Williamsburg Christian Academy will be kicking off its 40th Anniversary this fall, just after graduating the Class of 2018, its largest graduating class ever. The Graduation ceremony held Saturday, June 9th, 2018 featured outgoing WCA teacher Dianna Lindsay as the Commencement Speaker. After receiving an exhortation from Interim Head of School and Upper School Principal to “Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words,” (the famous quote by St. Francis of Assisi on showing the Gospel through everyday action), Valedictorian Damiana Mathes took the podium to celebrate a year with the class she enjoyed being with so much. “The quiet ones, the loud ones, the dancey ones, the studious ones, those who have been here for 10 years and those who have been here for 10 months. I wish you all the best through the rest of your lives.” Her class was certainly diverse, as there were a dozen international students in it, and the students’ lengths of stay ranged from 13 years to just one, their senior year. In total, the Class of 2018 qualified for over $1.7 million dollars in college scholarships.
Dianna Lindsay then held the podium for her address to the graduating students, and delved right away into the differing traits and virtues that they must now develop heading into the collegiate and working world. She made an important distinction, however, between the virtues that apply more to the resume, and less to their character. She stressed that the development of their Godly virtues are the ones that they have already begun to develop at WCA, and that should be the true focus of their growth as people as they navigate an increasingly complicated and conflicted world.
Lindsay continued by making a personal appeal and a focal question of each member of the graduating class, based on personal characteristics that she observed in her time with each of them in class, and a call to action for each to use their skills and personal traits to improve their communities and aid those in need.
To finish her address, Dr. Lindsay passed a long-standing tradition in her family to WCA. Throughout the year, a member of her extended family has always taken a specific stuffed doll with them to college, with a tousled shock of gray hair and peaked hat, named Socrates. This year, as her family no longer has any college-age relatives to whom to pass Socrates, Lindsay decided to donate Socrates to a random member of the graduating class. Picking a name from a hat, Socrates will be headed to Baylor University with graduate and SCA President Amy McLean. The tradition as explained by Lindsay, is to have the alum in possession of Socrates return to WCA each year to pass him to the next student who will play host the following year as a college freshman.
Please enjoy the below slideshow of photos from both Baccalaureate and Graduation.
[URIS id=15408]
Williamsburg Christian Academy will be kicking off its 40th Anniversary this fall, just after graduating the Class of 2018, its largest graduating class ever. The Graduation ceremony held Saturday, June 9th, 2018 featured outgoing WCA teacher Dianna Lindsay as the Commencement Speaker. After receiving an exhortation from Interim Head of School and Upper School Principal to “Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words,” (the famous quote by St. Francis of Assisi on showing the Gospel through everyday action), Valedictorian Damiana Mathes took the podium to celebrate a year with the class she enjoyed being with so much. “The quiet ones, the loud ones, the dancey ones, the studious ones, those who have been here for 10 years and those who have been here for 10 months. I wish you all the best through the rest of your lives.” Her class was certainly diverse, as there were a dozen international students in it, and the students’ lengths of stay ranged from 13 years to just one, their senior year. In total, the Class of 2018 qualified for over $1.7 million dollars in college scholarships.
Dianna Lindsay then held the podium for her address to the graduating students, and delved right away into the differing traits and virtues that they must now develop heading into the collegiate and working world. She made an important distinction, however, between the virtues that apply more to the resume, and less to their character. She stressed that the development of their Godly virtues are the ones that they have already begun to develop at WCA, and that should be the true focus of their growth as people as they navigate an increasingly complicated and conflicted world.
Lindsay continued by making a personal appeal and a focal question of each member of the graduating class, based on personal characteristics that she observed in her time with each of them in class, and a call to action for each to use their skills and personal traits to improve their communities and aid those in need.
To finish her address, Dr. Lindsay passed a long-standing tradition in her family to WCA. Throughout the year, a member of her extended family has always taken a specific stuffed doll with them to college, with a tousled shock of gray hair and peaked hat, named Socrates. This year, as her family no longer has any college-age relatives to whom to pass Socrates, Lindsay decided to donate Socrates to a random member of the graduating class. Picking a name from a hat, Socrates will be headed to Baylor University with graduate and SCA President Amy McLean. The tradition as explained by Lindsay, is to have the alum in possession of Socrates return to WCA each year to pass him to the next student who will play host the following year as a college freshman.
Please enjoy the below slideshow of photos from both Baccalaureate and Graduation.
[URIS id=15408]