St. Jean Baptiste High School
Gala
The ballroom was nearly dark when the first student stood to speak.
A single spotlight illuminated a freshman standing quietly at the back of the room. She spoke about opportunity, gratitude, and what a scholarship had made possible for her future. Then she ended with five simple words:
“I will make you proud.”
Her light faded.
Then a sophomore stood in a new spotlight, closer to the stage.
Then a junior. Then a senior.
Each continued the story from a new place in the room, physically and emotionally drawing the audience forward. By the time the final spotlight reached the stage, a recent graduate stood at the podium describing an international work assignment and the life that had become possible because someone in that room had believed in her years earlier.
Her closing words connected every voice that came before her:
“I — and all these other girls — are here to make you proud.”
For a moment, the room stood completely still.
That silence told us everything.
What followed was one of the evening’s strongest moments of donor participation.
Spring 2022
583 Park Avenue, New York City