I would like to begin this speech by saying a brief thank you to everyone who made this day possible. Thank you complex employees, thank you teacher volunteers, thank you fellow students, and the most humongous thank you of all to the parents and friends who have come together today to mark the end of one era of our lives and the beginning of another.
As I look out from behind this big scary podium onto the big scary crowd in front of me, I am struck by the amount of potential I see in each one of you. From the physics nerds who have spent countless lunch hours wiping blood, sweat and tears off of their assignments, to the trumpeting rock stars of concert band, to the trades kids who all but disappeared in grade 11 to finally get on the tools, each one of you has the immense capacity to succeed and build something great out of your passion.
Our Brooks Secondary School graduating class of 2025 is made up of almost 200 incredibly different individuals. And you don’t have to be graduating this year to remember that differences are often not the coolest thing in high school.
However, I participated in a class activity earlier this year that gave me a new way of looking at things.
In my Careers 12 class, students were each given a list of important core values to choose from. When we had all picked a few, we further narrowed down which ones were most important to us as a class.
We ended up with six: respect, love, honesty, loyalty, kindness, and discipline. And suddenly, what had seemed like a trivial, tick-the-box assignment before – sorry, Mr. Cocksedge, no one loves Careers – became a unifying force within our class.
People we never would have discussed the weather with before were suddenly sharing with us their thoughts about the importance of honesty in relationships. It was a fascinating shift.
I think activities like this one are just a small demonstration of a larger picture: that we have the most important things in common. And that’s a pretty good start.
Grads of 2025, it has been a beautiful four years with you. I hope that we have built and will continue to build strong connections with each other in the years to come. I truly can’t wait to see what we have to offer the world. God bless you all and thanks again!
The Peak will publish its annual graduation special section on June 26, 2025.
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