MCS hosts traditional graduation during COVID-19

The Mount Carmel School graduating class attends a baccalaureate Mass at the Mount Carmel Cathedral last June 19, 2020. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Mount Carmel School has gotten the distinction of being the first school in the CNMI to host a traditional graduation ceremony amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, with strict social distancing measures in place.

According to MCS spokesperson Victoria Deleon Guerrero, MCS held a traditional commencement ceremony last Saturday but limited the event to invitation-only to abide by community guidelines.

“To ensure the MCS commencement ceremony followed the current capacity limitations, each graduate was given four tickets for invited guests. Remaining participants were limited to essential staff and security,” she said.

MCS had 46 graduating seniors and each senior was only allowed to invite four members of their families to attend the ceremony at the Mount Carmel Cathedral. The event was also livestreamed on Facebook.

MCS principal Barbara K. Merfalen led with her opening remarks, congratulating the Class of 2020 and thanking the parents and MCS teachers and staff.

As the event’s keynote speaker, MCS president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero said the Class of 2020 truly appreciates what it means to have unconditional love. “I felt it from your class officers who are trying to do the right thing with all that money you raised for your senior trip, but you never got to go on. I even felt it from all of you when, despite all the challenges of this pandemic, you found a way to express your appreciation and your love for your teachers, your school, and each other. You loved all of us, even when we didn’t love all of you, the way we should have. The adults were getting things wrong. You are getting something right,” Deleon Guerrero said.

MCS Class of 2020 valedictorian was Kalea Lou Bullan Borja, while Danielle Jaden Kekoa Yamagata-Santos gained the salutatorian title.

In her valedictory speech, Borja said the Class of 2020 couldn’t help but wonder and question why they are going through so many distressing situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which deprived them of the senior year they deserve. She is still grateful, though.

“I am grateful for the efforts the school made to continue our education despite the pandemic. Because the Class of 2020 can persevere through typhoons and a pandemic, then we will persevere beyond what many people would expect out of us in life itself,” she said.

Yamagata-Santos thanked MCS teachers and staff members for being patient with the seniors and for helping see their potential. “Ten years from now, no one would remember the students who made it to honor roll or got straight A’s. Grades do not define who you are as a person. You will be remembered as the person who had a kind heart, or the person who was there for someone when they needed it the most,” she said.

The following are the awards given out during MCS traditional graduation ceremony.

• Valedictorian – Kalea Lou Bullan Borja
• Salutatorian – Danielle Jaden Kekoa Yamagata-Santos
• 1st Honor – Jim Michael Vergara Ham
• 2nd Honor – Lleyton Andre Albuen Javier
• 3rd Honor – Emmeline Lee
• 4th Honor – Nicole Mae F. Pak, Katelyn Angeles Rabang
• 5th Honor – Jeffrey Yu Xin Chua
• 6th Honor – Riley Ann O. Buenaventura
• 7th Honor – Casey Jo Pathil
• 8th Honor – Jan Matthew Pineda Millo
• 9th Honor – Vincent John Pangelinan Reyes
• 10th Honor – Francesca Marie Avengana Bucalig

Subject awards
• English Language Arts – Kalea Lou Bullan Borja
• Science – Danielle Jaden Kekoa Yamagata-Santos
• Mathematics – Haesu (John) Yeo
• Social Science – Jim Michael Vergara Ham
• Theology – Danielle Jaden Kekoa Yamagata-Santos
• Computer Science – Casey Jo Pathil
• Foreign Language – Julia Ikeda Taguchi
• Art – Casey Jo Pathil
• Physcial Health Education – Matthew R. Richardson, Francesca Marie Avengana Bucalig
• Speech – Kalea Lou Bullan Borja
• Drama – Kalea Lou Bullan Borja