I graduated, I applied for teaching jobs in Maryland, including McDonogh. I also sent a resume to an all-girls boarding school in North Carolina. McDonogh didn’t have any openings because, if you haven’t noticed, NO ONE EVER LEAVES! So I decided to accept an interview at the North Carolina school.
At the interview, the Associate Head of School, Jack Hume, said "I am very impressed with your resume and would like to offer you the job." He did not mention the University of Kentucky or Bucknell. Instead he said, “I went to Gilman and I know what an outstanding school McDonogh is. Our school could benefit from trying to be more like McDonogh.”
Wow! How many Gilman alums actually admit McDonogh is great?! Once again, my McDonogh experience had followed me and opened up doors for me.
You see my McDonogh experience did not end on June 8, 1990. Instead, in my darkest most challenging moments, my McDonogh friends, teachers, and experiences have lifted me up, given me hope and opportunities.
I’ve spent time talking about the external reminders I’ve had of McDonogh continuing on long after graduation, but McDonogh has impacted me on a deeper level. Albert Camus once wrote, “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” I like to think of it as “Invincible McDonogh.” The lessons and values I learned as a student at McDonogh have helped to guide me through my life.
On our McDonogh seal there are six stars. Each star represents a virtue: labor, patience, wisdom, honor, truth, and love.
You see, you may think that when you walk across Childs Memorial Terrace in an hour (well, just a few minutes from now, since I spoke so long!), that you are leaving McDonogh with just a diploma. But McDonogh will always be with you, because you have within you those six gifts of labor, patience, wisdom, honor, truth, and love. They will guide you through your life.
I know I speak for the entire faculty when I say that you are a talented and intelligent group of men and women. You have been a joy to teach, advise, and coach. I wish you much success and happiness in the future, but when life challenges you (as I know it will sometimes) in your darkest winters, I hope you will find within you an “Invincible McDonogh.”