89 Tolton Catholic seniors sent forth to live in the Holy Spirit
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It was time.
The members of Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School’s Class of 2025 had turned their sights toward the future.
“I’m kind of ready to be done with high school,” said graduating senior Isaac Royal. “I’m ready to go on to the next step and follow God’s plan for whatever I do for the rest of my life.”
“I feel excited,” said graduating senior Rachel Gerke. “I feel like I’ve gotten what I need from high school, and I’m very ready to move on.”
Father Michael Coleman, a chaplain at Tolton Catholic, presided at the Baccalaureate Mass two days after these and the other 87 seniors graduated.
In his homily, he urged them to trust in the Holy Spirit every day of their lives.
“You have that Spirit inside of you,” he reminded them. “You are sons and daughters of the living God. No matter what you find yourself doing in life, you can always call upon the Spirit, and he will be there for you.”
The commencement ceremonies brought forth similar sentiments.
In an address to her fellow graduating seniors, Catherine Fallis called to mind shared highlights of their time together.
“That sense of belonging? It’s real!” she said. “And it’s rare, and I hope every one of you has gotten to experience it within these four years.”
She reminded them that they are all called to bring light into the world.
She thanked their parents, families, teachers, administrators and God.
She called upon her classmates to remember to “be kind, walk in truth, prioritize what truly matters and know that we are bound together by God’s grace.
“As we step into the next chapter of our lives, we do so with faith — trusting in God’s plan for each of us,” said Catherine.
Graduating senior John Glaude urged his classmates to emulate their school’s namesake, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton.
Born into a family of enslaved people before the Civil War, Fr. Tolton recognized his calling from God to be a priest — something more than he thought he could be.
Fr. Tolton defied overwhelming odds to become the Catholic Church’s first recognizably Black priest in this country.
“It’s no mistake that accepting our true identity with joy leads to a fulfilled life, because it put Fr. Tolton on the path to sainthood,” John stated.
He reminded his classmates that God had made them all for greatness, and calls them to forsake the well-worn path of comfort.
“After four years, we know that blazing a trail is not becoming something beyond yourself,” said John. “It’s being who we were created to be.”
High distinctions
Among the awards presented to graduating seniors were:
- the St. Paul Service Award to Rachel Gerke, who completed the most hours of community service during her four years at Tolton Catholic;
- the Bishop Gaydos Award to Lydia Siebert; and
- the school’s highest honor, the Fr. Tolton Award, to John Glaude.
Both the Bishop Gaydos and the Fr. Tolton awards are for exemplifying the school’s mission.
Lydia and John also received the Fr. Coleman Award, for exemplifying the spirit of the school.
Each student is required to perform at least 80 hours of service prior to graduation. Twenty-three graduating seniors were recognized for completing 125 or more hours of service as Tolton Catholic students.
The way home
In interviews, four graduating seniors talked about what brought them to Tolton Catholic.
Mariana Keegan-Caro was looking for a Catholic environment and a good education.
“I like going to a smaller school, because I felt like everybody kind of knew each other,” she said.
Isaac attended Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School in Columbia throughout grade school and went to a public school for freshman year.
“I loved being in a Catholic school,” he said. “The small community was great. Everybody was able to know each other and be friends.”
He transferred to Tolton Catholic for his sophomore year.
“I felt like a calming wave wash over me,” he stated. “Everything was neat and organized, and I had a friend group that followed me through school, because we all had similar classes.”
He was surprised at how welcoming the community would be.
“It was so nice to know that everybody here was kind and wanted to help me,” he said.
Graduating senior Jake Hart went to Tolton Catholic because his parents wanted him there.
“I wasn’t much into my faith at all,” he conceded. “I was just kind of going through the motions.”
His high school experiences opened up his connection to God and helped him get serious about his faith.
Rachel’s brother went to Tolton Catholic ahead of her, “and my parents thought it would be a very good idea if I did, too,” she said.
“I didn’t really care about getting a Catholic education,” she recalled. “And I thought the uniform was annoying.”
But her teachers and friends turned out to be incredibly helpful and supportive, “so, in hindsight, I’m so glad I came here,” she said.
Fears relieved
Mariana said what she’ll miss the most about Tolton Catholic is hanging out with her friends all day.
“Also, the teachers,” she said. “I feel like they really take an interest in your life.”
Jake will miss the tight community and the personal connection with teachers and fellow students.
“You get to know everyone in the building fairly well,” he said.
Rachel will miss her teachers and the banter and fun in their classes.
“And what I’ve already started to miss is having automatic, go-to time with friends — just knowing that every day at lunch, we’re going to be able to talk about whatever and not have to be intentional about making time for each other,” she said.
Isaac developed more one-on-one relationships with his teachers than he could have dreamed of at any other school.
“On top of that, all of the classes are Catholic-driven to some degree,” he said. “We have prayer at the beginning of the day, a prayer before some of our classes, and we go to Mass on Thursdays.”
Mariana was pleased to discover how quickly she’d become more independent.
“I was home-schooled right up to high school, so starting school here was a bit intimidating,” she said.
“But I think being here prepared me to take initiative and figure things out on my own, and the people here gave me the tools to help me do that,” she said.
Jake was surprised at how at-ease he felt at Tolton Catholic.
“I will admit, I was very stressed out by eighth grade, thinking, ‘What if I don’t know anyone? What if I fall behind?’” he said.
“But in a community this tight, you never feel like you’re alone.”
Isaac was surprised at how involved and open his schoolmates are about their faith.
“All the students and teachers seem to care about that, at least some,” he said. “If they’re not part of the faith, they seem to respect everybody who is.”
Rachel was surprised at how supportive the people in her classes were.
“I expected to struggle a lot more than I did,” she said. “And every time I’d get a little nervous, I would remember that I’ve been here before, and it always makes me a better student.”
Everywhere a sign
Mariana plans to attend Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, this fall to major in nursing.
Having already passed her exam to be a certified nursing assistant, she hopes to become a neonatal nurse practitioner.
Isaac plans to attend the University of Missouri to major in education and minor in history.
“I want to be a high school history teacher,” he said.
Jake plans to major in constitutional democracy at the University of Missouri and eventually become a lawyer.
Rachel plans to attend Truman State University in Kirksville to major in biology, pursue a master’s in education degree and become a biology teacher.
All four interviewees are confident that people will know they went somewhere special for high school.
“I think the Catholic values they instilled in us here are going to show themselves when we meet new people over our college career,” said Isaac.
“I’ll be telling them!” said Mariana. “My high school experience has been really positive, and I want to share that with people and tell my story.”
Jake said he hopes people recognize “a difference in values and how I interact with people.”
Many things made them aware of God’s presence at Tolton Catholic.
“First, obviously, the chapel with the Blessed Sacrament being here,” said Mariana.
Students also attend Mass and can spend time in Adoration on Thursdays.
“It’s great to just go there and spend time with Our Lord in the quiet and talk to him,” Mariana stated.
She also recognized God in the cohesion of the Tolton Catholic community.
“I noticed that whenever a student or faculty member has something happen in life, everyone comes together and is there for them and joins in a spirit of love and kindness,” she said.
Rachel encountered God in classroom discussions of Scripture and everyday life, especially in her senior year Aides for a Spiritual Walk with Christ class with Dr. Lynette Caro.
“There were a lot of great discussions,” said Rachel, “but the more impactful part was just seeing a teacher be so zealous. When you see someone talk about something they love the most, you can’t help but love it more.”
Jake encountered God in doing things he loves to do.
Haydee Cullen, the school’s Praise and Worship leader and youth minister, invited Jake and Isaac to play music for school Masses and the Catholic youth group.
“I started doing it because I like playing music, and it’s a big part of my life,” said Jake. “And it wound up deepening my relationship with God.”
Isaac agreed, saying: “I feel like I’ve been drawing closer to God by showing my love for him through the music and seeing everybody else praising him through the worship.”
Isaac noted that Fr. Coleman and Father Ignatius Nimwesiga, the school’s chaplains, are always open to listening and discussing life through the lens of faith.
“In fact, if you have a question or you’re wondering about where God is in something that’s going on, there’s always a teacher who can help you work through that and show you the way,” he said.
Help and intercession
All four said they want to remain Catholic. They talked about what the rest of the Church can do to help them.
“I think recognizing a lot of the issues young people have to face in our day and age, especially in our culture that in many ways can be anti-Catholic and anti-God — recognizing those things and speaking more about how we can stay strong in our Catholic faith,” said Mariana.
Isaac suggested being open to people without forcing a perspective onto them.
“God works by presenting himself to others and letting his love for them manifest itself in their hearts and helping them open up to him,” Isaac stated. “I think people in the Church need to act more like that.”
Jake emphasized the importance of providing community for young people to explore and grow in their faith.
“You can’t do it on your own,” he stated. “You need those other people in your life to push you and motivate you.”
The four asked for prayers.
Rachel suggested praying for the new graduates and also asking God for guidance for one’s own life.
“Because every individual person’s relationship with Christ affects the whole world,” she stated.
Mariana asked for prayers for strength for her and her classmates in a tumultuous culture.
“We need patience for dealing with that, and love for other people,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to show your love for another person, but that’s what Jesus calls us to do.”
Jake requested prayers for him and his fellow graduates to stay true to their faith, through this time of polarization and extreme beliefs.
Isaac asked for prayers for strength to persevere through hardships.
“Going to college, there’s a whole mix of different faiths and beliefs,” he noted. “You can so easily get mixed up in all the uncertainty and chaos.”
Rachel suggested praying for everyone to have eyes to recognize Christ and the desire to seek him out.
“Because when you remember what you’re doing all of this for, things become a lot simpler, and what you should do becomes very clear,” she said.
