H-H Valedictorian Highlights 'Connection'

Greetings to the families, friends, teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, my fellow graduates, the Hatboro-Horsham class of 2013.

I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to speak with you all, because it’s not every day that one receives the chance to personally connect with thousands of other human beings.

I’d like to ask all of you on the field to look around at those sitting in the seats next to, or in front of, or behind you.

Perhaps that person is an old friend, or perhaps, despite being in the same graduating class, a complete stranger, a face you might have seen once or twice in the hallway, but have never talked to.

On this evening we are arranged alphabetically but, had we been able to choose, we would gravitate toward the friendships we’ve built and strengthened over the past four years.

What I think a lot of us are coming to realize is that high school is a massive melting pot and that never again will we spend so much time in a building that houses such a diverse assortment of experiences and perspectives.

Despite whatever differences we might have possessed as freshmen, we’ve learned what it’s like to form bonds with each other and grow together over our high school experience.

So while our knowledge of algebra or chemistry may fade and our memories of falling off the low ropes course or senior prom may blur in the coming years, I hope we never forget high school’s sacred lesson: connection.

The best teachers show us how to link ideas and concepts, and we learn, on our own, how to connect with other human beings.

By participating in clubs like student council or partnership or stage crew or sports teams, we form vast networks, each person like a city on the map, and each road between us powerful and unique.

And sometimes, everyday interactions shared between a few strangers are the most meaningful, whether it be a conversation in a lunch line, or talking to a teacher you’ve never before met.

My own story starts on a Partnership volunteering trip in Philadelphia.

Every month we would go to this church on Broad Street to serve food and help distribute clothing and necessities to the disadvantaged. On that December morning, a man whose plate I had just cleared politely asked me to have a seat and chat.

At that very moment, I had no idea what to expect. And I wasn’t prepared when he shook my hand and genuinely thanked me. His voice was hoarse and slow, but he told me with absolute sincerity “kid, you can be Bruce lee if you wanted to. Just follow your dreams and you can be anything.”

I was completely surprised and, not knowing what else to say, just thanked him and wished him a merry Christmas. And at one o’clock that day, I returned to the train station that would take me back to Horsham, and he continued on to wherever he was going. 

For the longest time, I didn’t know why that particular interaction was so memorable.

But now, standing in front of you all, I understand. That nameless man had built a lasting connection and had left an impression so powerful that the teenager he talked to for a few minutes is now relaying that back to you in his speech. I don’t know where he is right now, but I am certain on that day, he helped me more than I could have ever helped him.

These moments don’t have to happen by chance. We’ve witnessed what a group of united people, working together, can accomplish, whether it be the towers of canned food that line our hallways every holiday season or the inspired productions that our actors, musicians, dancers, and crew members create.

The world and all of its people are much too vast for any one person to understand, but we can unveil its mysteries and explore its beauty one interaction, one moment, one connection at a time. I ask all of you to take that risk, make a connection, and see how life opens up.

As the graduating seniors of the class of 2013, we can make a moment right now. Because in a few minutes, half an hour, we’ll be on our own separate ways, perhaps never to meet again. But we shouldn’t let fate dictate what connections you do or do not take. Turn to the person next to you or behind you. nod, smile, high five them. We’ve gotten to where we are, together.

It is said that attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity, and I sincerely thank all of you for your attention, and this chance to speak to you all.

Thank you and congratulations to the Hatboro-Horsham class of 2013.