Convocation 2026: Student Address by Juliana Yong

Your Excellency Archbishop Smith, President Turcotte, Board Vice-Chair Vincenza Eppich, Dr. Tom Cooper, Members of the Board, Faculty, Staff, Distinguished Guests, Friends, Family and fellow Graduates:  

It is a profound honour and with deep gratitude that I stand before you today on behalf of the extraordinary individuals who are the graduating class of 2026. Having gone through the trials and triumphs that have brought each of us to this moment, dear graduates, let us celebrate the people we have become as we step into the next chapter of our lives.   

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'” Reflecting on my time as a student at Corpus Christi-St. Mark’s has reminded me that they were full of those moments, moments of recognition, of belonging, and of realizing, again and again, that we are not alone.   

From volunteering on Friday evenings at The Door is Open to sharing laughs and free meals in Plato’s cave, I think about the experience this community has formed, and it was the small actions and moments that turned out to be the biggest.     

 Dear graduates, recall those experiences we have had in our time here:    

• When you found yourself in this chapel, joining in prayer or daily mass and walking out with the peace to keep going.  

• When we could visit the student resource center at any time or make an appointment with the academic advisor, we felt more at ease and hopeful about what lay ahead.   

• When the weight of multiple courses, assignments, projects and exams was supported by the kindness and help of the friends in your classes you made along the way.    

• When the staff and professors learned your name before you learned theirs, and showed up for you in ways you did not expect, more than just academically and formally, but personally, either in taking the extra time to help you in office hours, or making room in their busy schedules to support you.   

• When many of the graduate students balanced the demands of working full-time and studying. You found a community where you can take away more than a master’s degree – you found professors, mentors, and peers who guided you closely into your future missions and careers. 

This is who St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi College is. These values are not just put on our walls for students to see. They are lived out each day, in one-on-one conversations, in open doors, in the willingness to walk with students not just through their courses, but through their lives for years to come. 

And so, dear graduates, as we step out of this chapter, I want to leave you with this: do not leave these values here. Carry them. The world is in desperate need of people who lead with humility and compassion. The world is in desperate need of people who serve without being asked, and who build community wherever they go, not simply out of obligation, but because they know what it feels like to be truly welcomed, just as we have experienced here.    

To our families and friends: thank you for holding us up when we could not hold ourselves. To the faculty and staff: you modelled what it looks like to pour yourself into something greater than yourself, helping us grow, intellectually and personally, from the small conversations to encouraging our passions. To our donors and friends of the college: thank you for believing in us students, not just in our education, but in our dreams.     

Finally, dear graduates, thank you for your dedication, fellowship, and the countless hours you have devoted to your programs. As we celebrate the fruits of our labour, let Corpus Christi–St. Mark’s be the standard we carry with us beyond, where service to others is not just a component of work but the purpose of our vocations. And where ‘legacy’ goes beyond “how successful am I?” towards “how impactful and committed can I be?”  

Congratulations, Graduates of 2026. Grounding ourselves in Mark 4:21, may we not hide our lights, our gifts, from the world but share them with others. May we move onwards, guided by our callings to make this earth a better place and let us leave the Colleges with the courage to take risks and the commitment to live compassionately and serve faithfully in every area of our lives.    

 And with that, may God be praised.