During the May 28 graduation ceremony for The Avalon School, each senior, prior to receiving his diploma, rose and stood next to the school’s headmaster Kevin Davern, as he introduced the graduate for his brief shining moment in the commencement spotlight. Graduating Avalon senior Giovanni Ratti could be considered a “Lifer,” meaning he spent his elementary, middle and high school years at the Catholic all-boys K-12 school in Wheaton, Maryland.
Saying goodbye to the tight-knit school community Ratti’s attended since he was a young boy will be bittersweet, but he said he’s looking forward to the next big step in life – attending the University of Maryland in College Park, where he will major in engineering.
“I’ll miss Avalon that’s for sure, but I’m excited to do engineering at UMD next fall,” he said, adding that going from a small Catholic private school setting to a large state school will be an adjustment, but he said having several former Avalon classmates there too will make the transition easier. “It will be very different, but it’s like there’s a little piece of Avalon at Maryland,” said Ratti.
Last March, just as all Catholic schools in the archdiocese did, Avalon closed for the remainder of the school year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Although the 2020-21 school year began on Sept. 1 for all Avalon students and faculty with in-person classes five days a week, it was a school year like no other and not without its challenges due to the strict COVID-19 safety precautions.
Masks, six-foot social distancing, daily temperature checks and sanitizing of desks between each class quickly became part of the everyday school day routine. He and his classmates, he said, were thankful to be in the school building with each other every day and took the new procedures in stride.
“We just got used to it. I was very happy to be (attending classes) in-person this year. It was a lot harder online, very different to work by yourself. It’s nice to be able to work together with your classmates instead,” Ratti said.
In the classroom, Ratti said he enjoyed his calculus, chemistry and biology subjects, but he also appreciated his English and Apologetics classes, as well as Avalon’s emphasis on students memorizing and reciting several times a year various types of poetry, such as Shakespearean sonnets. “It brought me out of my comfort zone,” he said. “...Committing something to memory, retaining it under pressure and then reciting it in front of people helps with public speaking, and that’s an important thing.”
His lifelong Catholic faith, he said, was nurtured through his years at Avalon, and he described his teachers as “role models for the faith.” He also credits his family’s participation in Communion and Liberation, a Catholic lay movement founded in Italy in 1954, and its counterpart for youth, Gioventu Studentesca, which aims to form members in Christianity in order to make them co-workers in the Church’s mission.
An Avalon varsity soccer player throughout all four years of high school, Ratti served as team captain in his senior year. Although, this past season was scaled back due to the coronavirus restrictions, he said he was grateful the team was still able to play several games against area rivals.
Avalon Headmaster Davern describes Ratti as one of the most gifted Avalon students in the school’s 18-year history. “Giovanni is interested in things, well-rounded, and an intense competitor on the soccer field,” he said. “His humor and lively spirit make him a pleasure to teach and account for the fact that he is so liked by his peers.”
During Avalon’s graduation ceremony, Ratti will receive the Puno Family Prize, the school’s highest honor in recognition of the graduating senior who best exemplifies those qualities of “great-hearted generosity and cheerful liveliness.”
Ratti, along with his parents, Stefano, a native of Italy, and Michelle, and younger brothers, 10th grader Alessandro and 8th grader Adriano, also Avalon students, are parishioners at Holy Redeemer Parish, Kensington. His mom teaches chemistry, anatomy and Italian at Brookewood School, Avalon’s sister school in Kensington.
He and his family love the outdoors, going hiking and rock climbing. One of the most memorable experiences of his life, he said, came last August when he and his dad and one of his younger brothers hiked and backpacked for two weeks through the 200-mile John Muir Trail in California. “It was an amazing experience,” he said. “We hiked 15 miles a day with everything on our backs...It was very serene, just the mountains, the most pristine lakes and no phones.” They slept in tents, coyotes followed them at times, but the most unforgettable moment came when they hiked to the top of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet, to watch the sunrise.
Although he will soon be leaving Avalon, Ratti will continue to be guided by his soon-to-be alma mater’s school motto, “Duc in Altum!” (Put out into the deep!), as he anticipates his life’s new journeys – college and his next big trek – possibly the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrim road through France and Italy – to ponder the wondrous beauty of God’s creation.
“It’s so peaceful. I like walking in beautiful places, getting places and the view at the top,” he said.
