| Jeffrey's High School Graduation "Party"
Hello everyone! Today is my high school graduation, and I wish that I could invite all of you, but I cannot. On Sunday, June 22, 2008 I am having a small graduation party (more like a get together to exchange gifts, congratulate, and to have a bite to eat) at the AOH Hall in Salem, Massachusetts (104
Boston St), from 3:30pm to 7:30pm.
There will be food, and drink (including beer such as bud light, for those of us
legal), and you may feel free to bring your own to share. I am not expecting any gifts, but I will gladly appreciate any gift people may wish to give, especially s college is coming this fall. Family, friends, and fellow classmates will be there, but I wanted to invite you all because you folks are also my
friends, even if I do not know you. I would be honored for you all to show, even if for a quick few minutes. Maybe you can even plan a ride around it  Afterwards, I might head into Boston with a few friends, in a car (stupid injury), but all are welcome to join. Remember, you need not a motorcycle to attend, just yourself, and a gift if you would like.
Since none of you will be at my graduation tonight, I would like to share my speech with all of you: Quote:
Good evening Ryan Plosker, teachers and faculty, students, graduates of the Class of 2008, family, and friends.
As you all know, every speech seems to start off with a quote, and this one will not be an exception. B.F. Skinner, one of the most influential American Psychologists in history once said that "a failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying."
It is with great honor and privilege that I stand before you, New England Academy’s first graduating class, as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2008. I will be the first to admit that I may not be the smartest student in this class of (nine), nor am I any better than any other senior who sits before me. What I can proudly admit is that hard work, persistence, and dedication has brought me before you today.
I struggled for a few weeks trying to come up with the topic for this speech, and specifically what my message to all of you would be. Then on Memorial Day, while sitting up at Hampton Beach doing exercises as part of my physical therapy, it came to me.
Just about three months ago, on March 26th, 2008, I was in a head on collision while riding my motorcycle. Sparing you the details, I ended up going to Beverly Hospital where I was told that the injuries I had suffered to my left patella, my kneecap, were too serious for the staff there to handle, and I was promptly rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where I had surgery the next day.
I was out of the hospital within three days and back at school within seven. At this point in high school, all I had really cared about was finishing the fourth quarter so that I could graduate. Upon returning to school, I thought that I had no chance of earning the title of Valedictorian, nor did I expect to be initiated into the National Honor Society alongside Greg and Ryan. The last quarter of high school has been an extremely difficult one. But in the end, all the effort I have put forth has been paid off.
Others have worked hard this year as well. Four weeks ago NEA had its first prom, which was better than anyone could have expected. All the credit goes to the staff here at NEA, especially Ryan and Kelly Plosker.
Saturday morning, after my friends and I woke up following a multi-hour office marathon, they wanted to go out for a stroll on the boardwalk at Hampton Beach. Now in a situation like mine, many would have told the others to go out and have fun walking the beach, but not me. I put my shoes on, grabbed my crutches, and walked the entirety of Hampton beach, a little under two miles. Two miles on crutches may be a feat for anyone, but I did it because I was not going to let my injury prohibit me from spending time with my friends.
I’ve found that trying to recover from a serious injury is a lot like high school - it seems as though the healing process is taking forever, and then one day, out of nowhere you realize “Hey, I am walking, running, and getting around with minimal problems, when did that happen?” Many of us have slowly progressed throughout high school, waiting anxiously for the end to be near. Now that it is here, we have to stop and think how each and every one of us got to where we are.
These past two years at NEA have seen both the seniors and underclassmen mature extraordinarily. The positive relationships we have developed will continue to grow strong for many years to come. These relationships were able to develop due in thanks to the stable environment which we all call New England Academy.
Each student, no matter how much he or she complained, can attribute his or her success both academically and emotionally to the staff here at NEA. Each one of us has a counselor to help us through rough times, and to keep us in-check. I am both grateful and honored to say that for the past five years, the last two at NEA, Brian Jukins has become much more than a staff member to me – he is a true friend.
People like Brian have helped guide us through situations, by empowering us, as students to take initiative and control of our own lives. In the end though, using the help we’ve received along the way, we are the ones who ultimately make it all possible.
Ryan Plosker hand-picked each and every staff member before us - and every staff member adds something unique to this school. All have ambitions and a sense of care that no other teacher or counselor has, and that shows. Especially when some of us may get stuck in a truly bad situation. We can attribute this level of care to the fact that the staff here took the time to know us as individuals, not just as a number or a face in the crowd.
While passing through the halls here at NEA, some may hear students address staff members by first name, and some may wonder if that is disrespectful to do so, but let me ask this – were you ever as close to your teachers throughout high school as we have been here? As I stated earlier, each and every staff member here is more than just a part of a support system; they are our friends. In no other school will you see the level of camaraderie, where we are respected as equals.
So no matter how difficult it may be to get our work done, stay focused, or even get to school every day, NEA just asks us to try and to push ourselves onward.
The word persevere means: “to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement”. I can say with complete honesty that the rest of the senior class, staff, and myself embody the true meaning of the word.
All of our supports here at NEA have never given up on us – each of our counselors always knew that we could make it this far, and would continue to push forward. Without the persistence of the staff, none of us would be sitting here today and going off to college this fall.
Now, I would like to encourage all of you, no matter what your age, gender, or status to keep on trying to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Never accept failure – only use it as a means of achieving your goals. I know that I have, and that I will continue to keep trying, and I hope all before me will do the same.
Every student in this school has potential. I have spent countless hours trying to come up with some outstanding metaphor to relate how far we have come, and how far we can go:
In Honors Physics this year, we discussed in detail how all objects in the universe have both potential and kinetic energy. A rubber band flying through the air exhibits kinetic energy. When you are walking or running your body is also exhibiting kinetic energy. Potential energy is energy at rest, which in turn is converted into kinetic energy.
Yeah, I know, some of you must be thinking to yourselves right about now “What does this all mean and how is it supposed to help propel us forwards?” You see, each and every student before us has a great amount of what I will call potential energy. Some of us fare very well in the classroom, but there are also those of us with our own personal problems and/or learning issues. These students have a great amount of potential energy, but they just do not know how to exhibit it kinetically – they do not know how to set their minds in motion.
NEA is the catalyst that will get that rubber band to fly through the air – to exhibit all possible kinetic energy. As Greg Ronco said at vision night, all students at NEA are bright kids; we just learn differently. NEA serves as the apparatus in which sets us students, rubber bands with potential energy, into motion.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you, parents, staff, students, family, and friends, for helping make our dreams of leading a successful life possible. Without your help and support, we would not be as far, or be going as far as we are today. I would also like all of the seniors to take a moment to thank themselves, because in the end, we are the ones who took initiative and control of our lives. Thank you.
| I created the above with the help of Sean (Shleppy).  |
06-12-08, 12:32 PM
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