St Thomas Military Academy - Kaydet Yearbook (Mendota Heights, MN)

Page 14 text:

tyuHpZK As Dean of Studies for the Academy, Mr. Grogan, in his friendly, affable manner gives kind and patient advice to the cadets at St. Thomas. Ilis sincere cooperation with the students, not only in scholastic affairs but also in social activities bear witness to his complete understanding of young men’s problems. 10

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 5 t.(Tlutmas itttlitant Afafttmu jSf. anl, iHinitrenta OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT My dear graduates: It is with deep emotion that I say a word at parting to this, the first class to graduate under my care. I am sorry to see you go, because in the short time we have been together I have grown increasingly glad of your presence here. I hope that we shall not be separated long; that as alumni of St. Thomas you will always feel close to your school, that you will never lose contact with the teachers who have fed your minds and moulded your characters during the past few years. Many of you are the sons of St. Thomas men, and came to her gates with the spirit of St. Thomas already a part of you; others found St. Thomas an entirely new experience, with no roots in fsunily association. In either case, St. Thomas is your school; you have helped to make her what she is, as she has helped to make you what you are. Nothing can change the fact; your lives have become joined with hers. You have become part of a great tradition, the tradition of Catholic, Western culture. The ideals of Catholic faith and conduct, together with the ideal of intellectual growth for its own sake, have been held up before you. Added to these has been the ideal patriotism, so ef- fectively put into practice by your military training. May you always be true to these ideals; may you go forth, facing the future with courage and hope, confident in Cod's protective love for those who do His will. May Our Heavenly Father bless you and keep you. Affectionately yours, (Rev.) Vincent J. Flynn President

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tRljonuis Military j cabemu To The Graduating Class: ?auI Hhtnesoia YOUNG MEN OF THE GRADUATING CLASS, the hour has come to say farewell. You have reached the goal for which you have nobly striven through days and years of faithful, persistent labor- Each goal, when reached, is but the starting point for a new race in e ery earnest life. Every effort, every sacrifice, every achievement, but increases your power for further conquest We cannot read the sealed orders which the Creator has placed in your hands, but we breathe the prayer that in victory and defeat, success and fail- ure, you will rise in strength of noble manhood to meet the issues that con- front you. The purpose of your training here has not been merely that you may acquire knowledge, but that you may gain personal power, so that you may bring things to pass: power to perceive truth, power to love truth for its own sake, and to plan for the triumph of truth. The educated man has at his command, all history, all learning, all lands, though he may live in a cabin. Every discovery, every invention, every conquest since the world began belongs to the scholar. He carries the keys of the world' library and feels its resources behind him in whatever tasks he undertakes. This Academy is doing a great and useful work when through her graduating classes, she gives each year a reinforcement to our land which must influence all its future history- The fond hopes and affectionate regard of those with whom you have been so closely associated in these halls will follow wherever you may go or in what- ever work you may engage- They will rejoice with you in your triumphs and grieve with you in your failures- Let us hope that they may never hang their heads in shame for your dishonor. That which will aid or hinder you most in life is your character. It has been strikingly said that we bring nothing into the world but capacity, and take nothing from it but character- Character is above all learning and con- stitutes in itself both a rank and an estate. Men may injure or destroy your reputation, but your character is beyond their reach- It lives and grows within the inner sanctuary of your own soul and cannot be touched by hands of another. Forget not, amid the pressing activities of your daily life, the fond mother who has prepared you for life's struggles and who looks to you, her chil- dren, for help and succor in the years to come. In parting, let me leave with you for your encouragement, guidance, and stay for all years that are to come, a sentiment which I would wish to engrave upon the hearts of each one of you: Whoever walketh uprightly, walketh surely. Good Luck. God Bless You. Thomas C Grogan Dean of Studies