The most festive day of the school year is also the last. 111 students received their graduation diplomas
On Friday, June 27th, the school’s principal graduated 68 STX students and 43 HF students in the presence of parents and teachers.
The formal parts, including the principal’s speech, the student speech, the awarding of diplomas, and the presentation of scholarships, were interspersed with communal singing – both old and new – and musical performances by the students. As always, it was both an enjoyable and solemn culmination and conclusion to the students’ secondary education.
See this year’s grant receivers
This year’s speech on behalf of the students was given by Emil Nordby Kjeldsen. He based his speech on the school’s Latin motto, which translates to something like “To find a way is necessary; to live is not necessary,” and humorously turned it around to suggest that life should be lived here and now, and the answer to “what will you do next” can be found later.
One could almost believe that the principal’s speech and the student speech were coordinated, as Principal Helene Bendorff Kristensen’s speech revolved around the idea that it is natural not always to feel in control and to question what one is supposed to find a way to. She said, among other things: “You have received grades – some perhaps better than expected, others not as hoped. But in the long run, it is your character – as people – that opens the biggest doors. To have character means to stand by oneself, do the right thing for others, take responsibility for the whole, and hold on to what is morally right. … For although many of you are talented and ambitious – and you should be – the real strength lies in something deeper. Success in an external sense can be fleeting and empty if it is not built on inner value. So ask yourself from time to time: Am I striving for recognition – or for meaning? Am I heading towards something that truly feels right for me – or towards something I think others expect? Being a person of value requires reflection. It starts with integrity, empathy, and the courage to ask that very question.”
There was also a farewell to two of the school’s teachers who are retiring and who many who have attended Grenaa Gymnasium will remember: Ellen Møller, who has taught German and music, and Jan Møller, who has taught physics and mathematics. They have been employed at Grenaa Gymnasium since 1987 and 1998, respectively. We will truly miss them both and wish them all the best.
