Collin McIlvery

"Many Life-long Lessons Learned"
I have had the privilege of attending Clairbourn since Jr. Pre-K. I have followed in the footsteps of my two brothers… who also attended Clairbourn since Pre-school. In the 11 years I’ve been here, I have learned many life-long lessons.
Morning Assembly has taught me ethics that I will remember, and take with me for life. Clairbourn has also given me the opportunity to play all sports, and through that I have learned teamwork, and that the goal is to play hard and have fun, not just to win. The school trips to Costa Rica and Australia were great opportunities to practice independence. Costa Rica allowed us to embrace a very different culture and lifestyle, and we learned to respect every aspect of it. The teachers let us be very independent, and that made the trip so much better. These trips had such an amazing impact on my life, and not a day goes by where I don’t think about them.

When I ran for [Student Council] President I didn’t know if I was going to win, and if I did I would have a lot of responsibility. I looked past the worst things that could have happened…and just ran. [Performing] Shakespeare also gave me this doubt, and for a while I thought maybe I wouldn’t do it. There were so many lines to memorize, and I would have to get out of my comfort zone. It took countless hours of memorizing my 200 lines, but it all paid off in the final nights of the performances. I had similar doubts before the Costa Rica trip, but when I finally did it, it ended up being one of the best experiences of my life. I guess what I am trying to say is don’t be afraid to try new things, because it could turn out to be way better than you expected.

So much of my experience at Clairbourn was shaped because of the people. Mrs. Taylor, thank you for reminding me to work hard, and for giving me the confidence to write and say this speech, Mrs. Berge thank you for giving me more confidence in Math, and spending extra time helping me. Mrs. Kibbe thank you for making science class really interesting with our labs, and drop everything and-build-days. Mrs. Corwin, I’ve had you for four years now, and you’ve always taught me to be the best person I could possibly be, and I sincerely thank you for that. Mr. Ball, thanks for putting up with me every day, and in all of our hearts you’re the P.E. teacher of the year.

I can’t thank my parents enough for letting me go to this amazing school; thanks mom for working in cougar corner and CFA. Thanks dad for working extremely hard and letting me go to this school. Joshua J. Marine says, “Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” I will leave having made so many wonderful memories with my closest friends here and look forward to the new experiences and challenges ahead. Although I am extremely sad to leave, I am also prepared, and that is the most I can ask for.
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Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. (K-12 Private Schools)