Student Voice: Ric Jain ’25

Ric Jain ’25 shared these remarks with his class at the 8th Grade Celebration in May 2021.

Wow, what a year. We have really lived through it all: a pandemic, forest fires, quarantine, WW3 rumors, murder hornets…remember when those were a thing? But we did it, we made it. We finished middle school, and we’re on to high school! I mean, if you had told someone last March that we would go through everything we did, they would have said, “you’re crazy.” We went from in-person to virtual, to in-person-virtual hybrid, to finally back in-person. Let me tell you, I am so glad to be here with everybody because this is what MICDS is about. MICDS is much more than a school. It’s more than the 100-acre campus. It’s a community.

MICDS is a community, and it’s the best one there is. A community where we are taught the values of respect, kindness, and humbleness, where we are taught how to throw a football, shoot a basketball, score a lacrosse goal, as well as a community where we are taught everything and more that we need to know to be successful in whatever we choose to do.

None of these lessons would have been possible without teachers. To be the best you must have the best, and MICDS has the best teachers ever. We are all so lucky to have the amazing teachers we have because this school year has probably been a lot harder on them than us. Teaching virtual is hard enough, teaching a class that is half-virtual, half in-person, that’s crazy. But each day, they showed up and gave us their best, so a big thank you to all of the teachers!

Again, here we are. Officially on our way to high school. Looking back, middle school has been challenging but fun, and these formative years have more than prepared us for what is to come for the next four years of our lives. Sure high school will bring new obstacles, but together we will prevail.

It’s just like what the Golden State Warriors say, strength is in numbers. We at MICDS have the numbers, as well as the diversity. Imagine how strong we are. So remember, these next four years are going to be some of the best four years of our lives! Also, while we are here, we should just all take a moment to appreciate how great our time has been so far at MICDS as well as celebrate all the future memories to come about! So 9th grade, here we come! After all, if we can navigate a global pandemic, we can easily handle high school. Thank you everyone, and have a great night!

GO RAMS!