The mother of a prospective Ursuline Academy of Dallas student was short of time on campus that work morning, surely not enough to take the full tour that she wanted.
Graduation
What began as a class assignment at John Paul II High School in Plano has grown into a nonprofit supporting North Texas firefighters. Inspired by his grandparents’ loss in the Los Angeles wildfires and motivated by a desire to turn Catholic social teaching into action, Sebastian Lee, a recent graduate of John Paul II High School, developed an idea that extended far beyond the classroom. With the help of a classmate, his brother, local fire officials, and supportive teachers, the project evolved into a registered nonprofit that is now raising funds, producing behind-the-scenes content, and building relationships with fire departments across the region.
Santiago Bryce has long been moved by the economic inequality he saw while living in Latin America. He knew God was calling him to create change, and the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas graduate has already created a life of doing just that.
Michelle Boone does not describe herself as a loud leader. The recent Bishop Lynch High School graduate is more likely to organize from behind the scenes than to command attention from the front of a room.
When asked to describe Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s graduation ceremony held May 22 at Concord Church in Dallas, senior Ryder Smith mentioned the final time of engaging with classmates and teachers backstage, the sound of the applause from family and friends when the class took their seats, and the speeches given by students like valedictorian Bryce Mills and salutatorian Allison Smith.
The Catholic imagination needs to be reawakened in academic life to nurture leaders who can become “voices for the Catholic Church,” a Catholic scientist advised the nation’s bishops.
A self-proclaimed reticent, introverted transfer student from public school at the time, Saloma now finds himself a highly decorated graduate of John Paul II High School in Plano, leaving a legacy as one of the school’s unquestioned leaders and mentors.
“I’m the kind of person where you stand on the shoulders of your ancestors,” Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s Gaby Gonzalez said the morning of her graduation two weeks ago. Of the dozens of relatives who preceded her at the high school during the past 60 years, no shoulders are broader than those of her paternal grandfather.