Class of 2022 Joins Alumni Ranks

Members of Rockhurst’s Class of 2022 and their families and friends gathered in Municipal Auditorium on May 15 to celebrate the four years of hard work and dedication by the students. The graduating class included 220 young men who earned the honor of being recognized as alumni of Rockhurst High School. Following the Mass, the Commencement Exercises were highlighted by the graduation speech given by Eddie Kuklenski ’22, Student Government Association (SGA) president.

Kuklenski reflected on the class’ maturation from freshmen to seniors, and how they wanted to recapture the essence of Rockhurst following the craziness of the pandemic.

“In our first Student Government meeting in August, the senior members designed this year’s spirit shirt emblazoned with the motto ‘Tradition Never Dies’,” said Kuklenski. “This school year was a moment of hope, no matter how different or chaotic or depressing the past few years had been. We were determined to refocus and re-energize Rockhurst Tradition.”

The Class of 2022 did just that. From bringing back raucous crowds at home sporting events to enlisting local celebrities like Tyreek Hill and Gary Lezak to help lead pep rallies to planning an outdoor Homecoming Dance, the senior class brilliantly added new spins on old traditions.

Kuklenski centered his speech around a long-standing Rockhurst chant heard in the student section: The Rock Don’t Quit! He touched on many successes of the Class of 2022, including founding new student clubs, athletic championships, co-curricular accolades, earning college scholarships, and community service. He noted how those words should remain with each of them long after leaving the halls of Rockhurst.

“All of us will succeed. We will all face trying times in life, but we will not quit on our goals and our dreams,” remarked Kuklenski. “And when we face those trying times, just stop, remember our time at Rockhurst, and loudly and proudly proclaim: ‘I Don’t Quit. We Don’t Quit. The Rock Don’t Quit!’”

The great Class of 2022 will spread their talents across the globe for the next four years and beyond. They are headed to 70 different colleges and universities spanning 26 states and four countries. They will likely never have all 220 classmates together in one space again, but they are united for life in brotherhood and the responsibility of living as “men for others” for the greater glory of God.

The class will be commemorated on campus through its senior class gift. Members of the Class of 2022 raised more than $5,700 to leave a Hawklet statue in the Jack Nestor ’34 Outdoor Lab & Classroom, to be completed in Fall 2022.

Kuklenski left his fellow graduates with inspiration as they move on to the next chapters in their lives.

“Yes, today our time at Rockhurst comes to an end. We will walk across the stage, accept our diploma, and graduate. But tomorrow we must go out and share with the world what we have learned at Rockhurst: to never give up, to defy expectations, to never quit in the face of adversity or disappointment, to seize opportunity. We only had one opportunity to make our senior year great - and we did. This motivation, this drive, this grit is something we must never lose.”