As the Trinity Classical Academy class of 2025 says goodbye to the halls of the private Christian school and seek wisdom through greater knowledge, Liz Caddow asked parents to remind their fellow graduates of what Jesus said: “I am the way, as they seek to understand the deeper and ultimate meaning of their lives.”
For its 14th commencement exercise, the K-12 school welcomed friends and family to celebrate 30 graduating seniors on Friday evening on the school’s campus.
As they move on to pursue higher education, Caddow hopes her students take with them the four pillars of the school’s mission: virtue, wisdom, purpose and courage.
“This class has pursued, over many years, to become young men and women, imperfectly seeking virtue, wisdom, living with purpose and trying to go in courage,” said Caddow. “They have searched their souls deeply, looking upward, to be reminded of those things that matter and that are good and true and beautiful, and they’re aware of the God of eternity.”
Altogether, the class of 2025 graduating class received a total of 112 acceptances from 80 different universities and colleges and were offered over $4.6 million in merit-based scholarships to educational institutions across the country.
Among those accepted were brothers Declan and Canon Yoo, who were this year’s salutatorian and valedictorian and will be attending UCLA in the fall.
“Winnie the Pooh once said, ‘How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?’ This quote has never been as true for us as it is today, class of 2025,” said Declan as he opened his speech. “This might be hard to hear looking back at all the memories we’ve made. For years, we’ve seen each other more than some of our founding members here today.”
As he reminisced on all the memories he’s created with his fellow classmates, it also reminded him of how much they’ve grown as students and individuals.
“We’ve learned valuable lessons that have grown into young men and women of God, who can face whatever challenges this messed up world brings,” Declan said. “I will always pray that we will walk the paths God has for us. I thank you for the memories you’ve given me, and I look forward to what lies ahead of each and everyone.”
As Fine Arts Director Tom Brown finished performing the “Be Thou My Vision” hymn, Canon delivered his valedictory address.
He shared that the four pillars instilled in all of them would go “into one ear and out the other,” he said, but now as he has matured and grown he realizes how important those pillars are in his, and his peers’ lives.
“Virtue has taught us to live our lives with kindness and integrity. Wisdom is what we gain, both inside and outside the classroom, through friendships, failures, those late-night talks and tough decisions. It’s taught us to think before we act, and to grow from the challenges we faced,” Canon said.
“These pillars are what brought us to walk down that aisle, grab our diplomas, and in a few moments to throw our caps into the air and begin our next journey,” he added. “We the class of 2025, with God as our foundation and with you as our support, are not frightful, are not dismayed, but a ready to succeed, ready to lead, and ready to set boldly into this great and exciting world.”
The commencement ceremony also had prayer, and scripture reading by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Kulp.
Graduating seniors Dylan Black, Thomas Rolls, and Ella Williams presented the class gift during the ceremony, which was a photo of all 30 seniors framed and to be hung up on the school’s hallways as a testimony to Trinity’s mission.
Some schools the graduates will be heading off to include: College of the Canyons, Pepperdine University, California Baptist University and The Master’s University.
“They have received an extraordinary education committed to the classical tradition oriented by the word of God,” Caddow said. “It is a privilege to celebrate the achievements of these graduates in our school tonight.
