St. Charles North High School

by Lindsay Kraus, Valedictorian
Sunday, June 1, 2003

Welcome Seniors! Albert Einstein once said that "imagination is more important than knowledge." It takes imagination to build something formidable, and I don’t think a single one amongst us today could deny that we have achieved the impossible. Who would have ever believed that we, the North Stars, had the potential to be so grand, so noticeable. We believed. We imagined. We saw ourselves rising to meet our challenges, confronting the competition, and building an identity for ourselves. I am proud to be a North Star. And so should we all be. Look around you. Look to your friends who have always stood beside you, protected you, loved you. Look to the teachers who have invested so much in us, spent so much time with us, devoted their lives to us. Look to the administrators and staff who gave us this opportunity to become excellent; to become the North Stars. Remember these faces. Thank them for all their hard work.

We came here as sophomores leaving behind many friends at St. Charles East and despite the fact that we missed the traditions of East, we were desperate to prove that we could create our own traditions, our own school, our own identity. Even though often we could be heard muttering that we were returning to a Middle School, we had this motivation to prove to everyone that we could do this. We, and the entire school community, built this school up from the base concrete to what we see before us today. Our athletics far surpass many of the other programs in the state, our academics are right up there with many of the brightest schools in the nation, and the SCN traditions that we helped establish will continue on for generations to come. Every student who attends St. Charles North will laugh at our polar bear Polaris, whine about the crammed hallways, cheer alongside the Blue Man Group, and gossip about the Stargazer. We started from scratch and I think we did a pretty good job.

Two months ago I was scared out of my mind to leave high school. The friendships made. The times we spent with each other. The traditions we built. I was afraid, because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it next year. I think we have all thought about this because when we don’t know what the future holds, it can be a pretty frightening thing. But then as the year came closer to the end, I started to get this feeling that it was time for us to move on. It’s time for us to leave our seats for the upcoming seniors. We’ve left them enough to continue on with. It’s time for us to take the courage and strength we used to build this school, to prove that we could become North Stars, and use it next year wherever we have chosen to go. For some of us that might mean a new job, or college, or even traveling to see the world, but use the strength and wisdom that we’ve acquired these past years and stun the world with it.

Now we need to look around again and remember these faces, this place, this school, and this moment forever more. This is our foundation. This is our end but it is also our beginning. Its time to leave North Star Country but you know, even though we may leave the high school behind, we’re traveling somewhere greater as a class. When we graduate together today, we will be the first graduating class of St. Charles North High School. This will be the last of the firsts that we will ever do in this school so remember it well. But also remember your dreams. We’ve been the Stars for 3 whole years and wow, that has seemed like an eternity, but now its time to head towards our own stars, because this is the first firm grip that we can get on our aspirations.

I’m not afraid anymore. I’m ready for this. And I think all of us here are ready for this too. Remember the faces around you and let them blend into the crowd of the future. Let’s build our lives like we built this school. And now, I’m going to take the advice that many of you gave me and that was to come up here and say simply "we’re done." So Congratulations Seniors. Class of 2003. This is our final exit from North Star Country. Good luck in whatever your future holds. We’re done!

For questions, comments or suggestions, please contact Todd Hewell