Social outbursts, financial turmoil, insane inflation, unemployment, the corona pandemic, the August catastrophic Beirut port blast, the Artsakh tragedy – all of these, continuously occurring during the past two years, deeply influenced the activity of Mesrobian’s educational family on the material and psychological levels, especially the representatives of the young generation, causing them numerous blows and shocks.
In this context, the graduation ceremony of the Armenian Catholic Mesrobian High School, held on August 3rd 2021, came as a response to the ongoing concerns of this school which, as a member of the Lebanese-Armenian educational family, not only affirmed its steadiness on the path of its mission, but also its ambition to reaching more heights of development and progress, full of determination to conquer them.
The event took place in the main courtyard of Mesrobian, attended by representatives of the clergy of the Armenian Catholic Church and various organizations as well as a limited number of guests, taking into account the necessary precautions during the pandemic.
After the graduate students» opening speeches and the relative discourses, followed by the graduates» artistic performances, Ms. Siham Salloum spoke on behalf of the teaching staff, urging graduates to perceive the present moment as the beginning of a new journey that will lead them to their personal development as well as that of their community.
Mesrobian’s Principal, Mr. Gregoire Kaloust, began his speech by paying tribute to Jessica Bezdjian, a former graduate of the school, who died in the Beirut post explosion a year ago while she was on her duty as a nurse. The Principal said that in honor of the prematurely deceased Jessica and her sacrifice, the 2020-2021 graduating generation will be named after her.
Mr. Kaloust summarized his advices to the graduates in five points. He encouraged them to be diligent, faithful to God, to the Armenians, to Lebanon and to the family, to keep and strengthen their faith as the basis for the struggle against all adversity, to pursue great dreams and finally, to cultivate Love in their souls in order to keep their place in the tragic human existence. Recognizing the achievements of the last two difficult years, he recalled the memory of the late Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholics, H.B. Gregoire Pierre XX and thanked the clergy who supported the school, the excellent work of the teaching staff, the parents who bravely endured all the sacrifices as well as the benefactors and friends who supported them. Finally, Mr. Kaloust said that Mesrobian College, which is on its way to ascension, will be the first and the only one among all the Armenian educational institutions to receive the LABEL FRANCE EDUCATION in the coming year, which will equate it with the level of public education in France.
Following the distribution of the awards to the students with excellent results, the graduation ceremony went on. The thirty-one Mesrobian graduates made the transition from school life forward, promising to always keep the name of their college high in the educational field and in life.
