A message from Mrs. Ball

A Letter to My Students:

The last time we met, I didn’t believe we would be where we are right now. Who could have believed it would be possible for life to become as topsy turvy as it did in so short a time? We all dreamt of taking a break from work and school—an extended vacation full of chances to relax, spend time with family and have fun. Unfortunately, the “break” we ended up with is full of consequences no one anticipated. Rather than a dream, for many people this has become more of a nightmare. 

I want to begin by apologizing that we never got to say any type of goodbye. I miss you all more than anything. You are all in my thoughts and prayers every day. While I know this is likely a scary time with hundreds of conflicting messages coming at you from all directions every day, I also know, and all of your teachers know, that Hoban’s students are resilient. 

This is new territory for all of us. Never before has there been an illness that has shut down the country like this, let alone shut down so many countries at one time, at least in living memory. Simultaneously, never before have we had the technology to communicate the extent of an illness in such an immediate way. Along with this ability comes the ability to communicate a thousand more strands of speculation on what the future could hold. We are all witnessing first hand both the beauties and the evils of this technology. 

We are living a piece of history. As the young generation, you all have a particular responsibility to learn from the mistakes that are being made as well as from the successes we have had—and YES there have been successes! You may not have heard about the successes simply because fear is much more contagious, but Ohio is being looked at as a model for other states on how to fight the virus right now. Even if it seems like the measures being taken by our government are for naught, the reality is that by adhering to these guidelines YOU are successfully helping save lives. Not only that, but YOUR reaction to this pandemic—picking up the challenge of distance learning in a heartbeat—has proven the resilience I mentioned earlier. In this successful transition, you have made a statement to the world that NOTHING will stop us from attempting to continue life as usual, or at least as usual as can be currently expected.

Perhaps you do not see what you are doing right now as a sacrifice—oftentimes young people are told or feel that their actions have little to no impact on the world. However, this assumption is flawed because every little decision you make today matters. When you refuse to let a challenge like this tear you down, you are showing both strength and flexibility. By adjusting to this new normal, you have refused to lie down and give up, and that sets an example for everyone around you. Every time you decide to Facetime your grandma instead of going to visit her, play video games using Zoom instead of going to a friend’s house or give up that Starbucks coffee in lieu of making coffee at home during this difficult time, you are changing the world for the better. Now more than ever, what you do matters to everyone—complete strangers and family members alike. 

I know it’s a difficult task, but we must continue to be a positive influence in this time of turmoil and uncertainty. It may seem like an endless fight, but we are all in this together. Coming from both a Hoban alumna and a teacher, I can say with confidence that Hoban is a special place—it is not just a school, it is truly a community where we have been educated in both the heart and mind, which has created our family. We have Core Values that are meant to guide us, not only through the good times, but also through the bad. These values have taught us to appreciate how fortunate we are and to continue to give and sacrifice in whatever ways we can for those who are not. We must lean into our Holy Cross tradition now more than ever, and we will come out stronger on the other side of this challenge. 

In particular, to my seniors—I’m sure I speak for all of the Hoban family when I say our hearts go out to you. While no one could have foreseen this, the best opportunities that will come out of this for you as a class will be to leave your unique mark on Hoban as the class that persevered in their last months at Hoban. I know that through collaboration and innovation between your class and the administration, we will be able to come up with some unique ways to celebrate the class of 2020, and you will go down in Hoban history as the group of incredible, brave, and creative individuals that you are.

Until we meet again, please know that all of the Hoban family, teachers, administrators, alumni and future knights, are behind you all right now.