Read the speech by class of 2009 Student Council president Kathryn Braisted, exclusively on RB for DV.This is a copy of her speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.
Good evening classmates, parents, faculty, administration and school board members. It's nothing short of an honor to stand before all of you this evening, as your Student Council President, a position I've not only whole-heartedly cherished, but also one into which I've put every single free minute and ounce of energy for the last 180 school days in the hope that I'm not the only one who leaves here tonight missing our high school.⇒ READ MORE
Twenty-two years ago to the day, in a speech commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin, one of the United States's greatest Presidents called out a phrase that has resounded through history:
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" While I won't profess to being as eloquent a speaker as Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator himself, I do want to impart a few things upon you, my fellow classmates, so you can remember me for something more than laughing on the morning announcements.
This year, I was unbelievably lucky to have six girls by my side to pick up my slack, to make sure meetings ran smoothly and on time, to plan events, to let me stumble around the school parking lot in a turkey costume, to wake up early to decorate for dances, and, perhaps most embarrassingly, to remind me the night before Semi Formal that I forgot to order the crown and tiara. At this time, I'd like Sergeant at Arms Roxanne Indelicato, treasurer Alyssa Tomaskovic, secretaries Kayla Orben and Allison Pepaj, second vice president Trigit Forgit, and first vice president, my partner in crime and coruler of the school (don't worry Dr. Finan, we'll keep you on as our secretary) Emily Dorko to all stand and be applauded for what you've done for DV. Since our election in the spring of last school year, we officers were told time and time again that our inherent female cattiness would be far more conducive to fighting than getting actual work done. Yet we ended this school year having raised thousands upon thousands of dollars for local charities and having run a number of successful student functions. I couldn't be any prouder of you girls, I can't thank you enough for everything this year.
I'd also like to acknowledge a group of Student Council members who put so much time and effort into this organization that there was absolutely no distinction between them and the real officers. Seniors Nancy Shi, Sarah Wright and Katie Yuen embody a kind of dependability you don't encounter too often, and I always breathed a sigh of relief when any of them volunteered to take on a bigger project or event, since I knew it was in more than capable hands. I also wouldn't be able to accept my diploma without giving a shout out to Nick Torkildsen and Dan Quinlan, who might've been new to Student Council but planned the food for dances like a pro.
Over the past few years, I've developed a label of the hard-working, dedicated girl who's perpetually busy running around or helping with something or sucking up to teachers or taking pictures for the newspaper or knowing absolutely everything there is to know about what goes on here. I spent countless hours before and after school working on Student Council events, took immense pride in beginning the day on the morning announcements, and visited Mr. Casmus's office so often you'd think I was trying to get him to take me to prom. All too often though, I found myself far more familiar with the details of the latest school board meeting or Homecoming dance issue than with the specifics of my Calculus homework or the lives of my best friends, and always felt terrible when people were too worried about bothering me as I rushed through the halls to ask me a question about something they needed.
In accordance with the overachiever persona I just described, I opted this year to take Advanced *Placement Micro and Macro Economics .. along with two other A.P.s, a position as Editor in Chief of the Del.Aware, membership in a number of other clubs, and a newspaper job outside of school. Although I took the class with the intent to learn a handful of life applications, I was perpetually confused and unable to understand Average Total Cost lines or even Real GDP ... meanwhile, Mark Pike sat in the front of the class with his work done minutes early, graciously complimenting my outfits, and Shawn Chen lounged in the back of the room nonchalantly solving world hunger. Economics simply put, though, is nothing more than a study of how to allocate scarce resources to unlimited wants and needs. We studied the scarcity of goods like water and minerals and midway through the course, I realized that I had learned potentially the most important lesson of my life. That more significantly scarce than services or human capital or oil reserves is time. The ticking hand of time is the scarcest resource we have.
That seems like an obvious concept, one that hardly calls for a profound realization or deep, analytical thought, but I can't help but think it's one that should be at least briefly considered. Recognizing that time is the most precious aspect of your life makes more important each lunch your mom packs, each test for which you don't study, each party you hang out at, each lame relationship you cry over, each bizarre snow day you receive because of rain, each morning you wait out front in bus traffic. As we all currently sit on the precipice of uncertain futures and goals and next-steps, there is perhaps nothing more important to do than to maximize completely every minute of your time.
So don't be the girl rushing through the halls. Carpe diem, gather ye rosebuds while ye may, and enjoy rather than complain about the days during which minutes pass as quickly as when you're sitting in Mrs. Masser's chemistry lab. I sincerely wish all of you from Casey Abeson to Tyler McCarthy to Chase Zirnnik and each senior in between the best of luck with all that you do.
So, for the last time ever: this is the conclusion of my graduation speech, have a fantastic life.
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