A Fond Farewell: Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony

As the academic year draws to a close, Sha Tin College bids farewell to the graduating Year 13 students. The past week marks some of the most significant milestones in their lives with the completion of their IB Examinations. The graduating class of 2023 has faced a multitude of challenges; the pandemic spanning across both their IGCSE and IB courses, as well as the difficulties of online learning. Despite all these shortcomings, the graduating class demonstrated resilience and tenacity, persevering through these tough times and ultimately thriving under the circumstances.

For many students, graduation is a bittersweet experience. While the prospect of graduation and the possibilities of the future are exciting and alluring, the school environment provides safety and security. However, graduation is not a time of worry and concern, but rather a springboard for students to launch themselves into the real world. Countless new exciting opportunities await them as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

On Tuesday the 23rd of May, a graduation ceremony was held. The hall was packed to the brim with many celebrating the graduation; a vibrant and lively atmosphere was in the air, with chatter and laughter floating around.

While the ceremony was mainly a celebration of the Year 13’s, there were also a few performances by the graduates, including Bosco So singing a stunning rendition of ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, Grace Yeung and Samantha Leung performing ‘Fearless’ by Taylor Swift on vocals and acoustic guitar, and finally a dance performance by Karen Lee, Anise Wong, Lauren Ho, Megan Lee, and Victoria Lee. The ceremony also featured an exuberant student address from the representative Ka Po Cheung. She remarks on how she “will miss having a regular schedule to follow and having adults to tell and guide me through things.” Graduation is undeniably a moment of vivid emotions, and of those emotions, perhaps a sense of wistful reminiscence lies.

In an interview with Ms. Shwan Lee (Business Manager), she mentioned how it was “very touching to see everyone together in the hall, especially after the last three years of having split graduation ceremonies due to covid”. This sentiment was shared by Ms. Vega Lee, the head of Year 13: “I think it feels great for the students, just judging by their smiles and their energy and it’s great to see them at this stage and their ceremony to conclude their time here at school”. Ms. Lee also wanted to remind others to “make sure they take the time to do non-school book things”, because “school is not just remembering stuff from class”.

Our principal Ms. Larkin also took the time to reiterate to the graduating class that they were “amazing”, so they should “keep being amazing”. She advised them to not be “intimidated by different environments and other places,” and encouraged the students to “be brave, be adventurous, take risks, and the most important thing of all, enjoy the journey”, reminding them not to take things for granted.

The graduation ceremony closed with several closing remarks from Ms. Vega Lee and Mr. Jeroen Paul De Pauw, the Head and Deputy head of Year 13, and Ms. Larkin. With a final flourish, the graduation ceremony came to an end.

Though your time at Sha Tin College has come to an end, all of the heart-warming memories that you’ve made are held dearly in your hearts. To all those graduating, we offer our sincerest congratulations and wish you the best of luck!

Written by: Sam Cheung (12X1)
Edited by: Hannah Wong (11D2) and Christie Lam (12P2)