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The Valedictory Address Samuel Perlman '20
(Before I get started, I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Mr. Wirtz, Mr. King, Mr. Variano, Mr. Loomis, and everyone else who was Samuel Perlman delivers the Valedictory Address at the instrumental in allowing this in-person Commencement Ceremony held on August 1. graduation ceremony to happen. I know it took a lot of time and effort to pull this off. We are all grateful to be here, so on behalf of all of us, thank you.) And as for the Class of 2020… Hey guys. I’ve missed you. While my Hackley English teachers might have wanted me to start with a better hook than that, I felt that I had to say something more genuine for this moment. This moment, despite everything that has happened over the last four and half months, or maybe because of it, is special. These last few days have been the first opportunity we’ve had to be together as the Hackley Class of 2020 in some time, and let me just say, it’s so good to see all of you again. If your March, April, May, June, and July were anything like mine, the past few months have not been easy for you. But we are here. This is, as far as I know, the first Hackley graduation to take place in August; a unique and extraordinary ending for our unique and extraordinary class. One of the very few silver linings of a global pandemic is that the past few months have been especially conducive to reflecting. Being at home has been quite the change of pace from the normal end to senior year; instead of running around from activity to activity, our year was brought to an abrupt halt 144 days ago, the last day that we were in school together. With this unexpected length of free time, I ran over 200 miles, completed approximately 3,000 pieces’ worth of puzzles with my family, and watched all 143 episodes of Brooklyn 99, but I also got to thinking about my years at Hackley. To that end, I have three
thoughts that I’d like to share with you today, all revolving around the concept of time. My first thought was about how grateful I am for the time I have spent here on the Hilltop over the past seven years. This is an extraordinary group of people I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by. Our class consists of musicians who awed us with terrific performances, athletes who dominated on the sports field, actors who enthralled us with magnificent shows, debaters who argued their way to many successes, artists who amazed us with their creations, and so much more. Throughout it all, we have been supported by incredible, passionate teachers. I am so glad that I saw nearly every student and faculty Chapel Talk, because I loved hearing everything you had to say. Your words educated me, inspired me, and made me appreciate the diverse experiences within our community. Most importantly, I am thankful for the really meaningful friendships that I was able to form with you, my classmates and teammates. Now, onto my second thought. Something else I’ve been reflecting on is how I chose to spend my time when I was at Hackley. Looking back, I wish that rather than getting caught up in my own day to day activities, I had made more of an effort to see the things you all did. I wish I had gone to more of
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