Castilleja Celebrates the Graduation of the Class of 2024, the “Eclipse Class”

2024届毕业生

Caps flew high in the air as 61 graduating seniors received their high school diplomas on June 1, 2024年在正规网赌软件大全标志性的圆圈上.

Carrying bouquets of red roses, the graduating class was all smiles. This was no ordinary graduation: the Class of 2024 has long waited for this celebration, having missed their 8th Grade Promotion ceremony due to the COVID lockdowns. 

“It has truly been a privilege and a pleasure to partner with you in leading Castilleja this year,学校代理校长Kathy Layendecker说, 对学生讲话, 家庭, and faculty and staff gathered in the audience on a sunny Saturday afternoon. 

Ms. Layendecker called the graduating seniors an “Eclipse Class,” noting that the start of their 6th grade and the end of their senior year were punctuated by a solar eclipse. “Everyone here has watched you wait so long for this celebration, passing through more than just a couple of episodes of lightness and darkness, and we have come to realize that you are both unique and remarkable and you are also a bit magical,” Ms. Layendecker说. “There is something about you…something bigger than the sum of your parts. 它是星星上的东西. Thank you, Class of 2024, for sharing your magic with us. ”

埃格尔斯顿·布雷西, the Chief Growth and Marketing Officer for Unilever and one of Forbes Top 50 Entrepreneurial CMOs in 2024, addressed the graduates as the Commencement Speaker. 

毕业典礼演讲嘉宾埃格尔斯顿·布雷西: Chief Growth and Marketing Officer for Unilever, addresses the graduating class

Eggleston Bracey shared the principles that helped her succeed and lead, especially as she oversees marketing in over 190 countries around the world. She also talked about the importance of authenticity and of embracing her natural hair texture as she rose to the C-Suite level in corporate America. 

“I realized by changing myself to fit someone else's idea of the norm, I was perpetuating the very barriers that made it harder for others like me to belong. 所以我说, 够了,够了, 我重新拥抱了真实自我的每一部分, 先让我的头发恢复正常,”她说。. “I had a whole new pep in my step, a quiet self-assurance unlike anything I've felt before.”

She spoke about her pioneering work to champion beauty inclusivity for more than 20 years. Eggleston Bracey is an architect of Dove’s CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition to help eradicate hair discrimination through the CROWN Act legislation, which has made race-based hair discrimination illegal in 23 states and 50 municipalities. She has diversified the COVERGIRL brand through partnerships with Queen Latifah, 詹妮尔Monae, 粉红色的, 还有艾伦·德杰尼勒斯. 

“每个人都可以有所作为. 你只需要选择它,埃格尔斯顿·布雷西说, urging the new graduates to make an impact by fueling their energy through their passions, 她称之为“激情的力量”.”“当你飞入下一章的时候, my biggest wish for you is to use the privilege of this beautiful education to author profoundly fulfilling lives of authentic expression, 快乐, 积极的影响,她补充道。.

埃格尔斯顿·布雷西 shared three key mantras with the Class of 2024. “你. 这是你的超能力. 没有人能比你做得更好. Number two: stretch and flex by saying ‘yes’ when you're scared and ‘no’ when you're clear. 管理好你的精力,而不仅仅是时间. And third, choose big problems to make a big difference.” 

也是在毕业典礼上, Senior Class President Reece Sharp recited a poem “Human Family” by Maya Angelou, which concluded with a message of unity to the resounding applause of the audience: “But we are more alike, 我的朋友们, 那热门网赌软件大全就不一样了.”

萨曼莎所罗门, 今年卡斯提列亚奖的获得者, 在讲台上对她的同学讲话, reflecting on some of the brightest moments during her time at Castilleja. 作为一个非常害羞的人, 非常安静的孩子, I was inspired by the ways that my superheroes faced their fears, 为正义挺身而出, 接受了世界上最大的挑战,所罗门说。. “尽管我对超自然现象很感兴趣, 我没有冒险, 找到了自信, and grown to be the person I am today because of fictional people with costumes and capes. 因为你的影响,我成为了现在的我, 因为热门网赌软件大全留下的回忆, the days you’ve inspired me with your unique strengths, and the ways you’ve made me feel loved and supported. 2024届的同学们,你们是我的超级英雄.”