SANIYAH WATSON (left) and Sheylah Jones (right) deliver the METCO Address. (Lisa Lord Photo)
By SHEYLA JONES and SANIYAH WATSON
Metco Address
Shey: Good Evening everyone, For those of you who may not know me, my name is Sheylah Jones and It is already an honor to be doing this speech but doing it with my friend Niyah makes it even more special. Congratulations class of 23 we are done!!! I am quite nervous talking about my experience being a student of color coming from Roxbury and going to a predominantly white suburban town in Melrose. To set the scene It’s 6:00 am or even earlier your annoying alarm goes off but you’re tired from the night before because maybe you play a sport or your a part of some club and you get home late on top of that you need to eat dinner, do homework and shower so in reality your not in the bed till 11:30-12 so your only getting between 5 to 6 hours of sleep. So you hit the snooze button in the morning about 3 times because you’re exhausted. We do this every morning for 180 days for the next 4 years. There is so much I want to tell you but 5 mins wouldn’t be enough.
When I first thought about doing the METCO speech I didn’t want to because of numerous situations that made me doubt myself or made me feel less of who I am but I talked to my mom and she gave me some wise words of motivation which were: NEVER LET ANYONE DICTATE YOUR LIFE OR MAKE YOU FEEL LESSER OF YOURSELF BE STRONG AND DETERMINED TO DO WHATEVER YOU SET YOUR MIND TO DO AND SHOW PEOPLE WHO YOU ARE AND THAT YOU MATTER.
Thanks ma.
Life hasn’t always been the best for me. When I was 8 years old my father passed away from a massive heart attack. Seeing other students with their fathers has been tough but being at Melrose I have received a lot of support from admin and staff, shoutout to Mrs.Pizzotti the best guidance counselor in the world because without her I wouldn’t be who I am today.
Our Freshman year was cut short due to COVID-19 which was very challenging. I had a very hard time with virtual learning which caused my grades to drop.
Sophomore year was crazy. We had some in person classes and some virtual classes and based on my last name I was separated from most of my friends which made things even more challenging. I had no motivation to do work and stopped caring about school, but then I met Mrs. Giddings and what’s funny is the first thing she asked me was are you related to Denzel and Darron Jones. For those who don’t know, I am the third and last of my siblings to attend Melrose public schools.
Junior year was like a breath of fresh air. Masks were optional, there were more student events and we were even closer to graduation not to mention the Learning Commons was finally back open which is the “hangout spot”and getting kicked out by Mr. Corrgian, Mr.Merrill and Linda are moments I’ll never forget. They have seen me at my worst and at my best and I truly want to thank them for their guidance and leadership over these past four years.
Senior year came in like a plane taking off. On my last first day of high school I said to myself these next few months are gonna fly by and here we are the longest 4 years of my life. All my hard work has finally paid off, going from turning in late assignments and procrastination and not doing well on tests and worrying about not being able to retake them and still being able to maintain the honor roll for the past two years. With all the things I’ve learned at Melrose public schools I will carry them on with me to my next journey which will be going to a 4 year college at North Carolina Central University to study law.
Thank you and congrats to the class of 23. And from the words of Drake, WE MADE IT!!!!!
Saniyah: I want to start off by giving a huge congratulations to the class of 2023. When former METCO director Ms. Jackson suggested I give this speech, I was nothing but hesitant. My initial thought was, “Will I even be able to see over the podium?” And then I thought, “Why would I want to speak in front of a bunch of people about being in a program they’re not in? Why would they care about how early I wake up, or how late I get home from doing after school activities. They don’t want to listen to me complain about the hour-long bus ride I sleep through, waking up with the seat lines imprinted on my face. But after pondering about the things you wouldn’t care about, I realized that is the problem. I have been a Melrose student for thirteen years. I have sat in the same desks as you at Horace Mann, suffered in the same overheated Middle School cafeteria, and trudged up the same three flights of stairs from Science to English at MHS. Yet, my experience as a Metco Student sets me apart. So I have decided to take this as an opportunity to talk about my experience navigating through MHS as a student of color. There were times where going to a predominately white institute and not being surrounded by kids who look like me made me start to be concerned with my appearance. Wanting to look and act like everyone else it became difficult for me to find out who I was as a person, as a student, and a friend. Too busy focusing on everyone liking me I lost sight of who exactly was Saniyah Watson. If you were to ask my mom she would say hard headed. If you were to ask my teachers they would say I’m motivated. Ask my friends actually don’t ask my friends. But in all honesty, I am someone who demonstrates empathy, someone who will strive for what she wants. I am someone who will persevere and defy the odds against me. MHS and METCO have played a large part in helping me become this person I am today. For those who don’t know, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity program was created to expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation by allowing students from Boston areas to attend public schools in other communities. Going to a school forty five minutes away has been a struggle to say the least. In my mind I was too white for the black kids and too black for the white ones. Yet attending MHS has given me the opportunity to participate in sports, drama, and extracurricular activities. During those times I have not only made so many unbreakable friendships that will stay with me for years to come. I have also figured out the type of friend, student and person I wanted to be.
There have been times where people attempt to use the term METCO as a derogatory term, a way to distinguish between those who belong and those who don’t. But METCO denotes strength. METCO denotes courage. METCO denotes a family who supports not only those students who travel the hour or more to Melrose but all students of color. And most importantly, METCO denotes your classmates, your friends, and your fellow Melrose students.
Thank you.