“Human Unicorn” Delivers 2016 Commencement Address
June 1st, 2016
The Forty-Fifth Commencement Ceremony was held 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 27 in the Selwyn gym. We
Commencement Speaker Mellina Stucky ’71 addresses the Class of 2016
congratulate our students for a job well done and welcome them as the newest members of our alumni family!
The commencement address was delivered by Mellina Gassaway Stucky, class of 1971. Mellina attended the Selwyn School beginning in kindergarten. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. After a year studying abroad at Oxford University in England, she earned a master’s degree in popular culture from Bowling Green State University. Years later, she earned an AMS Montessori teaching certification from Baylor University. She has worked in advertising, marketing, public relations, and communications for TWU, Bloom Advertising, Professional Development Institute (PDI), UNT, and Selwyn.
Her remarks were an inspiration to all in attendance and are shared, below, for all of you.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been associated with Selwyn for 58 of the school’s 59 years in existence. I’m one of the few alums who has attended all 3 of Selwyn’s campuses. I began at age 4 at what was then Denton Preparatory School, in September 1958. That was a year after the school was founded in 1957. And students, to give you some perspective, that was 6 months before Alaska became a state and almost a full year before Hawaii became a state.In 1958 the school’s first campus was housed in a two-story arts and crafts-styled home on Oakland Street near TWU with 33 students in grades K-9. My family and I moved with the school to the 2nd campus where, in true Selwyn fashion, we turned the stalls of a barn into classrooms, we chose the Unicorn as the mascot, and named the lake, Unicorn Lake. I moved again with the school and was here at the dedication of this campus in 1961. I was here when the school changed its name from Denton Preparatory School to the Selwyn School, and then later, to Selwyn College Preparatory. I was here when every single building was built and almost every tree was planted on this campus. I was here when this gym was brand spanking new. And then, I graduated at this campus in spring of 1971. Some may suggest that I should be in a museum, encased in a glass display as a human Unicorn.I’ve watched Selwyn grow from 33 to more than 300 students. I’ve seen Selwyn change and reinvent itself many times over. We’ve been a boarding school, we’ve been a day school, we’ve been a K-9 school, we’ve been a K-12 school, we’ve been a preschool – 8th grade, and we’ve been a preschool -12th grade.But through all of this change, one thing has remained a constant,and that is the spirit and soul of Selwyn. It is an intangible forcethat has existed from the beginning and continues on through the generationsof students, faculty, staff, parents, families, friends, and everyone whohas put their hearts, souls, and labor into building, maintaining and loving Selwyn.Like Selwyn, you too will grow and change over the years.But, you will always be a part of Selwyn and Selwyn will always be a part of you.
