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Graduation 2005

Messages of hope greet graduates

St. Petersburg Catholic grads are urged to do something they love.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published May 23, 2005

	[Times photo: John Pendygraft]
	St. Petersburg Catholic High School salutatorian Anita Frankhauser, 18, prays to help calm her nerves before commencement exercises Sunday.

ST. PETERSBURG - On hundred-forty-four tassels were turned to the left Sunday, as the crowd applauded, cheered and whooped for St. Petersburg Catholic High School's class of 2005.

By then, the grads inside Cathedral of Saint Jude the Apostle had marched up to receive their diplomas from Bishop Robert N. Lynch.

They had heard salutatorian Anita Enriquez Frankhauser remind them of their four years of apprehension, struggle, laughter and tears.

"We have been waiting an eternity for this moment. We are no longer novices but are veterans. The wait is finally over. We have arrived," Frankhauser said.

The graduates also heard parting messages from their two valedictorians - Adriana Nicholson and Michelle Alejandra Palacios.

"Never be afraid to mess up," said Palacios.

She urged her fellow graduates not to try to be good at everything, but to be good at something they love doing.

Nicholson said she had a hard time saying goodbye to her friends, teachers and school. "So, instead of saying goodbye, I want to say "see you later."'

Thirty-one seniors graduated with high honors. School officials said 97 percent of the graduating class plans to go on to college, funded in part with $6.5-million in scholarships.

Lynch told the graduates they are entering a "world of unprecedented change" - not all of it good. "It is the hope of people my age that the generations to come will live in peace and hope. God bless you and may his love shine upon you."

[Last modified May 23, 2005, 05:08:38]