The Tradition of Senior Speeches Continues

“As many of you have experienced, the English Department begins a sequence in public speaking during an RL boy’s Sixie year,” began Mr. Josh Cervas, Chair of the English Department, as the school gathered on January 23 for the first of three Senior Speeches Halls this year. As the boys continue their education, they build upon the skills started in their first year, with assignments such as a personal speech, an informative speech, a persuasive speech, and finally, a speech of choice in the fall of senior year. 

Paul Wilkinson and Eliot Park were selected to present their speeches to the greater school community. Mr. Cervas noted that each of the selected speeches was, in its own way, about “family and ancestry and learning important lessons from those who came before us,” a sentiment not dissimilar to the school’s ethos of learning from our past and looking toward the future: Mortui Vivos Docent. 

Paul began his speech by telling the story of Philippe de Carteret, an English lord and knight, and Paul’s ancestor of nearly 17 generations. “This story is one of many I’ve uncovered in my search to connect with my ancestry,” Paul stated. “A journey that has left a profound impact on me and one I hope to share with you all today.” Paul continued, explaining how a curiosity after hearing family stories led him deep into online historical genealogy records. As he continued to learn more about his family’s history, he reflected on the lessons that those stories can teach us today. “History isn’t just a record of events,” he stated. “It’s a source of strength, guidance, and purpose.” 

Eliot took the stage following Paul, detailing a similar story in looking into his own family’s history. Eliot explained how as he gets older, he realizes that many stories of his parents, his family, and life are rooted in the oral histories provided by his grandparents, and that it is up to him, and the younger generations, to collect these stories, so they can continue to live in history. He detailed a story his grandfather told him, emphasizing “Our elders’ stories aren’t just about the past. They offer us lessons for the present and the future.” Eliot spoke of his trip to Korea, sitting in his grandparent’s living room, asking about his grandfather’s stories from the war, ultimately learning stories he had never heard before. “These moments would have been lost if I had not made the intentional effort to spend time with him.” 

Both Paul and Eliot searched for the histories that shaped them and their lives in different ways: one through online research and one through a face-to-face conversation with his grandfather. Yet, both realized that history is not just something of the past, but rather an ongoing and ever-changing thread shaping our lives and futures. 

Watch the Hall here.