What is your favorite day of senior year?” a senior recently asked me.

“Graduation,” I answered without hesitation.

The nearby seniors immediately objected: “But that’s the last time you’ll see us!”

That response told me something important: many of them had never truly experienced a UA Graduation before. So, I explained why it means so much…

When seniors arrive for the first day of Graduation practice, they have absolutely no idea what’s coming over the next three days. As we walk through seating charts, processional routes, curtsies, and the timeline for the ceremony, I’m always reminded that Graduation practice mirrors the four-year Ursuline experience itself: awkward beginnings, steady growth, and ultimately, confidence and grace.

The first time faculty hear the seniors sing their Graduation song a cappella at practice, it can sound less like a polished choir and more like the birds from Rio arguing over breadcrumbs. But by the end of practice, they somehow become beautiful, unified, and genuinely moving. The transformation never gets old, and I can’t promise I won’t lose it this year when they sing “Somewhere Only We Know.”

One of my favorite memories from years ago was when seniors asked me to rate their day one curtsies on a scale of 1–10. Let’s just say roughly 75% landed somewhere between “newborn giraffe” and “I think I could actually come close to doing that.” Anyone above a 5 was, in my opinion, an Olympic curtsying prospect.

As each senior walked across the stage during practice, I could not help but think about all the conversations, moments, and interactions that had led to a place where we could simply laugh together. By Graduation Day, though, they looked poised, confident, and completely transformed. That growth is remarkable, and it’s a reminder of what a privilege it was to walk along beside them senior year.

What the seniors missed in asking their question is that Graduation is meaningful because of all the moments leading up to it. After a year filled with senior traditions, celebrations, conversations, and memories, Graduation becomes more than a ceremony. It becomes the culmination of relationships intentionally built over four years.

After 20 years working with seniors, I know what’s ahead for them. They are ready for their next chapter. Of course, Graduation is bittersweet; the halls will feel quieter without the Class of ’26, and memories inevitably flood in during the ceremony. But more than anything, I feel grateful. Grateful to have known them, supported them, laughed with them, and watched them grow spiritually, academically, emotionally, and personally into young women ready for the world ahead of them.

And while they may leave campus, they know this: they will always have a home at Ursuline Academy of Dallas.

As I prepare to transition into my new role as Dean of Students this summer, people have asked what I’m most excited about. That answer is easy: getting to know students from the moment they first step onto campus and walking alongside them all the way to Graduation Day. Every day, I try to serve students in whatever way that particular moment calls for. What a gift it will be to expand from investing deeply in one class to helping shape the full four-year experience for every student, so that one day, each senior can walk across that Graduation stage filled with gratitude, confidence, and the certainty that Ursuline Academy of Dallas will always be home.

Best,

Matt Lepley, Senior Grade Dean