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Here are the baccalaureate service remarks of Andy Motsko, Head of Upper School Science. He began by saying to seniors, "I will attempt today to engage you less in matters of the mind and more about matters of the heart; appeal less to your intellect and more to your soul."

Just for a moment Class of '09—I would like you to go back in time to your first memory of McDonogh. Where were you? Who was there? What did it feel like? Was it the warm smile of Mrs. Seal and handshake from Mr. Dixon that greeted you as you stepped off of Bus #7? Was it playing dodge ball in Mr. Mac’s PE class with a host student? Was it entering Mrs. Preston’s fourth grade class and being warmly welcomed by a classmate you didn’t even know? Was it sitting in Mr. Janiga’s history class as a ninth grader, brand new to McDonogh?

Whatever your age and wherever you were, I imagine that you were flush with all kinds of emotions—excitement, trepidation, elation, apprehension, wonder. In your journey to this new and different place, you left behind a comfortable world, one well known and familiar to you. The adults and students you encountered in those first moments at McDonogh were welcoming, warm, empathetic and caring.

Now, I would like to take another moment—a bit further back in time—to the moment you came into this world. Psychologists tell us that you cannot possibly remember that event, but I imagine if you could, you were flush with feelings of excitement, trepidation, elation, apprehension and wonder. Just like your first days at McDonogh, your birth had you leaving a very comfortable world, well known and familiar, to come to this strange and very different place. And just like your first days at McDonogh, the adults who surrounded you were caring, welcoming, empathetic and warm.

I know it is a stretch to compare the miracle of a birth to your first days at McDonogh, but bear with me. On your true “birth day” you were born into a family filled with people who took care of you through thick and thin, through successes and failures, through good times and bad. On your McDonogh “birth day,” you were born into a very different, yet very important, new family also filled with people whose passion it is to take care of you, to nurture you, through thick and thin, through good times and bad. In both cases you were introduced into a HOME. A home—a place of warmth, a place of growth, a place of strength, a place of joy, a place of love. McDonogh will never replace your familial home, nor should it, but I submit to you that as a member of the McDonogh family and soon to be alum, you now have two homes.

But what is it to call a place a home? How do we define it? What is it about McDonogh that makes it home? Although the answers to these questions may be quite personal, there are universal themes about home that I would like to explore with you.

A home is a place to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. It is a place that inspires us to do our best, to be honest, to go beyond ones self and contribute to the family and the larger community. If you think of where you were when you started at McDonogh, be it kindergarten, Upper School or anywhere in between, and look at where you are now, McDonogh has indeed been a place of tremendous growth for you. McDonogh has been a home.

In a home there is a sense of mutual respect and acceptance. Certainly this is one of the great strengths of McDonogh. We value and respect each other, regardless of race, gender, religion, wealth or sexual orientation. Black, white, Asian, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, gay, straight, jock, nerd--all are accepted, all are valued, all are celebrated in the McDonogh home.

Rituals, ceremonies and traditions are all part of a culture that defines home. From the serious and meaningful to the playful and frivolous, rituals help define McDonogh. Founder's Day, the Junior Pin Ceremony, Spirit Week, the Holiday Assembly, Peace and Light, Multicultural Night, Headmaster's Day, Memorial Day, Cardboard Boat Race, Graduation—no one does ceremony and celebration like McDonogh.

A home is filled with joy. Joy. Front and center in our mission statement. More then just a statement, it is a way of life at McDonogh. From the lower school swings, to the Middle School stage to the Upper School advisory periods to the campus parent groups, there is a joy that pervades this campus. We work hard at McDonogh but we never forget that life is fun. As I walk the halls of Allan or Keelty, I am often struck not only by the sense of purpose, but the sense of joy I see in the classrooms. Joy in our work and in our play—a hallmark of McDonogh.

Most importantly, a home is filled with love. More then anything else I feel this is what defines a home and also defines McDonogh. Your teachers love you. I love you, all of you, and I am not ashamed or embarrassed to say it any more then I would be to say it to my own children. And the love is a two way street. The faculty can feel how much you care and indeed it is one of the primary reasons we look forward to coming to work each day.

Lastly, it is clear each and every day and in so many ways that you love each other. Faculty that have come here from other schools have often remarked that what sets McDonogh apart from other great schools is how much you care for one another, how you take care of each other—yes, love one another. McDonogh is a place filled with love. McDonogh is a home.

Understand that this sense of home was not part of my high school experience at all. My school had 700 students in a class and although it was a relatively new and well- appointed school, it was simply a place to go to classes, leave and go home. Oh, there were some football and lacrosse games, some plays and even a sense of school spirit, but the idea of a home never entered my mind. It has been decades since I graduated. The school is less than ten minutes from here and I have not set foot in it since the day I left.

In contrast, thousands of alumni return to this campus, return home, every year. I have always been amazed by the number of graduates from decades ago, many who come from far away places, who return for games, plays, concerts, and alumni events, and, in the ultimate sense of home, send their children here. McDonogh was a home to these alumni when they were sitting where you are today and it remains so years later.

Although I did not attend McDonogh, as soon as I arrived on campus, not much older then you, I felt I was home. It didn’t take me long to know that this was a place that I wanted to stay. I could sense the joy, the community, the tradition, the love. For me lines between McDonogh and home have always been blurred. So much so that I have lived on campus for most of my adult life and my wife and I have chosen to raise our children in this magical place.

In just a few minutes you are going to walk across Childs Memorial and receive your diploma and alumni card. You will be traveling to places near and far--Boston, College Park, Happy Valley, South Bend, and Montreal. You will move on to graduate school, into the workforce, perhaps even marry and have children. You will eventually make your own home with your own family. But no matter where you are in life, McDonogh will always be a home to you. A home where you have set down roots and a home that has given you wings. A home filled with joy. A home filled with tradition. A home filled with people who accept you, care for you and love you.

Class of 2009, I wish all the best to you as you go forward. Godspeed and remember that whenever you wish, please return. You are always ... welcome home.