Baccalaureate ’22

The first day Fountain Valley theatre arts teacher Hollie Marine met her students, she oversaw a team-building activity in which freshmen molded bubblegum into a sculpture that represented their core values. “I share this story in hopes that you see yourselves today the way I see you,” said Marine, who was chosen by the class of ’22 to give the faculty address during this year’s Baccalaureate ceremony. “Each one of you walks around this place as a brilliant, fully realized bubblegum sculpture, molded with love, hard work and a little saliva from those who’ve invested in you.” Marine’s speech was the culmination of the 2022 Baccalaureate activities, which included a week-long Senior Seminar at the Class of ’69 Mountain Campus followed by the traditional Candlelight Ceremony. Teamwork and community is vital, Marine told the graduating seniors. “You’re sitting here today because someone changed thousands of your diapers. Someone loved you enough to put in 18 years of tireless work on your moral compass. People under this tent made your meals, went to your games, cheered for you, taught you every tiny detail of how to take care of yourself down to how to tie your shoes, believed in you and loved you enough to even have the conversations you didn’t want to have,” she said. “You may not have enjoyed every piece of gum that was stuck on you, but it’s made you who you are.” Now that the class of ’22 is going out into the world, their task is to share their bubblegum with their new community, Marine concluded.