This year’s Salutatorian and Valedictorian, for second-best and best GPAs through seven consecutive semesters, were Alexa Hornick and Helen Fischer. Jared Gleisner won the Lumen Christi award, which is given to the student who most personifies integrity, honesty, maturity, responsibility, independence, compassion, and commitment to the Catholic Faith.

English Teacher Paige Simon gave this year’s commencement address. Her focus for the commencement address came from what was meant to be a warmup assignment for The Great Gatsby that soon evolved into much more.

“I settled on a pie chart of blame,” Simon said. “I asked the students to consider the death of one of the characters in the novel. They were to illustrate what percentage of the blame they would assign to the other characters they felt contributed to that death. My intention was a warm up no more than 15 minutes. They argued about it for two days instead.”

Simon said the experience was at the forefront of what she remembered about the graduating class. As such, she encouraged them to imagine a pie chart for their lives.

Lindsay Hose shakes the hands of Monsignor Douglas Grams and NUACS President Julie Brandt as she receives her diploma during the Cathedral High School graduation Sunday. She will be attending Southwest Minnesota State University.

Simon urged some of the pie be devoted to faith. After being graded on their religion for years, she said there would be no tests or other motivators to push them toward God except for their own desires.

The next section of the pie should be filled with love from family and friends. Simon said she had seen firsthand the love parents had for their kids, from spaghetti suppers for sports teams to cheering loudly even in freezing weather.

With all the responsibility life has, Simon said it was urgent students leave room in their pie for fun. She said she had seen so much fun from her students and their interests, which she hopes students do not lose.

“I know some of you like to read, sing, lift weights, play video games, or code new websites,” Simon said. “I know that you have fun doing these things because I heard you laughing in the hallways and in my classroom as we reflect on them. Please do not lose that sense of fun in your life.”

That sense of fun was also addressed by student speaker Benjamin Blomberg, who gave the farewell address. Blomberg, who sprinkled in references to “Started from the Bottom” by Drake and jokingly said he didn’t know why he was picked, said competitiveness could be part of this pie piece.

NUACS President Julie Brandt and Monsignor Douglas Grams honor Lumen Christi Jared Gleisner, Valedictorian Helen Fischer, and Salutatorian Alexa Hornick at the Cathedral High School graduation Sunday.

“Life is competition,” he said. “You always have the chance to get ahead if you choose to compete. As a class, we’ve always taken that chance. We have always been up to win every single competition since kindergarten.”

Simon said there were many more things she could include but didn’t for time’s sake, but the last one she couldn’t leave out in the student’s pie chart of life is keeping CHS in their heart and minds.

“I’m not suggesting that every single one of you needs to come back and teach here or make a huge donation to sustain our school, although that would be nice,” she said.

She said this could be represented by keeping in touch with classmates, stopping by to support sports and clubs at events, or just saying hi to a teacher in the grocery store.

Simon’s last piece of advice was for what to do if something in a student’s life is not working for them. She said she has had to change her pie chart of life as her family has expanded and things she once held important now fell by the wayside.

“That’s the great thing about life, you get to decide,” Simon said. “These numbers you’re thinking in your head will not be the correct answer forever. The beautiful thing about this is that there isn’t a correct answer. It’s just a matter of choosing what to put in [your pie chart].