By Chelsea High School Principal Mike Kapolka
It is often a bit of a struggle to seek narrative inspiration for a principal’s parting thoughts to a graduating class. This year was no different.
Although I am fully aware that the vast majority of my seniors did not wake up this morning and say to with themselves with jubilant exultation, “I can’t wait to hear what Mr. Kapolka has to say! It’s going to be awesome!” There still resides a sense of duty and purpose to find an appropriate theme that encapsulates the outgoing class and speaks directly to them.
I was able to find that theme a few days ago as I came across an article that touched upon a recent commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven.
Admiral McRaven is the Commander of the United States Special Operations Command and a UT graduate. In his address, he touched upon ten specific items for future success post-graduation. Out of these specific tenants, there was one point – specifically his last – that resonated with me as I believe it speaks directly to the Class of 2014 as well as all of us in attendance today.
As Admiral McRaven would go on to describe, Navy Seal training is six months of complete misery. You are consistently cold, wet, physically taxed, and on the constant verge of mental exhaustion. Although, if at any time a seal recruit wishes to quit, there is a brass bell that is located in the center of the training compound for all to see, that can simply be rung by a trainee, signaling to all, that you voluntarily quit. No more being wet, tired, taxed and emotionally spent.
The simplicity in this message became the basis of my message to the Class of 2014: and the message is this: never ring that bell. Over your past 13 years in the Chelsea School system, you have all been faced with times that ringing the bell would have been easy, but collectively, you resisted the temptation to do so.
“Do I get up at 6:00 a.m .to make it to early morning practice so that I can stop by Mrs. Lutz class for extra work before school starts at 8:00am? Should I not show up to the extra study session on Saturday for my AP exams because I would rather sleep in? I think I should skip 1st hour today because our rehearsal did not get over until 10:00pm last night.”
With all of these examples, the easy answer is to ring the bell (or in these cases, hit the snooze button) and go back to bed. But speaking directly to this message, there have been several amazing accomplishment by our senior class this year that are the antithesis of this. Rather, they have answered the bell and answered it with spirit, determination and talent while displaying amazing potential for future and sustained success.
In the fall, Molly and Reeve had standout performances in the Fall musical of Guys and Dolls. Along with the vocal styling’s and stellar dance moves of Mr. Moundros, Mr. Pedlow, Mr. Kaemming, Mr. Angel, several parents and your’s truly, it was certainly a memorable production.
Speaking of memorable performances, Emmie’s performance at the Concerto concert this year was one for the ages. She was also the first ever solo concerto winner for the Michigan Youth Arts Festival and performed at the festival with the Detroit Civic Orchestra.
Additional standout performances from the concerto concert certainly had to be the ensemble of James, Aidan, Bram, and Brian as they were recognized as one of the outstanding percussion ensemble in Michigan as well as Hannah, Matt, Alex, and Colleen who were equally amazing.
Other examples of musical excellence were achieved by Mike, as he was named an All-State band member; Henry who received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and Jenni who displayed tremendous leadership and skill as the Pride of Chelsea’s drum major this year.
The Class of 2014 demonstrated athletic perseverance and excellence in many ways as well: Led by Jack, Adam, Kyle, Evan, Ben, Bram, James and Jacob, our Boys Cross Country team won the South Eastern Conference White Division; qualified for the state meet for a 12th straight year and ended up placing 6th at the Division 2 state meet.
Denrick, Nat, Amos, Ryan, Zach and Will led our Boys tennis team to a SEC White Division title and also qualified for the Division 3 state tournament.
Shianne, Jordan, Caylee and Amber were back-to-back district champions in volleyball and each received the South Eastern Conference Scholar Athlete Award and Individual Academic All State distinction.
In terms of individual accomplishments on the football field and classroom, Tyler was recognized as an Academic All State athlete by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. Our varsity football team continued their remarkable streak of defeating our neighbors 9 miles to the east for a 19th consecutive season. And the Class of 2014 is the 16th consecutive senior class to make the state playoffs.
In girl’s hoops, Kerri and Katie helped their team win the South Eastern Conference White Division as well as a District Championship.
Our men’s bowling team also won the South Eastern Conference White Division and saw Michael qualify for the state meet.
In terms of soccer, our senior girls helped land our team in the Top 10 rankings for three consecutive weeks this season and Luke and Ryan combined for 33 goals this year as Ryan was named to the All-State 2nd team.
Our boy’s Ice Hockey team also added to their collection of SEC White Division championships and made it to the Regional Finals only to lose in triple overtime to Monroe Catholic Central. I bring this game up not to rub salt in an old wound, but to say how proud I was of our students’ sportsmanship, class and dignity as they honored Monroe CC during their championship trophy presentation. When our community talks about “The Chelsea Way”, this is exactly what we mean.
On the mat this year, Dan earned All-State honors finishing 7th in Division 2 and Steven had a season for the ages. He completed the year a perfect 49-0 and was crowned the Division 2 state champion in his weight class thus adding his name to the rich history of Chelsea wrestling.
And let’s talk about our boy’s swim team for a moment, shall we? David, Noah, Will and John helped our aquatic Bulldogs make Chelsea swimming history this season. This particular team had remarkable depth that carried them to many successes throughout the winter. They defeated the Dreadnaughts at their own pool to firm up and take the SEC White regular season championship and in the process, had the pleasure of throwing Coach Jolly into the pool to cap off their victory.
At the state meet in Holland, MI, our Bulldogs competed extremely well on the biggest of stages. In a back-and-forth battle with Birmingham Cranbrook-Kingswood and East Grand Rapids, our Bulldogs ended up just falling short of a state title by 13.7 points, earning a 2nd place, Runner-up finish, which is the highest finish in school history.
It should also be noted that David will go down in Chelsea Swimming history as one of the all time great Bulldog swimmers as his career has earned him individual state titles his junior year; All-State status his senior year and three varsity pool records. Individual congratulations go out to David and a collective “congratulations” goes out to our seniors on a remarkable season.
Just yesterday, our Boys and Girls Track teams competed at the Division 2 State Meet where they performed at a high level. David earned All-State recognition in the pole vault placing 6th; Jacob earned All State recognition in the mile run placing 7th and Alex was part of the All State 4 x 100 meter girls relay team, finishing 8th.
And our Girl’s Tennis Team had their best season in school history by: winning the SEC White title; tying for 1st at Regionals; and placing 10th at the State Meet this past Friday. EJ, Corynne, Jacqueline, Madison, and Jordan: you made us all very proud. And you even made it back in time for Class Night on Friday. Well done!
This class’s civic involvements, school spirit and contributions to the school and community set this class apart from other. Colleen, Madisen and Julia coordinated multiple blood drives during their time in the National Honors Society. Carolyn, Kara, Zeeland and Mikhaila were consummate professionals as chief editors of the yearbook and Blue Print, creating top-notch publications for our students.
And who could forget Ryan? – Mr. School Spirit – as he donned the Bulldog mascot costume for some of the most important athletic contests of the year.
And for those of you who have not had the chance to see Alex’s video production entitled “The Chelsea Difference”, I guarantee you, you will walk away with a more clear understanding of what it means to be a Chelsea High School student and how special this place really is. (For those of your interested in seeing Alex’s video, just head over to Youtube and search: The Chelsea Difference). You will be happy you did.
In regards to academic achievements, there are several proud moments for the Class of 2014 that should be highlighted and applauded as well. For those of you who were able to attend our Cum Laude Banquet a few weeks ago, 47 students were honored for maintaining at least a 3.667 unweighted GPA while at CHS, which is an astonishing feat. At Class Night, our community presented 296 awards and scholarships to 107 students from the Class of 2014. And through the exceptional academic diligence by three particular students, Chelsea High School continues the tradition of having a National Merit Finalist. Congratulations to James, EJ and Allie for this special distinction.
The Class of 2014’s academic accomplishments contributed greatly to Chelsea High Schools’ recognition by the U.S. News and World Report for 2014 as one of the top performing high schools in the state of Michigan. This ranking placed CHS in the top 3 percent of all public schools in the state of Michigan as well as the top 4% nationally. This is an achievement that all of our graduating seniors can be proud of, as you have contributed to the legacy of academic excellence here at Chelsea High School.
Excellence, legacy and tradition.
You often hear these words used at this time of year, especially during commencement addresses.
My wish for the Class of 2014 moving forward is for you to fully understand and appreciate your contribution to these nouns that are part of the collective fiber of this high school, school district and community. Your parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, and former graduating students already have a clear understanding of the unspoken knowledge that Chelsea is a unique and special place to live, work and raise a family. It is with this understanding that I implore our graduating seniors again to never, ever ring the bell on life.
If you thought that your high school career was trying and difficult, this was just a small dose of the reality of what you are about to face moving forward. We all have our moments of weakness and we might also fall a bit short from time-to-time in our pursuit of happiness, but I ask you today to reflect upon your successes, the lessons you have learned from your failures, your lasting relationships with one another, and finally, your place in the history book of Chelsea High School’s collective identity to assist you when times become difficult and you may think of ringing the metaphorical bell during this new chapter of your life.
As a community, and a high school, Chelsea will forever be your home and as the kids say these days, “We will always have your back.”
Good luck Class of 2014!
(Publisher’s Note: Please enjoy the slideshow below, the second of several that will be published this week.)
