Mount Carmel has been open for 126 years, the Gala has been operating for 125 years. The past 124 Galas, the Master Of Ceremonies has been someone from outside the school, with no relation or personal experience to MC. This year that changed, I was the emcee.
In early March of this year, Mrs. Jennifer Czerwonka, the Director of Scholarships and Event Fundraising, called me into her office. I had no clue why I was going up there. She sat me down and told me something that I was not expecting to hear–I was going to be the Master of Ceremonies for the 2025 Caravan Gala and the first student host of this great event.
I was honored that I was chosen to host, but I didn’t know how to feel about the honor. Mrs. Czerwonka told me that I was chosen because of how well I did on stage last year at the Gala, and since I had experience broadcasting, she thought I was the perfect fit.
At first, I was very nervous. I was on stage at the Gala last year, but only for 2 minutes to lead the spin-the-wheel game, and I was terrified going up there in front of 300 people who had no clue who I was. This was different, though.
When I was standing at the door greeting people at this year’s Gala, everyone knew who I was, whether from broadcasting games on the Caravan Broadcasting Network, or from doing updates on the Caravan Football X account, or they knew me because of shotsbyrocco, they all knew who I was.
Many people have watched broadcasts that I have been part of on the Caravan Broadcasting Network, and I usually get some texts from family and friends about how they’re watching my stream, or they’re texting me about how I’m too quiet, or how the scoreboard isn’t showing up, or how Mr. Baffoe wants me to plug The Caravan newspaper or The Merchant. But I never know everyone who’s watching. This was different because every person in that room had their eyes on me the whole time. That was what was going to make me the most nervous.
This clicked for me the second I walked up on stage. My plan was to find different people whom I didn’t know, and speak only to them. Only make eye contact with them. That didn’t work too well, I knew everyone in that room and it didn’t make it any easier. The support from the room was great the whole night, but even with that, I was still terrified walking up on the stage. It wasn’t until the middle of my opening remarks, when I was stating all the activities that I’m part of and I got my first applause of the night. That’s when all the nerves went away. I became loose and started to have a lot of fun up on stage.
Throughout the night, every time I walked off stage, and back to my table, a new person would tell me what a great job I’m doing, or what a great speaker I am. That kept my confidence going through the whole night.
I enjoyed the whole night, I liked being the announcer of the spin the wheel game, where someone won a trip to Naples, Florida. My favorite part of the night was getting to announce the student speaker, one of my close friends, Terry Dougherty.
Traditionally at the Gala, there is an alum who speaks about how MC prepared them for the real world. This year that was different. Terry Dougherty, also from the Class of 2026, was the student honoree. Like myself, Terry was also nervous going into the Gala.
“I was a little nervous, but also honored to have the privilege to speak to all the donors who came out,” he said.
The alumni felt a strong connection to the student speaker. “ The student speaker is great, it shows that we’re molding young men who can be put into big rooms and have a strong voice in there,” Said alum Kwame Asante ‘10. The crowd is usually older alums, and parents of current students, but younger alums are positive that if the Gala continues to be led by students, younger alumni will start to show up, because they’ll feel more connected to the school.
Having a student host the Gala is better for MC than having someone outside the school host. Leading was one of my favorite experiences that I’ve had so far at MC, and I think that one student every year should get the same experience that I had, and lead the Gala.
