MCA graduates told to spread harmony

Luke Simpson spoke of how important each of his classmates have been to the growth of his character.

Ava Utt and Jacob Smith read the humorous last will of what each of the graduates will leave behind for the students returning to Millennium Charter Academy next year.

The folks at Millennium Charter Academy apparently never miss an opportunity for a deep dive into history and how past events can be used as a learning tool today.

Senior Emily Hoge, one of the graduating seniors tasked with giving a commencement talk to her classmates and others gathered in the school's gym for Saturday morning's graduation, spoke on this year's class theme of harmony.

And she used ancient Rome to illustrated her point.

"What does harmony look like?" she asked, before turning around the question. "What does disharmony look like?’

She said there are many factors which contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire — disunity among troops, individuals pursuing their own interests, the empire spreading itself too thin as it sought to control large areas, and others.

All of those factors, and others, were a result of a kingdom in "disharmony."

The opposite of that, she said, was when the empire was first building and expanding — people pulled together with a common, shared vision, the people were willing to set aside their individual goals for the greater good, the people worked together.

With harmony, the empire grew and became great. As disharmony crept in, its fortunes changed. When a society becomes dominated by disharmony, she said that society "cannot meet its needs."

"Without harmony, chaos and destruction is inevitable."

Today, she said, disharmony shows itself in schools in bullying, conflict, cliques, and a loss of academic achievement.

She said conflict is inevitable, but it does not have to lead to lack of harmony. She said a key to maintaining harmony in the school, even through conflict, has been to hold mutual respect for one another, to be inclusive, to keep clear expectations for all, and to have students striving together for excellence.

Beyond the school setting, she said many of those principles can lead to harmony in a community, and that the 31 graduates leaving Millennium Saturday should make it a point to pursue harmony in their communities, to make a difference.

"Now it's our responsibility to go out into the world and pursue harmony in our society…we can build a better society that withstands the test of conflict."

Luke Simpson, another senior who addressed those in attendance, also spoke on the theme of harmony.

"Harmony is not something you just learn in a classroom," he said, adding that harmony is something one learns as one grows and matures and endures life experiences, while striving to spread harmony.

Luke's comments soon turned to a more reflective tone. He said in preparing for his talk Saturday he spent time going through class photos, reflecting on what each of his classmates meant to him, what role they had each played in his development.

"I never realized how important you all are to me, how much you’ve helped build my character," he said.

He then proceeded to mention some of his classmates by name, and specifically what trait he had learned from them — hard work, being yourself, putting one's self fully into a task, loyalty, true friendship, and others. While Luke did not name every one of his fellow graduates — "I can't stay here all day," he said — he told them every one of them had played an important role in his life.

"And I sincerely mean each all of you," he said. "You all are such unique, beautiful people."

Paul J. Rezzo, an instructor at Millennium, was the keynote speaker at Saturday's ceremony.

He said many look at graduations as an end to a chapter in life, but he said their time in school together — going all the way back to kindergarten and first grade — has been "one long beginning to your life," and with graduation upon them, that long beginning is coming to a close, "with another beginning just around the corner."

And, he said, no matter where they go, "you have an MCA family in your corner."

As the graduates go through life, Rezzo told them the most important thing "isn't where you’re going, or what you’re doing, the most important question is who you are."

A person's character, he said, is what is most important.

Late in their lives, Rezzo told the graduates they won't be "thinking about how much money you have, how popular you are, how many likes you have on social media." Instead, he said, the important things in life will be friendships, the baby they hold in their arms as young parents, baptisms, weddings, meaningful life milestones and events.

He also challenged the graduates.

"Strength rejoices in challenges," he said, before telling them that over the years of their lives they will face hardships and happy times, difficulties and bad news, but that they should not let such challenges become excuses for not living their lives to the fullest.

"You can't control the cards you are dealt, but you can control how you play them."

Shortly afterward, those 31 seniors he addressed flipped the tassels on their graduation hats to the opposite side, tossed their hats into the air and marched out of the gym — freshly minted graduates ready to build their new lives.