Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
May 29, 2002
High school valedictorians offer words of wisdom to classmates
Valedictorians urge classmates to face future armed with faith
By Lorenzo Chavez
Faith keeps Holy Family's Sarah Peterson grounded in truth
Many people stray away from challenges because they fear the unknown or failure. Holy Family Catholic School valedictorian Sarah Peterson seems to embrace each challenge head-on. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.
Just before giving her valedictorian speech at her May 24th graduation she intentionally leaped into the arms of six fellow classmates, who broke her fall. It was a symbolic gesture of faith in herself and in others. Despite these daring acrobatics, Peterson's faith keeps her grounded.
"We must believe in ourselves," Peterson told her fellow graduates. "We must have confidence in our ability to make good choices, to overcome obstacles, to learn from our mistakes, to change the world. We must follow our dreams, wherever they may lead us."
Her beliefs and values have served as a compass for years, explained her mother, Dorothy. And, according to her mother, "Sarah cried the first day of school because she said it was so wonderful to talk about her faith openly."
The honor student seeks energy from all around.
"I draw motivation from many places," Peterson said. "The people around me: my parents, my family, my friends, my classmates, my teachers, sometimes people I don't even know."
She and her family have made some sacrifices just to attend Catholic school. For the past four years every morning Peterson has made the one-hour commute from Greeley to Broomfield to attend Holy Family.
Other distant journeys have also been made. Mother and daughter and other family members have attended World Youth Day celebrations held in Denver, Manila, Paris and Rome during the past seven years.
Peterson's brother, Andy, suffers with Down's Syndrome but this learning disability condition has given the family a new perspective on life.
"I feel that there are so many people less fortunate than I who don't have the opportunities I
have, to waste one ounce of the gifts given to me would be an insult to them," she said. "Also, I don't want to disappoint anyone, and I know that I can't expect anything from others unless I give my all."
She has given her all to sports, as well as academics.
"My favorite sport is track," Peterson said. "I am best at the 400-meter run and the hurdling events. The 400 is my favorite event to run because it is long enough to really hurt but short enough to all out sprint. It is the perfect combination of speed and endurance.
"It is so definite — one lap, one minute of your life," said Peterson, who helped her team place fifth in state finals.
This fall she will head for the hallowed halls of the Ivy League as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
In her graduation speech, Peterson advised her classmates to take those values that are true and lasting into the future and to discard false ones.
"Over this summer many of us will be cleaning out our closets, deciding what to take with us to college and what to give or throw away," she said. "We do the same with our beliefs. We decide which still hold true and which can now be let go."
Machebeuf's Alicia Anderson urges classmates to face unknown with faith
Bishop Machebeuf High School's valedictorian Alicia Anderson has much of the next four or five years mapped out. Well, more or less.
In her speech to some 66 other graduating seniors May 19, Anderson told the class of 2002 to prepare themselves for an adventure.
"The life that awaits us is something that we have only just begun to imagine," she said. "Forming new relationships, learning who we really are and who we want to become, grasping new ideas and learning how to express ourselves, are just a few things that we will encounter."
Anderson is walking into that future well prepared.
She likes using both sides of her brain — progressing in both math and literature. She has spent the past two years taking mostly Advanced Placement college-level courses in math, history and literature. Her hard work has paid off handsomely. She has received a four-year Boettcher scholarship to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder School of Business and contemplates law school, depending on the opportunities that arise.
Anderson also has a passion for tennis. As co-captain of the tennis team and ranked no. 1 on her doubles tennis team, she relishes competing alone or with a teammate.
"My talent is at the net," she told the Register. And in tennis that's where much of the action can be found. In fact, it takes a great eye and speed to successfully guard the net against blistering and often unpredictable volleys.
Anderson also enjoys drama and has performed in various plays. These days, however, she prefers to observe and learn.
Although no one ever knows what lies around the corner, Anderson's list of talents and achievements seem indicative of a promising future. And she is stepping forward armed with faith.
"Our faith is what must be our insurance on this long road," Anderson said in her graduation speech. "High school has taught us well, but now we must take what we have learned and apply it."
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