The creation of the graduation service cord honor program at St. Mary’s Academy has resulted in an excellent way of recognizing the significant contributions St. Mary’s students make while serving others.
The Service Cord Program was established in 2006 because it became evident that St. Mary’s students did a significant amount of community service, even though it was a graduation requirement. St. Mary’s Community Service Coordinator Carrie Swetonic says, “At St. Mary’s, service is not an academic requirement because it’s a way of life. We’re planting the seeds for a lifelong commitment to the community.”
An exciting example of the service cord program motivating St. Mary’s students is Dallas Jessup and Catherine Wehage’s. When freshman in 2005, Jessup and Wehage quickly learned that the all-girls, preparatory school had lofty expectations of its students, including a clear call to service. They heard about the service honor cord program and planned a project to achieve the cord by the time they graduated. The minimum requirement for recognition through this program is 160 hours. Any student who accomplishes and can verify this challenging goal in her four years is honored during her senior year at the spring student awards night as well as the distinction of wearing her service cord throughout graduation ceremonies. This is the second year of the program and 22% of the graduating seniors are expected to receive the cord.
Jessup and Wehage’s project morphed into a major film for girls to escape predators and date rape situations, with a professional director and crew, including Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway from the television show Lost. Though the two are only sophomores, they have been featured on the “Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, People, In Touch, and many other national and local publications. The video can be downloaded for free from the St. Mary’s home page: www.stmaryspdx.org.
Besides self-designed programs like Jessup and Wehage’s, students can participate in many St. Mary’s endeavors such as Friends Across the Generations; rural, homeless, and border immersions; working with people with disabilities; women and children fleeing domestic violence; and tutoring youth, among others.
“Students who excel in other areas such as academics and theatre have been earning and wearing honor cords at commencement for years,” says Principal Pat Barr. “Now the service cord showcases our value and emphasis on service.”
Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest, continuously operating, secondary school, its only single gender school, and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.
