1953: The Magazine of St. Johns Country Day School (Summer 2021)

In a moving ceremony on Saturday, May 29, St. Johns was honored to celebrate the graduation of the 62 members of the Class of 2021. “As I reflect on this past school year, we can talk about the many obstacles, misfortunes, and traditions not kept due to COVID, but instead I will focus on what this past year has given to us all,” said Head of School Valorie Baker, in her opening remarks. “What I’m referring to is grit. And certainly the Class of 2021, and the rest of the student body during this past year, has shown a lot of grit and determination. That grit is a skill that will serve them well as they move past the doors of high school,” said Baker.

After the awards presentations, Seniors Gaby Loustau and Ellie Rosenau—elected by their peers to deliver speeches— gave heartfelt talks. Loustau delivered a poem outlining what each of her classmates had taught her over their years together. From hard work and dedication to how to laugh at herself,

Loustau called each of her fellow seniors out by name with some of their offerings to the demographic of their class.

“These past four years have been full of laughs and tears,” she said, as her words were echoed with both laughter and tears from her classmates and the audience, “they’ve been full of success and failures. They have been the most meaningful and memorable years, and I am so fortunate to have experienced them alongside each of you.”

A tough act to follow, Rosenau did so with aplomb, invoking the Senior Presentation talk given by senior-elected speaker Mr. Wes Cox. Discussing the merits of swag, she said it is “less about what you look like and more about what you’re made of. It’s not wearing the latest Jordans, it’s showing compassion to someone in need. It’s how you compose yourself, what you do to make a positive difference in this world, and how you handle the inevitable negativity.”

Referring to Mr. Cox’s Senior Presentation acronym, she spelled out swag as:

S Stay true to yourself

W Wake up and make the most of today

A Always remember where you came from

G Go after the thing that scares you the most.

After talking through each of the letters, Rosenau zeroed in on going after the things that scare us by quoting former President Barack Obama. “Fear, uncertainty, and discomfort are your compasses toward growth,” Obama said. “If you run, you stand a chance of losing. But, if you don’t run you’ve already lost.” So, said Rosenau, “ask yourself, is this challenging? Yes, then do it. Am I afraid of failing? Yes, then do it. Do I feel unsure of myself? Yes, still do it. Our minds so often tell us that we’re not good enough, not equipped enough, not strong enough, not pretty enough, not ‘fill in the blank’ enough. That is just not true. These doubts and fears and insecurities will creep in, but it’s when we no longer let them have so much power that we can conquer even the things that make us afraid.”

While the prom was canceled due to COVID-19, the Class of 2021 enjoyed a Senior Dinner & Dance at Timuquana Country Club a few days before graduation.

Lifers: St. Johns Students Since Preschool

Class of 2021 Graduation Awards

Edwin Paul Heinrich Award Ellie Camille Rosenau

Dora Helen Skypek Award Jonathan Eugene Kats

Stephen F. Russey Best All-Around Young Man Ethan Anderson Albright

Stephen F. Russey Best All-Around Young Woman Maggie Elizabeth Kent

Roddey R. Fisher Award Ellie Camille Rosenau

Valedictorian Award Alexis Sophie Drumm

Leadership Awards Julia Marie Andrawis Avery Paige Baskin Maggie Elizabeth Kent Julia Grace Schildberg

Service Awards Fred Marion Cone IV Alexander Kingdon Dimmick Amelia Jane Dyer Jonathan Eugene Kats Ellie Camille Rosenau Jason Richard Thomas Jr

English Award Allison Bright Korahais

The Carol A. Hart Math Award Ethan Anderson Albright

Science Award Anna Simmons Wulbern

Art Award Natalie Rae Higingbotham

The Mary Virginia Fisher French Award Allison Bright Korahais

Spanish Award Ethan Anderson Albright

The Myrtle O’Shea Latin Award Cade Robert Zehner

Cynthia C. Landry History Award Julia Reese Nichols

Drama Award For Theatrical Performance Gabrielle Martha Loustau

Drama Award For Technical Theatre Jason Richard Thomas Jr

Dance Award Julia Grace Schildberg

Music Instrumental Award Alexander Kingdon Dimmick

Music Vocal Award Alexa Rose Verboort

Computer Science Award Jonathan Eugene Kats

Captain Borries Cup Award Connor Thomas Moore

Linda C. Guswiler Athletic Award Madeline Laura Moody

Awards Presented at the Upper School Awards Ceremony in May 2021:

Top Female Upper School Athlete Award: Paige Crews ’21

Top Male Upper School Athlete Award: Max Arnold ’21

Laurie Anne Richards Scholarship: Allison Korahais ’21

Whitelaw Life of Light Award: Mary Beth Garrison ’22

Ashley Cowie Award: Gabrielle Loustau ’21

The “I Dare You” Leadership Award: Mia Sadler and James Wilson

Class of 2021 Fast Facts

62 Graduates

$10m+ Received in scholarship offers

11 St. Johns students since preschool

18 Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholars

15 Florida Bright Futures Medallion Scholars

9 Scholastic Art Award Winners

1 National Silver Key Recipient

19 2021 AP Scholars*

8 AP Scholars with Honors*

12 AP Scholars with Distinction*

16 Will play sports at the college level

*The AP Scholar designation is granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams; AP Scholar with Honors is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. The AP Scholar with Distinction designation is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

The following colleges and universities accepted members of the Class of 2021:

American Musical and Dramatic Academy American University Appalachian State University Arizona State University Arizona State University (West) Auburn University Berry College Boston University Bowdoin College Brewton-Parker College Butler University California Polytechnic State University,

San Luis Obispo California State University, Long Beach Carnegie Mellon University Chipola College Christopher Newport University Clemson University Coastal Carolina University Colby College College of Charleston Colorado State University Columbia University Cornell University Davidson College DePaul University Drexel University Duke University Eckerd College Elon University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Five Towns College Flagler College Florida Atlantic University Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Institute of Technology Florida Polytechnic University Florida Southern College Florida State College at Jacksonville

Florida State University Furman University Georgia Military College Georgia Southern University Hofstra University Indiana State University Jacksonville University Kansas State University Kenyon College Lafayette College Lander University Louisiana State University Massachusetts College of Art and Design Mercer University Montserrat College of Art New College of Florida North Carolina State University Northwestern University Palm Beach Atlantic University Pennsylvania State University Pensacola Christian College Pensacola State College Presbyterian College Rhode Island School of Design Rhodes College Rice University Ringling College of Art and Design Rollins College Samford University San Diego State University Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago Sewanee: The University of the South Southern Methodist University Stetson University Syracuse University Tallahassee Community College Texas Christian University The University of Alabama

The University of Tampa The University of Tennessee The University of West Florida Trinity College Dublin Troy University Tufts University Tulane University of Louisiana University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Central Florida University of Colorado Boulder University of Florida University of Georgia University of Kansas University of Kentucky University of Maryland University of Miami University of Michigan University of Mississippi University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Florida University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Richmond University of South Carolina University of South Florida University of Southern Mississippi University of Virginia Valdosta State University Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech Wagner College Winthrop University