Baccalaureate Reflection- St. Francis de Sales School
Baccalaureate Reflection
Derek Morgan
St. Francis de Sales School, Class of 2025
Good morning, Knights and the many family, friends, faculty, staff, and alumni who join us today for this special occasion. As many of you know, I’m Derek Morgan. I remember sitting in this church 4 years ago for my first school Mass as a knight and listening to Ben Burson give the first Salesian reflection I have ever heard. I didn’t know much about St. Francis de Sales, his teachings, or how they would end up shaping me. Now I am here at my last school Mass and have the honor of delivering the final Salesian Reflection our class will hear before graduating and moving on to our next adventures.
In between that first school Mass and now, I have had the most formative years of my life. My experiences at St. Francis and the brothers I have met have changed me into the man I am today. St. Francis has challenged me every day to be the best version of myself, whether that be on the ice rink playing for our hockey team or in the classroom, where I had to constantly push myself to overcome failure in Fr. Zobler’s math classes.
Through these experiences, I have grown as a student and an athlete, but more importantly, as a friend and fellow brother.
What has pushed me to grow the most as a person are the relationships that I have formed at St. Francis with the administration, faculty, and my fellow classmates.
St. Francis de Sales says. “Love your neighbor, with a great, charitable love, but befriend only those with whom you can be mutually supportive in virtue. The higher the virtues that you put into these relationships, the more perfect will your friendship be.” He tells us to befriend those only where there is mutual support between you and the other. It is not enough to just be friendly or nice to others we consider a friends. We have to go further.
In my time here at St. Francis, I have experienced this extra step in different relationships, but I will highlight two of the most formative.
As I mentioned before, I struggled a lot in Father Z’s math classes. Those of you who have had the honor of taking one of Fr. Z’s classes, I am sure, can relate to some extent. My freshman year, I struggled for a while before asking for help. Previously in school, when things got hard, I was able to figure it out on my own, but Fr. Z moved fast, and I was quickly falling behind and not able to keep up with my school work and sports activities.
As soon as I reached out to Fr. Z, he was more than happy to help me and continued to be supportive throughout my 4 years in which I always had him for a math teacher. Despite his busy schedule, he always made time for me when I needed help and encouraged me not to give up when I felt discouraged. He has even been known to teach me in the hockey locker room, since he was our team chaplain.
He always went the extra mile for me and created and graded countless retests and re-quizes because, above all he wanted me to achieve the understanding of the math concepts.
Slowly, my math skills began to improve, but most importantly, I realized that sometimes I needed to ask for help. I also realized the extra effort that St. Francis de Sales talked about and how nice it is to have a teacher who believes in me and cares about my development inside and outside of the classroom.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Fr. Z helped me a lot in my development as a person over my high school years, but I can’t say I didn’t celebrate when my last class was over. There are days when I thought I would never survive, but I did.
It is not just through the faculty that I found this extra support, but also through the students. We hear the word “brotherhood” countless times throughout our time at St. Francis, but I truly saw this through a few of my closest friends. One of my friends in particular, Grant Croy, lived out every day this mutual support that St. Francis talks about.
When I first got to St. Francis, I knew a few people from my old school, but for the most part, everyone was relatively new to me. I struggled in the beginning of freshman year making true friends. Sure, I had people I talked to at school and some people I hung out with occasionally, but there was no one who I felt truly close to or connected with. I felt like I hadn’t made a strong enough relationship yet with anyone who would truly have my back and be there for me no matter what. Even though I could be surrounded by people, I felt lonely at times in this big school.
This all changed when Grant reached out to me the summer going into sophomore year and invited me to go swimming at his pond. We had known each other before that because we played lacrosse together freshman year but we weren’t close. After that day we formed a friendship that has continued to grow over our high school years. In addition to all the football games we went to and fun stuff we did we were also able to have cool experiences at St. Francis together such as going to the Salesian Leadership Camp over the summer and the Jamaica Mission trip.
Grant was also the person who encouraged me to get involved with the Student Council at St. Francis, and we have served on it together for the past two years. As our friendship grew, I knew he was the type of person who would always have my back. It made me feel like I belonged more at St. Francis, and it made me understand the true meaning of brotherhood.
Whether I was having a good day or a bad day, Grant was always there for me to make me laugh and smile and forget what I was even stressed about (usually Fr. Z’s class). If I ever needed help with anything, he was always there, if I ever forgot something, even as simple as a pencil for school, if he had it he would always give it to me. Grant exemplified how to be that supportive friend and what a true brother is. I know many of you can look back at your time during these past 4 years and think of those you met who exemplified this brotherhood, whether it was someone you met on a sports team, in the musical, or in the classroom. The brotherhood isn’t just about linking arms and singing the alma mater together but it’s about the people who are going to be there for you no matter what.
I struggled with being self-centered at the beginning of my high school journey, but these two relationships have challenged me to put others first and be that supportive and uplifting person that others can count on.
So, Knights, as we take the next steps and leave St. Francis, we will be surrounded by new buildings, new opportunities, and new peers. We will make many new relationships as we continue onward, and I challenge everyone to keep St. Francis’ words in mind “Love your neighbor, with a great, charitable love, but befriend only those with whom you can be mutually supportive in virtue. The higher the virtues that you put into these relationships, the more perfect will your friendship be.”
I challenge everyone to be that friend who puts in the work for others, who supports other people, and always has their back. Because this is the way to form true, authentic friendships.
This is the way to continue the brotherhood that St. Francis has taught us: “Be who you are and be that well.” It has been an honor to be your fellow brother.
Thank you, Knights, and May God be praised!