From Our 2025 Salesian Graduates
Enjoy selections from Salesian Speeches!
Diya Stephen, President of the Class of 2025: DeSales University
To the Class of 2025, we are ready. Everything that we have gone through in the last four years has led to this moment. All of the exams, the challenges, the mistakes, the successes, DeSales has prepared us… The core values that DeSales has ingrained within us, gratitude, humility, gentleness, hospitality, and wisdom, are principles that we will carry on with us far beyond our days in Center Valley. Our time together at DeSales will leave us with memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I hope that you are proud of what you have accomplished and who you have become…Enjoy your moment and make DeSales proud. I’d like to end with a quote we all know very well. As you move on in your life, remember to always “be who you are and be that well.”...Read More
Jonathan Ransom: Salesianum School
“Faith isn’t like a switch that you turn on… it’s a decision you have to make every day, multiple times a day, until the day you die.”
I think this is a great way to think about faith, but this mindset also embodies the lessons Salesianum has taught us.
There’s no such thing as simply being a good person.
Instead, it’s a decision you have to make, every day, multiple times a day, until the day you die and become stardust once again. You must seize the moments where you can be the good for others, improve your community, or spread love...Read More
Derek Morgan: St. Francis de Sales School
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… 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 friends. We have to go further... Read More
Matthew Kimbrell: Father Judge High School
At Judge, we've been fortunate to be shaped by the spirit of St. Francis de Sales, whose legacy guides not only our school but the lives we aspire to lead. Through him, we've come to know the Salesian Seven Virtues:
Respecting Yourself and Others
Recognizing Your Unique Gifts and Talents
Being Patient with Everyone, Especially Yourself
Being Gentle
Being Grateful
Being Positive
Being Confident
These aren't just ideals-they're practices. Ways of living with integrity, resilience, and purpose. And while each virtue speaks to me, the one that has become most personal is patience, especially the kind we extend to ourselves...Read More