NDCL's 30th annual commencement will be remembered as the most creative and perhaps the most joyous send-off for any graduating class in school history...
Class of 2020 Makes School History
NDCL’s 30th annual commencement will be remembered as the most creative and perhaps the most joyous send-off for any graduating class in school history.
Because of social distancing required by the pandemic, NDCL moved the ceremony from the Mentor Fine Arts Center to the Mayfield Road Drive-In. Members of the senior class chose the drive-in option after considering seven different ways to celebrate the end of their high school days.
Mother Nature cooperated with an absolutely gorgeous spring evening that allowed families to decorate their cars with signs, streamers, and even a huge commencement cap and graduation cake. Crews from the Munson Fire Department hoisted a huge American flag from their ladder truck, and deputies of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office assisted with event management and traffic flow.
While the drive-in setting was anything but traditional, the event featured a video presentation with all of the time-honored elements of NDCL commencement ceremonies, including prayer led by seniors Mary Grace Raddell and David Beebe as well as the “Ave Maria” and alma mater sung by a Zoom choir of seniors under the direction of music teacher Adam Pysell ’05.
Principal Joseph A. Waler delivered the commencement address – his first since coming to NDCL 14 years ago.
In his remarks, Waler reflected on the effects of the pandemic by describing how an oyster responds to an irritant by coating it with layer after layer of a substance that ultimately forms a pearl. He challenged the graduates to transform the irritations and disruptions of the pandemic by offering the world pearls of their own.
“That’s our challenge: To make a pearl,” Waler explained. “You see, no amount of thinking—not even overthinking—will remove the virus, but you and I can improve its effects in our lives, on our plans, our emotions, and, perhaps most importantly, on our relationships. Are we using our brains and our hearts to form bright pearls of hope and possibility … or are we coating our lives and the lives of others in despair and bitterness?”
“Remember: The oyster doesn’t ignore or dismiss the irritant. He takes it in, makes it part of his world, if you will, and then makes something better out of it. You can do that too,” he stressed.
NDCL is extremely grateful to Dominic Mann ’19 for his video expertise in creating the virtual commencement ceremony and video recap montage of the evening’s festivities. NDCL also thanks John Knepp, owner of the Mayfield Drive-In, and his staff for helping the seniors create, as they sing in the alma mater, memories of their high school days that will bring joy for years to come.
Graduates Accepted to 134 Universities Nationwide
The 180 members of the NDCL Class of 2020 have been accepted by 134 colleges and universities from coast to coast and nearly everywhere in between, according to a report prepared by the NDCL Counseling Department.
More than 99 percent of NDCL graduates plan to enroll in college this fall. Collectively, they’ve been awarded nearly $23.7 million in college scholarships — a new school record. Download and view all of the impressive awards in the Seniors Honors Ceremony program.
ACT School Record Set
NDCL’s Class of 2020 proudly posted the highest overall ACT scores in school history, according to score reports compiled from all exams taken by the 180 members of our most recent graduating class.
NDCL recent grads posted mean (average) scores of 25.5 in math, 25.6 in science, 26.6 in English and 27.3 in Reading. Every one of the scores represents a new school record.
The ACT reports scores on a scale from 1-36. National averages in all subjects range from 20-21.
To put NDCL’s performance in perspective, Principal Joseph A. Waler noted that the U.S. Department of Education sets a mean ACT score of 24.3 to identify the top 15 percent of all high schools in the nation.
“Every single one of our scores far exceeds that challenging performance standard,” he said.
“The Class of 2020’s record-setting performance on the ACT reflects our students’ commitment to academic excellence as well as the professional expertise and relentless dedication of our faculty,” Mr. Waler explained. “Our top-notch teachers have worked tirelessly to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment with research-based benchmarks for college readiness. Their collaborative efforts on late-start Mondays, on blended learning days, and in countless after-school meetings have made the decisive difference in equipping our graduates for success. By challenging and supporting our students to achieve at higher levels, we are opening up doors of opportunity for them in college, career and life.”
