BlogsAdvancementPre-K to 8AlumniUpper School
Thank You for the Endless Opportunities
Aug 27, 2013 8:25 AM
By Julie Lucas '97 - Faculty
It is an honor to be able to share with you a part of a letter written last spring to our Board of Trustees by graduating senior O’Keefe Johnson (’13). It gave me chills the first time I read it because of her honesty, love for Darlington, and appreciation for what the Darlington family does for our students. It also reminded me of my own feelings when I graduated 16 years ago. Darlington is an amazing place and offers endless opportunities for our students. Thank you to everyone for helping make Darlington an opportunity for so many students.
"Thanks to y’all's help, I will be attending the University of Georgia this fall, and I will be majoring in International Relations, because I have fallen in absolute, undeniable love with the dorm students and teachers I call family. I will miss them so so much, and I hate to leave them and this school behind, but I have been set on a path that can take me anywhere, and I have the power to control the direction I will go in because I went to Darlington.
"I am so thankful to know and believe in the importance of Honor from the perspective of Honor Council President, and had no clue how very much it would mean to me by the end of my senior year. The greatest gift all of you have given me is the chance to step into a place that contains an entire world of people. I have had to work so hard to succeed here, and it has made me so strong and so happy at the end of the day.
"This school has made me work so hard, cry a whole lot, and freak out sometimes, but I am thankful for every tear, every drop of sweat, and every night I sat up until 3 am figuring out how to work through academics, because what I got as a trade has made me O’Keefe. In return, I received an incredible dorm family as a Head Day Prefect, sisters and brothers around the world, teachers who have lifted me from the lowest of lows as close confidants, and a sense of individuality that is founded in what our school believes: learning with passion, acting with integrity, and serving with respect.
"Now I honestly sound like a big dork, like a senior who is not ready to leave and will be coming back to campus every weekend. I won’t lie; a huge part of me is ready. But the part that isn’t will live here forever, because thanks to your help and your believing and supporting of this school, I have found who I am, and I have learned to love the person I have become, and to support her, and know what will give me greatest happiness in my life as an independent person.
"SO, as a senior, who will soon be walking out the door for the last time, walking across the chapel lawn for the last time, locking my door in Regester dorm for the last time, and typing in ojohnson@darlingtonschool.org for the last time…. Thank you for changing my life, and giving me the chance to meet the people who would become my life. I will never ever regret my time here, and will cherish it forever." - O'Keefe Johnson ('13)
"Thanks to y’all's help, I will be attending the University of Georgia this fall, and I will be majoring in International Relations, because I have fallen in absolute, undeniable love with the dorm students and teachers I call family. I will miss them so so much, and I hate to leave them and this school behind, but I have been set on a path that can take me anywhere, and I have the power to control the direction I will go in because I went to Darlington.
"I am so thankful to know and believe in the importance of Honor from the perspective of Honor Council President, and had no clue how very much it would mean to me by the end of my senior year. The greatest gift all of you have given me is the chance to step into a place that contains an entire world of people. I have had to work so hard to succeed here, and it has made me so strong and so happy at the end of the day.
"This school has made me work so hard, cry a whole lot, and freak out sometimes, but I am thankful for every tear, every drop of sweat, and every night I sat up until 3 am figuring out how to work through academics, because what I got as a trade has made me O’Keefe. In return, I received an incredible dorm family as a Head Day Prefect, sisters and brothers around the world, teachers who have lifted me from the lowest of lows as close confidants, and a sense of individuality that is founded in what our school believes: learning with passion, acting with integrity, and serving with respect.
"Now I honestly sound like a big dork, like a senior who is not ready to leave and will be coming back to campus every weekend. I won’t lie; a huge part of me is ready. But the part that isn’t will live here forever, because thanks to your help and your believing and supporting of this school, I have found who I am, and I have learned to love the person I have become, and to support her, and know what will give me greatest happiness in my life as an independent person.
"SO, as a senior, who will soon be walking out the door for the last time, walking across the chapel lawn for the last time, locking my door in Regester dorm for the last time, and typing in ojohnson@darlingtonschool.org for the last time…. Thank you for changing my life, and giving me the chance to meet the people who would become my life. I will never ever regret my time here, and will cherish it forever." - O'Keefe Johnson ('13)
This is part of a blog series written to highlight what it means to be a donor in the Darlington Community and the various ways one can give back to the school. On Aug. 30, the school will host its first-ever Thank a Donor Day to recognize the individuals and businesses whose generous gifts make Darlington the special places that it is.
