Starting off right

June 6, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

YCS sends out 44 in 2010 class

By ED RUNYAN

YOUNGSTOWN

It was a day to be proud that Youngstown Christian School on Southern Boulevard was graduating a record 44 students and that nearly half were in the National Honor Society.

But the Rev. Jonathan Moore, school-board chairman, in his commencement address, stressed to 700 family and friends that Sunday was a time for the graduates to “start right to finish well” their lives as Christians.

The Rev. Mr. Moore, senior pastor of Highway Tabernacle in Austintown, said the goal of the school’s leadership is not just to produce Christian graduates but to “produce people who are ready to meet Jesus at any age so that 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now, they still believe in Christ,” adding that “anything less than a 100 percent retention rate is simply unacceptable.”

He said 18 years of age is not too young to begin that journey, noting that minister and civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained into the ministry at age 18, gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at 34 and won the Nobel Prize at 35.

“Youth is not a disqualifier for starting well to finish well. It all starts with Christ,” Mr. Moore said.

He said he believes that the young people of the Class of 2010 are accepting of people more than those of his generation, which he applauds.

“I encourage you to retain that strength, but chose carefully those you allow to influence you,” he said.

He quoted a friend who said that one of the surest ways to define who you are is to “look at the five friends you spend the most time with. That’s who you are.”

Mr. Moore said the graduates’ lives will be tested when they leave Youngstown Christian, where their attitudes were shaped and supported by staff and fellow students.

But he urged them to keep in mind that their successful journey starts with having a daily personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that, “It’s all about people, and there’s no substitute for serenity.”

As for serenity, Mr. Moore touched on technology, noting that this generation can do things such as text-message on a phone in their pocket. They have access to media at their fingertips that could lead them down a wrong path — media that people of Mr. Moore’s generation had to seek out with more difficulty.

“There are some things you must step back from,” he said. “... There’s no do-over for the next four years, just like there’s no do-over for the last four years you’ve been here.”

Mr. Moore said to consider the “dash” that will be inscribed on your tombstone — the one that goes between date of birth and date of death.

“When all is said and done, what does the dash mean? Will you be remembered for your successes or your failures?”

Kayla LaGamba, class salutatorian, spoke of the accomplishments of the 2010 Eagles basketball team, which had a record-setting 19-1 regular-season record and went on to a win a District championship behind Ohio Division IV Player of the Year Casey Carroll.

Valedictorian Sophia Yargo urged graduates to “continue to cultivate our character, which is the only aspect of our lives that will last.”