Like the rest of her graduating class at Vacaville High School, valedictorian Carolyn Fine is preparing for the big day this week. But because commencement exercise falls out during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the 18-year-old is getting ready a bit differently.
In observance of the holiday – which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai – Fine will not deliver the traditional valedictorian’s speech through a microphone. She won’t even travel to the ceremony in a car, and will instead walk.
“I was nervous about what to do,” Fine told the Contra Costa Times. “The more I learn about the Jewish religion, the more connected I feel.”
School officials worked with Fine to make alternate arrangements.
“It’s great to see that, on her own, she’s standing by her faith,” commented Rabbi Chaim Zaklos, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Solano County, who has been helping the young scholar.
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