May 24, 2008, was the date of the commencement ceremonies for Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco.  Two hundred and sixty-five young men and woman received their diplomas. Valedictorian Máiréad Johnson gave the following remarks:

Welcome and good morning, administration, faculty, family, friends, members of the Board of Regents, honored guests, and fellow graduates.
            I had a bit of trouble writing this speech. I considered the traditional approach, in which I would reminisce about my first day of school.  I am sure you all remember it vividly – new school, no friends, and what seemed like an army of teachers.  I was under the mistaken impression that we had free dress that day.  I carefully picked out a fabulous "first day of high school" outfit.  But when we got about four blocks away from my house I panicked, bolted home, and changed into khakis and a yellow polo.  I never wore that polo again.  And I learned to read the school's written information.
             But I decided to take another route.  For if I have learned anything in my four years at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, it is how to go beyond the beaten path.  How to reason beyond the expected.  How to imagine infinitely, in the words of St. Vincent de Paul. 
             I thought: Look, you get about five minutes to say something important.  What do you want to say?  What is worth saying? 
And then I imagined myself here – today -- saying this:  We are privileged individuals.  We have had wonderful educations in a supportive environment.  We have an obligation to make the world, at least our part of it, a better place for others and ourselves.
             Consider for a moment what a valedictory speech would be like for a girl living in rural Haiti.  She might talk about the chances of surviving malnutrition and dysentery, just to make it to the age of eighteen. Imagine, too, what a valedictory speech would be like for a boy living in Darfur.  He might talk about hiding from militias, losing all his family, and stopping school for long years. Imagine a valedictory speech in New Orleans. The valedictorian might reflect upon losing his home and all his possessions and the difficulties of living in a FEMA trailer on an abandoned street, with no rec centers, no libraries, and no dentist! 
             But, you might reasonably ask, what do the girl in Haiti and the boy in Darfur have in common with you?  And, why are they part of this speech?
             The world is becoming a smaller and perhaps a more perilous place.  During the time that we have been at SHCP, we have been at war in Iraq constantly, and the first female president of Pakistan, Benazhir Bhutto, was murdered. There's war, there's unrest.  And there's poverty.  You and I, classmates, are going to do something about it – because we have to and because we can.
            We've got the tools to make a difference.  We have the privilege of knowing, of having learned, that there is no point in pitying the other valedictorians we imagined.  Through SHCP's academic curriculum and incredible service learning program, we have learned that pity is pointless.  What matters is to understand the causes of injustice and to stand in solidarity with those who suffer.  That is the great difference between learning the facts of poverty, of despair, of need, and learning how to alleviate those conditions. 
               SHCP has instilled in us a sense of responsibility. We didn't even have to leave San Francisco to create change.  As sophomores, we volunteered at St. Anthony's.  Every Lent, we contributed to Change for Our World. We have learned what we need to change the world.  We've been taught how to write.  To analyze logarithms.  To calculate the energy of an object.  We know the difference between democracy and totalitarianism.
             We're polyglots – we speak French, Mandarin, and American Sign Language.  Despite what our parents may think, most of us, like, speak English.
             Now, does this mean that we're all going to hop a freighter to Africa tomorrow and save the world’s poor?  Hardly so.
             Our job is to remain aware and to take the actions that we can to change the world.  We have the power to buy a Street Sheet rather than walking away briskly.  We can choose to buy free trade clothes rather than those that have been made in sweatshops. We can exercise our right to vote, despite the complicated issues. We can ride a bike, rather than drive and pollute.
             You might reasonably ask, why are these things important?  How does volunteering really make the world better?  I can only repeat here, what I've learned about Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was martyred for trying to change his world. He said, “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.”
            Our generation can reasonably expect to travel to Hong Kong, to work in Addis Ababa, or to email Paris. We don't choose global citizenry, but we choose how to act as global citizens.
             So friends, don't worry about changing the world, worry about doing your part. I know what I'm saying is idealistic and daunting for high school students –but we can do this.  Yes, we can.
             This is what our Founders believed.  St. John Baptist de La Salle, St. Louise de Marillac, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and St. Vincent de Paul all knew that ideas don't matter a whit unless they are animated -- unless they have a heartbeat. The real people behind those four tinted images in our classrooms struggled with this tension – how to make lofty, revolutionary ideas tangible on the streets, whether eighteenth century France, nineteenth century America, or twenty first century Iraq.
             We learn in order to act.  Hearts beat the same in Haiti, in Darfur, in the Philippines, in Ireland and here at Sacred Heart Cathedral.  Our humanity, our common heartbeat, makes us one.  As we depart from Sacred Heart Cathedral for universities and colleges around the country, around the globe, I know you will do your part as I will do mine. 
             Congratulations to the can-do Class of 2008!

The Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory community
salutes its graduates.
Above are:
(back row) John F. Scudder, Jr. '73 (president), Nora Walsh-DeVries '08 (Laboure Award), Joey Wright '08 (Robert West Loyalty and Service Award, Andrew White '08 (Caritas Award, Salutatorian, Leadership Award), Ken Hogarty '66 (principal); (front row) Mairead Johnson '08 (Valedictorian), Clare German '08 (Matthew Englander Award), Cecilia Ching '08 (Louis A. Meyer General Excellence Award), Kelly Hanley '08 (Brother Conrad Award for School Spirit)