Marymount of Santa Barbara’s graduation ceremony is a tradition that school families look forward to from their earliest days at the school. It is a ceremony that showcases student leadership and confidence — skills Marymount cultivates over students’ years at the school through exposure to public speaking and the thoughtful cultivation of self-expression. It is a very personal and memorable event in the young Marymount graduates’ lives.
In addition to having their names read and receiving their diplomas, every Marymount graduate is talked about in a way that not only celebrates each student’s individual accomplishments, but also demonstrates how each is known and cared about as a member of the Marymount community.
This year, respected Middle School teacher Kate Burris was selected to speak to the graduating class. Burris immediately broke with tradition and turned the podium around to speak face-to-face with the graduates, who were seated behind her on the lawn of the middle school’s Riviera campus.
Burris’ advice for the members of Marymount’s Class of 2015 resonated not only with the graduates, but also with everyone present at the event in the audience. With her trademark humor, irreverence, frankness and passion for teaching, Burris reminded students that, “The future is yours for the making” and that to take advantage of all that the future holds, they need “to go out there with an open mind, give compliments freely, forgive, take time to examine your life, and seek adventure.”
This year’s Marymount of Santa Barbara eighth-grade students will matriculate to both independent and public schools across Santa Barbara and the country. Several students announced acceptance to both local and out-of-state independent schools. This year’s graduating class also has graduates accepted into the academies of every public high school in the Santa Barbara region.
Marymount of Santa Barbara congratulates its Class of 2015 graduates:
Gonzalo Alonso
Ben Blankenhorn
Thomas Brennan
Sydney Burns
Biba Duffy-Boscagli
Anthony DuPrau
Jake Engel
Alani Gonzalez
Mary Kathryn Harris
Mary Kate Henry
Jack Hogan
Haley Hoidal
Sydney-Klakeg
Erik Larson
Barry Lazaro
Drewes McFarling
Elena McKernan
Talia Medel
Taylor Robins
William Rottman
Cory Shields
Riley Taylor
Kyle Tro
Adrianna Vasquez
Kyle Voulgaris
Alicia Williams
Sofie Ziouani
Marymount is an independent coeducational school, junior kindergarten through eighth grade, on a picturesque 10-acre campus nestled on the Santa Barbara Riviera. For more information, please contact Molly Seguel at info@marymountsb.org.
— Molly Seguel is the admissions director for Marymount of Santa Barbara.