CVU graduates encouraged to try everything

Although smiles and laughter were in abundance at Champlain Valley High School’s graduation on Friday, June 13, there was also a heaping helping of solemnity on this occasion.

Besides the obvious gravity of this gathering signifying a major milestone on 334 graduates’ journeys from adolescence to adulthood, there was also the significance of how important getting an education is.

In her role of welcoming those gathered to witness and help mark the moment, Sofia Hordenko brought home that message by sharing the story of her time at CVU and how she came to be at the school.

Her school in Ukraine was destroyed by a missile. Although Hordenko was excited to be one of 49 students selected to represent her country as part of a cultural exchange in 2022, she was apprehensive as well.

Accepting the opportunity meant leaving her family thousands of miles away and making sacrifices that would completely change her life, but it was important to tell her home country’s story.

“I’m certain so many of you are experiencing a spectrum of emotions now: happiness, nervousness and excitement,” Hordenko said. “That is exactly how I felt when I made my first step into CVU back in 2022.”

A year before she had found a quote that helped guide her: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”

She credited the quote with bringing her to where she was on this afternoon on the campus of the University of Vermont, standing on a stage in a packed Patrick Gym, “delivering a graduation speech for an American high school in front of over 1,000 people.”

Hordenko repeated her message one last time in hopes that everyone would get it: “Everything you want is still on the other side of fear.”

Wade Nichols prefaced some funny stories from his senior year by saying, “You might be wondering, ‘Why is this guy giving a graduation speech?’ Well, to be honest, I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

For many of the students, the school year had been made up of little funny and lovable moments. Nichols advised his fellow graduates, “Life, like senior year, is way better when you don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Graduation will be a change for Mira Novak who felt during her high school career that the summer break is overrated. During summers, the first day of school was like a holiday she started celebrating weeks before school began again.

“For me, summer is defined by my eagerness to go back to school,” Novak said.

A good part of what has made her time at Champlain Valley so enjoyable is the care she has seen exhibited by teachers. She will carry what she has learned about caring at the school with her.

“The care I see makes me care more. This care we give so freely and strongly was taught to us at CVU as much as we were taught about algebra or the proper use of semicolons,” Novak said. “It was less expressed in words than it was in actions.”

Thomas Mathon and Hannah Stein announced that the traditional gifts from the graduating class this year were $2,000 for the school’s alternative educational programs, so all students receive a high-quality, meaningful education while “feeling comfortable, included and connected with CVU,” and $9,000 as seed money for a scholarship to fund travel experiences for students from families with financial needs who might not have those opportunities to gain insights into other cultures.

Jacob Tischler was the invited speaker for the graduation. Tischler, a CVU grad, is an accomplished actor whose performances have earned positive reviews in publications including Seven Days, The Washington Post and Broadway World.

Tischler said, when he graduated, he juggled but that he wouldn’t juggle at this graduation.

He introduced himself as a clown, emphasizing that this wasn’t a euphemism for his being a funny guy, but that he is a face-paint-and-red-nose-wearing, actual clown. He credited several summers performing with Circus Smirkus for his success as a performer.

Nonetheless, when his current gig ends, Tischler faces four months of unemployment before his next gig.

During that time, he said, “I will do everything I can to broaden my horizons. I will learn how to code. I will write a video game. I will get better at piano. Maybe I can finally learn how to juggle.”

He encouraged the graduates to try everything.

Then, he concluded by juggling.