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Family, friends, faculty and students gathered at McCallum Stadium on Friday as 33 Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School seniors crossed the stage to receive their diplomas in the school’s 63rd commencement ceremony.

Valedictorian Maria Kariampuzha spoke to the seniors about the special nature of their class.

“From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it. I may be biased but I think we are different from many schools and classes because every single one of us are such unique individuals that come together to create something so special,” she said, as she reflected upon their time together, several of them since pre-K at St. Gregory Cathedral School.

Kariampuzha will be a freshman at Texas A&M University in the Mays Business School Business Honors Program.

Salutatorian Monica Herrera and senior Sid Cleofe won the Christus Award, the school’s highest honor that celebrates seniors who live their Catholic Christian faith in all that they do. Both Herrera and Cleofe plan to attend the University of Texas at Tyler’s Honors Program.

Speaking on the value and support of parents and family, Cleofe thanked his mother, father and sister for “giving [him] the traits needed for Christ to shine through (him),” and, like Kariampuzha, focused on the closeness of the Class of 2022 at Bishop Gorman.

“This class was never the largest in number or ever threw those parties that you hear about in movies, but we sure were at everyone’s senior night always supporting each other in the Cru section and excited to go to school dances,” he said.

Herrera addressed the value of a Catholic Christian education and the impact upon her own faith.

“You don’t have to do something extraordinary to become a saint and to live a full life that impacts others, … But we can take the time to love those we encounter each day,” she said.

Bishop Joseph Strickland closed the ceremony with a blessing for graduates and their parentsthat again emphasized the importance of love as he wished the graduates great success at their selected colleges and universities.

The members of the Class of 2022 received over $7.6 million in college scholarships and were accepted to 80 different colleges in the United States and Canada.