Issue 9 June 2022
Commencement Address by President Joel Peinado Seniors, today represents a closure and a commencement: that is to say, a new beginning. On the one hand, it is the end of a journey that started 15 years ago in preschool, took you through the elementary, the middle and the secondary schools and that comes to a conclusion today, your last day as seniors at IC. On the other hand, it is the beginning of a new life as young adults on their way to become independent and actively contribute and hopefully give back to society. Your secondary school years have been quite exceptional as you faced the Thawra, the banking and economic crises, the explosion of the harbor, and the pandemic. These adverse circumstances, to say the least, have taught you lessons that no school could have ever taught you. They taught you that one’s life maybe disrupted beyond any expectations, and they equipped you with coping skills and the strength to continue moving forward no matter the challenge that is thrown at you. You witnessed and maybe experienced loss and sorrow, but you also witnessed and maybe had the opportunity to participate in beautiful actions of solidarity. The latter highlighted the immense capacity for selflessness that every human being can muster when solicited by the circumstances. These experiences will remain with you for your entire life and will help you in the future. Indeed, you are much more ready than previous generations to face adversity with courage and the knowledge that you can do it. As you are about to move to the next step of your lives, I would like to invite you to reflect on your journey and to acknowledge those who supported you, encouraged you, and put you back on the path to improvement and learning when you erred away from it: your parents and your teachers.
When you continue your educational journey and finally become independent adults, remember the lessons you learned at IC and, for the past three years, outside of IC as well. Do not forget that, as stated in the invocation, privilege confers responsibility. Become the responsible and caring leaders the IC mission and values stand for, do well and do good. There are several ways of becoming a leader who positively impacts society. Some of you will be scientists, doctors, economists, bankers, lawyers, politicians, chefs, artists, actors, and writers, or successful businesswomen or men and some will become teachers or professors, while others may decide to focus their energy on raising a family. Whatever you choose to do, do it with passion, generosity, and empathy. You can all make a positive impact on the world, directly around you by taking good care of your family and your friends or you can have a broader impact on society through your work as well as through social and civic engagement. Today is a bittersweet moment for your families and for the educators who supported you during your journey at IC. We are sad to see you leave but we are also happy to send you off into the bigger world. I personally would like to send you off with this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Pursue your dreams and make us proud! Congratulations! Mabrouk! Felicitations!
