Best of the Week 2019-2020: Teaching to the Future

SENIOR EDSMEN DOCUMENT REFLECTIONS OF THEIR TIME AT ST. ED'S IN VIDEO SERIES

To commemorate their senior year, Edsmen from the graduating Class of 2020 have documented their favorite memories and reflections of their time at St. Ed's in the video series, "Perfect Visions: Perspectives from the Class of 2020." Using the film equipment they have at home, students have been able to interview each other and share their messages with the community, uniting them by writing the final chapter of their graduating class's story through film.

"Everyone needs to be able to tell a story," says Associate Dean of Academics and IB Coordinator Mr. Nick Kuhar. "I remember a poetry professor of mine saying that a huge part of why we're drawn to storytelling is that it's how we cement we're a community. He said that 'a tribe feels like a tribe when it can tell itself its story.' These final interviews can be such a comforting thing, especially in a semester that involved so much upheaval. As seniors in high school, the last stories they tell themselves and hear from their peers can give them some sense of closure in a year where so many traditional rites of passage have been postponed or modified."

From reflecting on how St. Ed's has shaped them into the men they are today to recounting fond memories from the last four years that have stood out to them, seniors have documented their thoughts to capture what St. Ed's has meant to them. "My definition of being a leader has really been shaped at St. Ed's," says Cole Meredith '20. "St. Ed's helped me build my own identity, taught me how to be myself, and to do what's right and keep others on that same track."

"Even when you're in the thick of it, even when you have a ton of work to do, even when we're in a situation like we're in now, there's so much you'll still miss. Cherish every little moment," says John Hanrahan '20.

"I remember junior year on Kairos, Ms. Dennstedt told me to 'hold on to the moments you have in high school because it goes by so quick.' Now looking back as seniors, we can see how fast four years goes. As freshmen, you don't realize how fast it'll go until it's gone and things happen like this with the pandemic where everything changed our experience. Remember to hold on to the moments we have and not take anything for granted," says Cam Addington '20.

"There's a practical angle to all this. In a decade defined by video, video-creation is a skill we want our students to have in their back pockets," says Mr. Kuhar. "The overwhelming majority of content consumed on the internet is video, and so it's ideal to have our seniors go out with a project that emphasizes just how powerful that medium is." Stay connected on Facebook @WeAreStEds to watch new "Perfect Visions" videos daily.