The Valedictory Address

click here for video of the Address 

COMMENCEMENT

Noah Tirschwell ’22

Thank you, first and foremost, to our awesome, one-of-a-kind dean, Mrs . Stanek . Thank you to Mr . Wirtz, Mr . King, Mr . Bileca, Ms . Jean, and Mr . Aldrich . Thank you to our incredible teachers, to the administration and staff, to FLIK, to B&G, and to the custodial staff . Thank you to the HPA, the Board of Trustees, and everyone else who made today possible . And perhaps most importantly, thank you to our parents and families . Mom, Dad, Oren, and Talia, thank you for your unwavering support—I would not be here without you . And to the Class of 2022—Congratulations! We made it!

We have a lot to celebrate. From ninth grade boatbuilding to Senior Projects and everything else in between, we have had some pretty amazing experiences over the past four years, and we have grown tremendously not only as students, but also as individuals and a broader community.

We have also been through a lot, and throughout our time at Hackley, we have faced some pretty extraordinary challenges. So I promise I will come back to the positive, but first, I want to acknowledge everything we have been through these past four years.

When we were freshmen, a swastika was found carved into a desk. At the end of our sophomore year, a worldwide pandemic threw us online, and as we Zoomed into school, which was hard enough on its own, we were forced to grapple with the racial prejudice that Black at Hackley revealed. Our junior year, we had to navigate weekly spit testing, mask-wearing, and plastic barriers as we confronted the sexism, homophobia, and sexual assault that Harassment at Hackley brought to light. And then right when it seemed like there was light at the end of the tunnel, right as our senior year seemed to be on the upswing, we lost a student in our community.

Our high school years have not been easy.

But that is not to say that the past four years have been dominated by hardship; in fact, I would argue the exact opposite. Time and again, we have found the light in all of this darkness. We have found beauty, joy, and happiness in the most difficult of times. We have laughed together, we have forged meaningful bonds with one another, and we have created memories that will last far beyond our high school years.

So let’s return to Black at Hackley, Harassment at Hackley, and the swastika. These episodes were painful and jarring and perhaps even frightening. But as terrible as they were, they created an opportunity for progress. They led to important discussions around bigotry and assault at our school. It is clear that we are not where we need to be, but these moments provided us with a first step towards healing.

When the pandemic struck, we likewise found a silver lining. We were able to see our teachers as

36 HACKLEY REVIEW COMMENCEMENT SUPPLEMENT 2022

parents. We debated each other at fireside chats and played whats-it in homeroom. And in the long run, we developed a greater appreciation for our physical connections with one another. For all of its hardships, the pandemic has made occasions like today far more meaningful.

Our darkest and most difficult moment, however, came just four months ago when we lost Wenija Qin, known to most of us as DD. And I want to take this opportunity to talk about DD, because DD was a truly extraordinary person—someone who was an athlete and a student and above all else, a friend. I personally knew DD as a supportive teammate, someone who brought a smile to every day of practice. Friends and mentors described DD as passionate, genuine, inquisitive, special, kind, creative, humble, outrageously funny, and extremely intelligent. DD was a special kid, plain and simple, and for that very reason, I think I speak for the entire community when I say that DD will never leave us.

So I realize this is somewhat unconventional for a graduation speech, but before I go any further, I’d like to ask that we take a moment of silence to honor DD’s memory.

Thank you. It is times like these where it would have been easy to give in to the grief and the pain and the anger. It would have been easy to lose hope. But that is not what we did because the people under this tent went out of their way to care for one another. There were spontaneous hugs in the halls. There were handwritten notes and heartfelt texts between friends. DD’s locker was transformed into a beautiful memorial, and perhaps most importantly, our community came together.

We could have accepted the darkness, but we chose to find the light.

And that is what has defined our class. In the face of unbelievable adversity, we have continued to find hope and love and joy.

And now we find ourselves at a juncture that is all too familiar because as we prepare to leave the Hilltop, we face a world that is marred by crisis. But we don’t need to accept the darkness as inevitable and that is what I keep coming back to. We, the Class of 2022, have proven ourselves to be capable of finding hope in hopeless times. We have lived the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.” We have shown that when our community comes together, we can overcome any challenge, no matter how big or small. We have done it before and we can do it again.

So with that in mind, I would like to share the words and wisdom of a fifth grader — a fifth grader who speaks with a purity and authenticity that can help all of us as we think ahead to the future. Just over a week ago, there was a walkout here at Hackley to honor those whose lives have been lost in mass shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo, Tulsa, and too many other places. After the walkout, one of the fifth graders wrote a note to her representative in Congress, and I want to read the following excerpt from her letter:

Dear Congressman Mondaire Jones,

I’m writing to address the shootings that have been happening lately. From what I’ve seen on the news, there have been three mass shootings lately. The

Seniors Dionne Chen, Hannah Carey, Lucas Caramanica, Jason Campbell, Jinlin “Daniel” Cai, and Max Calman together in the Johnson Center before the Commencement Ceremony .

COMMENCEMENT

Seniors gather for a Senior Breakfast before the procession .

amount of death has been at least 25. I want to ask what are you doing about this?

I want to ask: what are you doing about this? A fifth grader wrote that. I think we can all agree that an eleven-year old should not have to ask that question.

And this is where we come in because we are reaching that moment in our lives where we can begin to make a difference on a far greater scale. The collective talent that exists under this tent is mind-boggling. We are D-1 athletes and prize-winning artists. We are debate champions and science fair winners and published authors. We are activists, scientists, mathematicians, musicians, athletes, coders, linguists, historians, actors, writers, and leaders. We have channeled our skills to make Hackley a better place, and we now have the potential to broaden our impact. So with a slight twist, I want to throw the powerful words of that fifth grader back at all of us and ask: what are we doing? What are we doing to make sure that our skills bring about change? What are we doing to leave a positive mark on this world? What are we doing to fight back against the darkness and bring about the light? These are the questions that will define us. Our time at Hackley may be running out, but our legacy as a class has only just begun. And we have a serious decision ahead of us: will we ignore the dizzying number of problems that plague this world, or will we take a stand and fight back? I don’t know what we’ll end up choosing, but here is what I do know. We have the potential to be the agents of change this world so desperately needs. What we have endured these past four years is stupefying, but we have proven again and again and again that we can push back against the darkness. And if we leverage our skills to help those who need it most, if we go forth and spread beauty and light, then together, we can create a future that is filled with hope, and we can make this world a better place.

Thank you all, and congratulations to the Class of 2022.