Avon High School Student Government President's Speech: Robert Dully - Patch.com

Avon High School student government co-president Robert Dully provided Avon Patch with a transcript of his graduation speech on June 15.

Good Evening.

Thank you Mr. Brochu and the women’s choir. That was beautiful. I had actually planned to sing my own rendition of that song originally however I think I’ll forgo that at this time. But anyways, I'll proceed on, 

The ceremony of graduation is one of tradition that celebrates the achievements and looks positively and ambitiously towards the future of the people presented to you here today. In a recent article on Boston Barstool, a popular sports and pop-culture blog among high school and college students, the sites main contributor, David Portnoy, who writes under the name “El Presidente” was commenting an article on a student who had his diploma withheld after Tebowing on stage, the move made popular by Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow which involves getting down on one knee and praying. Tebow uses this move after scoring touchdowns however it can now be applied in virtually any scenario, in the office, while gardening, and apparently when receiving a high school diploma. After questioning the school on their choice of punishment, Portnoy had this to say:

“Graduations are awful.  They are without a doubt the most tedious, uninteresting, enervating ceremony ever devised by man.  I would rather watch hours of the Oscars technical awards with anonymous geeks thanking interminable lists of people I’ll never meet than sit through a graduation.  Hours of sitting through an endless line of awkward, gangly teens walking onto a stage and shaking some administrator’s hand”

A bold statement from this historically controversial man. These “awkward gangly teens” that he refers to are my classmates and some of my best friends whom it’s been nothing but a pleasure to learn alongside of for the past 13 years. They are also the future doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and of course professional athletes of this country. While it may appear to an outsider that a list of names is being read here tonight, keep in mind that each person has their own story and a promising future, giving this event so much more meaning.

In this day and age with all the technology and distractions, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important in life. However, this class really stayed grounded. When the library committee presented their policy, which kindly requested students to sign up online the night before, we learned how to make viral YouTube videos and facebook groups to work with the library staff and find a happy medium. We learned how to complete SMP papers the night before they were due. We learned how far from Avon you could go in a double open period and most importantly, we learned how to get as close to 10 abscesses in a class without losing credit. It is these achievements that we are also celebrating today alongside the academics.

On the news a couple weeks back I saw a story where students at prep schools in New York were not allowed to declare college acceptances on Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace if you will, or even wear college apparel in fear that other students would be offended if they had been rejected or would not be attending a college of the same caliber. I couldn’t help but think that this wouldn’t happen to my class. Through all the stress and competition of the application process, these students showed nothing but sheer happiness and selflessness for their classmates as opposed to jealousy or anger. It is these values that we also celebrate.

In conclusion, I'd like to leave you all with a story. Earlier this year I was at Cost Cutters getting my usual haircut. #2 buzz on the sides. Top trimmed. As the lady was finishing and cleaning up my sideburns, she took the clippers and started trimming my eyebrows. Now I’m not sure if this is a normal occurrence at the hairdressers but for me it was the most bizarre scenario. At first I was resistant, then even somewhat angry as to why she was doing this. But overtime, after taking a step back, I realized that my trimmed eyebrows did infact looked better and there was a purpose behind it. I think this is a great analogy to education. The most commonly asked question in the classroom is without a doubt "when will I ever use this in my life". And at first it might appear as though logarithms, projectile motion, and existentialism are completely irrelevant like trimmed eyebrows, but it all contributes to the value of an Avon High School education. Thank you.