To all 251 of you – our largest class yet!

By: Ricky Austin

Dear Aim Higher Scholars, Class of 2025,

To all 251 of you. Our largest class of graduating Aim Higher Scholars ever!

You did it. You have graduated. And on to high school you go. As you move on to bigger and better things, here’s a couple things I hope you’ll consider:

• First, you’re stepping into the future at a moment when the world feels like it’s asking more of us. More compassion. More clarity. More courage. It’s asking for people who know who they are—and who are willing to lead not by shouting the loudest, but by serving the deepest.

And that’s why I’m writing to you today. To say congratulations and to ask you to keep going. . .to keep aiming even higher than you’ve already reached so far.

• Because, secondly: the world needs you. We need your voice, your conviction, your steadfast belief in what’s good and what’s possible. The world you’re growing up in is full of challenges—but it’s also full of extraordinary promise. You have the potential to shape that promise into something real. Something better.

That’s why your journey through your Catholic school has mattered so much. Not just because you’ve learned to solve equations or diagram sentences—but because you’ve learned to recognize your gifts, listen to your conscience, and care for others as if their needs were your own. That foundation is rare. And it’s powerful. And it’s grounded in the village of so many who have believed in you to help you get you to where you are today.

• And third: You may not have realized it at the time, but one of those groups is right here: all of us at the Aim Higher Foundation have been behind you for much of your journey. We awarded your family a scholarship because there was a financial need—but we never saw you as a number on an application. We saw you as someone with enormous potential. Someone whose education could light a path—not just for you, but for the people around you.

And now here you are—standing on the edge of the next chapter.

• Finally: High school will bring new ideas, new people, and new opportunities. It will stretch you. You’ll be asked to think more deeply, to speak more clearly, to lead more boldly. Don’t shrink from that. Lean into it. Trust the values you’ve been taught. Build on them. And when you feel overwhelmed—and you will, sometimes—remember that you have a firm foundation up one which to stand.

Your Catholic education has prepared you to be that kind of person. A person who shows up. A person who serves. A person who leads.

As you go forward, I hope you’ll keep aiming higher—not just for success, but for meaning. For purpose. For a life that lifts others as it grows.

We’ll be here cheering you on. Believing in you. And doing everything we can to make sure more students like you get the same opportunity.

With hope and pride,

Ricky Austin is the president of the Aim Higher Foundation..