Home / Community Board / Featured Stories / Betting Against The Odds

Betting Against The Odds

Our chances of holding US Commencement outdoors this very wet spring, in the US quad as is our custom, were maybe . . . 50-50. We’ve had two hailstorms in the last week and many showers.

But the skies cleared on Friday morning as 47 seniors in the Class of 2019 and their many friends, family, and teachers gathered to put an exclamation mark on the seniors’ time at Prep. Raul Midón ’84 graciously accepted the seniors’ invitation to serve as Commencement Speaker—and across 20 minutes, the 500+ folks in attendance were transported, first by his story and then by his rendition of his song, “State of Mind.”

Raul credits much of his success to recognizing certain “crossroads” in his life—including the decision to attend Prep with his twin brother, also blind from birth—and making good choices . . . maybe sometimes getting lucky, too. Early in his talk, Raul confessed, “The first thing I’m going to talk about is betting against the odds. I’m a blind guy from rural New Mexico, and I was not supposed to be doing this.” If you were unable to see Raul at Prep on Friday, or would just like to hear his message again, please click here>> Raul Midón

And to the graduates of the Class of 2019: well done. As a class, you modeled for younger students how to keep school fun by committing fully to your passions. Fare well . . . and keep us posted.

Happy summer to all!

– Jim Leonard, Head of School