Goodbye to the Class of ‘24: What It Means to Graduate and Best Wishes to All

By Oluwafunmilola (Funmilola) Okeowo ‘24 and Rebecca Liu ‘25, Contributor and Head Editor-in-Chief; Edited by Kat Willson ‘26, Staff Editor

How are you feeling about graduating? Honestly, I don't know how I’m feeling. However, I think I know what it means to graduate.

For the majority of us graduates, it means we’re moving on to a completely different stage of our lives. We are expected to behave differently. Some of us are going to university, starting a gap year, or starting a job, everyone's path is different. Graduating to me means becoming an adult. While I haven't completely processed this responsibility, I would love to live with my parents forever and never pay taxes. But I have to close an old chapter and open a new one. I hope I never have to see any textbook with the infamous IB logo on it. Graduating is a step toward the achievements that we are all going to accomplish.

The two years I spent at Ridley have felt longer and shorter than it was. Graduating means being proud of how far you have come, the challenges you have faced, and the unlikely friends you have made. Graduating means being thankful. Thankful to our teachers who understood our need for extensions, our advisors who guided us, our guidance counsellors who patiently listened to us even though we had already visited them three times that week and it was a Monday, and the staff who ensured Ridley was an environment we wanted to go to school in. Thank you, Ridley.

Finally, graduating is reflecting on who I identify as. That's pretty much it, K through 12. We survived a worldwide pandemic, world examinations, and university applications. We made friends and pushed our limits. To younger years, I hope you can cherish what you have while you have it. Enjoy where you are now and live in the moment. It's cliché, but do what you want within reason.

There's this feeling when you're younger of wanting to always grow up. “I wish I was sixteen, so I can finally drive my car wherever I want. I wish I was done with high school and never have to write an internal assessment again.” I can't tell you to enjoy writing your internal assessments, but I can advise you to enjoy the conversations you have in the Great Hall, the chatter at Hank's, the spirit nights, and the school trips. All these moments culminate into a bigger high school experience. In light of enjoying the moment, this is not an encouragement to procrastinate. You will not enjoy your future moments if you do so (Heavy emphasis on this point - Rebecca). So, in the proper nature of my definition of graduating, I would like to thank and reflect on Ridley. Thank you to everyone: students, teachers, advisors, guidance counsellors, heads of houses, assistant heads of houses, ground staff, Aramark, and the others unmentioned but appreciated for making Ridley the Ridley we know as it is. Congratulations to the class of 2024, you made it!

Class of 2024 Matriculation:

Acadia University
Bishop's University
Boston College
Brock University
Canisius University
Carleton University
Carnegie Mellon University
Clarkson University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dalhousie University
Emory University
Florida Institute of Technology
Glion Institute of Higher Education
Huron University College
Imperial College London
King's College London
Liberty University
London School of Economics
Maryville University of St. Louis
McGill University
McMaster University
Muhlenberg College
New York University
Niagara University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Queen Mary University of London
Queen's University Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
St. Francis Xavier University
The American Musical & Dramatic Academy
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The George Washington University
The University of British Columbia
The University of Edinburgh
The University of Hong Kong
Toronto Metropolitan University
Trent University
Tufts University
Universidad Europea de Madrid
University College Dublin
University of Calgary
University of California, Irvine
University of East London
University of Glasgow
University of Guelph
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Ottawa
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of the Arts London
University of Toronto
University of Waterloo
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University
Western University
Wilfrid Laurier University
York University

From everyone here at The Tiger Times:

No matter where you are going after your time at Ridley, be it to a university, a gap year, a job, or much more, we hope you find success and truly ‘flourish’ in this new phase of your life. As you move forward into new adventures, the rest of us still here in Upper School look up to you with admiration and gratitude. You've set the bar high, and we will strive to follow in your footsteps. Best of luck in all your future endeavours —we know you'll make us proud. Goodbye Class of 2024!