SENIOR SUPPLEMENT Tribute to the Class of 2021

A senior reflects on his four years

Jack Smith ‘21

The way things work out sometimes is really quite predictable in its unpredictability. I think about this as I sit down to write this article, completely blanking on where to begin.

Ten months ago, I was ready to leave this place. I was enrolled at another high school. But then, there was a quick change of mind, I came here and became more involved than I was in any of my other years here, and now I have been assigned to tie it all together neatly in so many words. Of course. I must admit, I’m stuck.

So what I’ve done is chosen to sit and reflect on the past four years and find some sort of continuity, one common factor. The Class of 2021 had an interesting four years (to say the least), and to find one common item would be to find our defining quality. And at the risk of sounding cliché, I believe I’ve found it. It’s a word we’ve heard a lot this year: perseverance.

Perseverance is doing something against the odds. It’s being dealt a tough hand and managing to make it work. The Class of 2021 faced numerous challenges and setbacks. Our class size has only decreased over the years. We faced threats and uncertainty in the fall of 2019. And, of course, we continue to deal with Covid-19. As someone who was looking for an excuse to just quietly transfer away, these issues seemed like perfect justifications.

But then I saw the responses. I saw the closeness of my classmates, the strong bonds of brotherhood. Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you, I’m the last one to call my CC classmates “my brothers.” But I see now that the brotherhood does exist, and it is strong. In Drive 2021, we defeated the freshmen, something which every class ahead of us said was impossible. During the troublesome fall of last school year, we saw the perseverance of community and the shutting down of any challenge to the brotherhood. And I see now, with the separation that Covid brought for a large portion of the year, that there has been a perseverance of what was thought originally to be a lost senior year. With the countless hours of work put forth by the teachers, the faculty and staff, Student Activities, the administration, and the students themselves, the Seniors have been provided with some semblance of a normal year. Perseverance is our word.

I have also come to find that Catholic Central is like the Church in that it is not a place, but a people. I remember being told when I was younger that the Church will always persevere. “God is present here,” I was told, “and God is present within all of us. So even if the physical building were burnt down or destroyed, the Church would still exist where God is present.”

The spirit of Catholic Central dwells in the physical building. The halls are filled with tradition, but they are not confined there. We and anyone who has graduated from CC are the tradition. We carry on our shoulders the legacy of every man to walk through this place. We are connected to these alumni through the grace of God, grace which we have received further in our time at Catholic Central. It is now our job to take this grace from God and the principles of Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge into the world and amplify their fading presence.

This is what I ask my classmates, my brothers, to remember in our final days.

High school is over, and I don’t think I’m the only one who can admit to being relieved. But education, compassion, and family are never finished. They will never be over.

As we move forward with our lives, remember to check in on each other and be there for one another. Continue to form and build upon the bonds that were created in the classrooms, at the games, and during the assemblies. Extend a hand out to your brothers who are down, for you have no idea when you will be the one reaching up for help yourself.

Seek to be closer with God, and in doing so you can’t help but be closer with those around you.

Thank you, seniors

Cole Nogawa ‘22

There’s something utterly unforgettable about the guys who are one grade older than you. You just can’t seem to get away from them. They’re waiting for you on day one, and they don’t go anywhere, not even for an instant, until you’re forced to part ways three years later.

Many of us juniors first encountered the Class of 2021 before we even decided that we wanted to go to CC. As nervous, timid eighth graders, we were welcomed with open arms during open houses and shadow days. Little did we know, this hospitality was the “bait” of the proverbial bait and switch.

Mr. Herman tells the freshmen every year that the sophomores “wee” the loudest. That they’re fed up with being the underdogs of the school. That they’re just itching to punch down for the first time in their high school careers. As we soon learned, his assessment was accurate. Over time, though, rivalry and resentment gave way to an incredibly powerful bond.

When the pandemic began to gain traction in mid-2020, everybody pitied the Class of 2021 as the “lost generation.” As the grade that would never be able to have any fun, carry on traditions, or even participate in anything meaningful.

Instead of rolling over and lamenting their collective fate, however, the seniors banded together and laughed in the (masked) faces of everyone who doubted them.

The Class of 2021 will forever be remembered as the men of CC that did the unthinkable. They designed and executed a record-breaking Drive under unprecedented circumstances, modified an entire school year’s worth of activities to adhere to Covid-19 protocols, and never stopped smiling in the meantime.

It’s been said that the unofficial motto of senior Student Activities is “G.E.,” or “Good Enough.” Despite its ubiquity, this motto is either wholly inaccurate or a display of modesty. Nothing was enough for the Class of 2021. Sinking hours upon hours into producing a sprawling skit, building a full-scale replica of the Eric Andre Show set, and constructing a wheel of fortune were more than good enough; they were exceptional.

So thank you, seniors, for being our mentors, teammates, and partners in crime. Thank you for leading by example and showing us firsthand that nothing is impossible.

CC hosts graduation in stadium for second time

Diego Cabello ‘22

The senior class has had their year turned around by the pandemic, but, all year, the CC community has been determined to make it work.

Just like how everything has had to be rethought, this year’s graduation was adapted because of social distancing and Covid restrictions. Normally held every year in Hill Auditorium in downtown Ann Arbor, graduation this year, like last year, was held on the football field.

The layout consisted of the stage in the south end zone and the grads seated in the field in front of the stage, with family seated behind them and in the stands.

It was a 90-minute ceremony with three student speakers: George Nunu (Valedictory Address), Michael Ramirez (Salutatory Address), and Andrew Memmer (Dedicatory Address).

This year, they were allowed six attendees per graduate, unlike last year, which was two.

The seniors approached the event changes with their usual stoicism. “Everyone still gets their grad party, so it’s not like you’re missing out that much,” Andrew Memmer said. “My senior year experience has already been affected, no in-person DRIVE assemblies, Boys’ Bowl, or student sections, so something like this is how it works.”

Despite the circumstances, Catholic Central has equipped the seniors for their future endeavors, and it’s fair to say that this year has prepared them even better than a normal year.