‘You Are Enough’ – Upper School Honors Assembly Honors Student Achievement and Uniqueness

Each of the assembly's speakers reflected on the importance of each student’s unique value to the school community.
St. Margaret’s Upper School celebrated the hard work and academic achievement of each student at its first Honors Assembly of the 2021-2022 school year.

The assembly took place in Pasternack Field House and centered around the theme “You Are Enough.” It featured speeches by Upper School Principal Jeneen Graham, seniors Ava Lentz and Molly Allison, and closing remarks by Upper School assistant principal James Harris—all of which encouraged students to embrace what makes them unique.  

“You are artists and athletes, debaters and writers, mathematicians and scientists, historians and poets, brothers and sisters, daughter and sons, friends and mentors, part-time workers and dreamers, and you are our beloved students,” Dr. Graham said. “You are all so many things and we love the uniqueness you bring to our community each and every day. One of the greatest privileges we have as educators is to watch you figure out who you are and what you care about and ultimately become the you that you are meant to be.”

The students also spoke on the importance of each student’s value to the greater school community. Ava Lentz reflected on four years in the Upper School, filled with ups and downs, and how those experiences have been a journey of self-discovery.   

“Instead of spending every moment being like other people, do what makes you happy and what brings you joy,” Ava said, before adding, “no one can ever gate keep something that makes you happy. Trust your inner joy, and you will find, as I did, ‘I am enough!’”
 
Molly Allison offered similar reflections over her lifetime in the St. Margaret’s community, her unique high school journey, and lessons she’s learned now that she’s in her final year at the school.  
 
“I can’t stand here and convince this room that each one of you in it is enough, because while I know it to be true, you all have to think so as well,” Molly said. “We don’t go to bed and tell ourselves that we’ll wake up the next morning satisfied with who we are, and we can’t wake up one morning and flip the switch and all of a sudden feel perfectly competent in our lives. But we can take steps forward, just baby steps, a little conscious action every day, until we wake up one day a long time after our initial effort and remember how hard it used to be to feel enough, and that for a while we have felt enough, and we actually have always been enough. And when that happens, we celebrate it.”

The assembly ended with the quartet of Neela Gerayli, Chloe Lias, Grace Roby and Rylan Rodriguez-Zahn performing “Gold” from the musical Once.
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An Independent Preschool Through Grade 12 College-Preparatory Day School in Orange County California

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St. Margaret's Episcopal School does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational, admission, financial aid, hiring and athletic policies or in other school-administered programs.