Head of School’s Notebook: Gratitude
April 14, 2022
When Tyler ’22 and Talia Tom ’23 stepped to the microphone last week as co-masters of ceremony for the International Convocation, there was a buzz of energy and anticipation among the audience. Our students have a great many distinctive and inspiring attributes, among which is a profound and enthusiastic appreciation for the countries, communities, and traditions in which members of the Cate community grew up.
So when Suzie Diaz ’24 steps forward to sing or a dozen students take the stage to perform a series of K-Pop routines or June Bae ’22 pulls out his guitar to accompany Jonathan Yoo ’22’s vocals, Hitchcock Theatre is alive with appreciation. Contribution of this sort matters at Cate, shows us literally who we are and reveals the power of our diverse languages, customs, and cultures.
It was a rousing beginning to a week that featured an equally powerful ending. As part of our Valediction Ceremony, we celebrated the impending retirements of six Cate faculty members, each of whose service to Cate spans more than three decades, and each of whom has contributed indelibly to the community and the culture we are forever building at Cate.
The event itself, much like the Convocation that distinguished the beginning of the week, is a reminder of our good fortune that we spend our days and nights in the company of people who in the expression of their own identities contribute something remarkable to ours. Among my words at the opening of our valediction were these:
Patrick and Patricia Collins, Gary Pierce, Tano Vega, David Wood, Karl Weis: these are our teachers. They have shown us what it is to give oneself wholly to the service of a grateful community, to make a place better, kinder, and wiser.
We have chosen this day to set aside, to provide the testimonials and celebrations they so rightly deserve. It is a habit we would be wise to adopt every day. As Abraham Lincoln pointed out, words run a distant second to deeds, but that doesn’t mean we should not try to give voice to the people and the contributions we most admire.
Lincoln, after all, was a lover of words. He borrowed one in particular from Thomas Jefferson that has particular resonance today as we celebrate in totality centuries of service. It is about what an individual is impelled to do, pulled by the weight of their own generous conviction to accomplish something worthy, meaningful, life-changing.
That’s what Patrick and Patricia, Gary, Tano, David, and Karl have done: answered a call that came from within each of them, something that impelled them … to touch, improve, propel, and invigorate countless lives ever since.
Meaningful moments with people like those with whom we share this Mesa are never lost. Rather, they grow in importance as we see their reverberations in our lives. For those impacts and relationships we are both fortunate and grateful.